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JEFFERSON CITY — As she neared the finish line, a grin crossed Josie Baker’s face as the realization began to dawn on her.
The Kirkwood High junior was a champion.
“I’m a little in disbelief,” Baker said. “I’m not sure what happened. It’s awesome.”
Baker claimed the Class 5 girls 1600-meter state championship with a time of 4 minutes and 52.78 seconds on Saturday at Adkins Stadium.
According to Missouri State High School Activities Association, it’s the first girls 1600-meter state champion from Kirkwood since 1999, when Mary Reeves claimed the Class 4A title with a time of 5:02.99.
Baker ran with a group that consisted of Rock Bridge’s Carolyn Ford and Class 5 cross-country state champion Grace Tyson of Lafayette. In the third lap, Baker surged ahead past Tyson and put the hammer down.
“I knew I had to make it with confidence and not doubt myself,” Baker said.
She stretched her lead all the way to the finish line before doubling over in disbelief. She was embraced by Tyson after the finish and the two champions shared a few words of encouragement to each other.
“We talked about how amazing it was to race against each other,” Baker said. “I’ve gotten to race with her in the bigger meets. It’s really nice to have someone to talk with and be in the race and compete with. It’s cool to be able to chat with her.”
Parkway Central junior Skyye Lee clears a hurdle during the Missouri State Track Championship meet on Saturday, May 27, 2023, at Adkins Stadium in Jefferson City, Mo. Paul Halfacre, Special to STLhighschoolsports.com
PARKWAY CENTRAL’S LEE JOINS ELITE COMPANY
She was confident when she stepped to the line in her first event that she’d go home with four medals around her neck.
Skyye Lee made good on that confidence as she claimed the individual championship in the Class 4 100-meter hurdles, 100-meter dash, 300-meter hurdles and 200-meter dash on Saturday.
“I feel good,” Lee said. “It feels like I’m an elite athlete.”
Lee is the first girls athlete, according to MSHSAA, to claim four individual state championships since before 2000.
Lee won the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.36 minutes before winning the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.67.
Those two events weren’t the ones she was nervous about.
“I was nervous for the 300-meter hurdles,” Lee said.
She won the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 43.31 before completing the four-peat with a time of 24.19 in the 200.
Lee nearly powered Parkway Central to a second successive team title, but the Colts fell just short with 48.5 points. Kearney won the Class 4 team state championship with 52 points.
“It means a lot,” Lee said. “It shows just how hard we work.”
Seckman senior Noa Isaia launches the disc during the Missouri State Track Championship meet on Saturday, May 27, 2023, at Adkins Stadium in Jefferson City, Mo. Paul Halfacre, Special to STLhighschoolsports.com
SECKMAN’S ISAIA SAVES THE BEST THROW FOR LAST
A championship is a championship for Seckman senior Noa Isaia.
He would have liked to have clinched it a little earlier than he did though. But he didn’t want to take the two-hour trip home with any doubts in his mind.
“I just didn’t want to go home thinking I could have done more,” Isaia said.
On his final throw, Isaia unleashed a state championship toss, claiming the Class 5 discus title with a throw of 59.23 meters on Saturday.
Isaia is the first individual champion from Seckman since Tyler Fisher won the Class 4 state championship in the 200-meter dash in 2010.
After Nixa freshman Jackson Cantwell let loose with a throw of 58 meters in his third throw, Isaia was chasing him.
“I kind of used it as fuel,” Isaia said. “We don’t back down from something like that. It’s either, do I take it or come back?”
His fourth and fifth throws broke the 50-meter mark, but on his final throw, he let loose with that mighty throw that claimed the title.
Hazelwood East sophomore Melvin Slede sprints the last leg of the 1600-meter relay during the Missouri State Track Championship meet on Saturday, May 27, 2023, at Adkins Stadium in Jefferson City, Mo. Paul Halfacre, Special to STLhighschoolsports.com
HAZELWOOD EAST CLAIMS 1600 RELAY CROWN
Hazelwood East Senior Robert Johnson didn’t hold back when he talked about practice with his teammates.
“These guys give me the business every day in practice,” Johnson said. “No days off. I have to work my tail off two to three times harder just to keep up with them.”
That kind of high-intensity practice every day at work paid off on Saturday as the Spartans powered their way to the Class 4 1600-meter relay title with a time of 3:20.15.
It’s the first time the Spartans have won the 1600-meter relay title since 2016.
“We’ve been working all year for this, it means a lot to us,” Hazelwood East senior Ladarius Williams said. “Our coach told us at the beginning of the year that we had a chance and we believed in him and we just kept going with it.”
The belief looked in doubt as the Spartans were in second place as the batons were passed to the anchors.
That’s when sophomore Melvin Sledge did what he does best.
He ran down the competition.
“That’s what I do – I catch people,” Sledge said.
Oakville senior Mason Meinershagen clears the bar during the Missouri State Track Championship meet on Saturday, May 27, 2023, at Adkins Stadium in Jefferson City, Mo. Paul Halfacre, Special to STLhighschoolsports.com
OAKVILLE’S MEINERSHAGEN ENDS SEASON WITH A BANG
As she climbed the podium, Mason Meinershagen felt a little surreal.
Everything the Oakville senior had worked for was meant for this moment.
“I have been working on this since middle school,” Meinershagen said. “This has been my goal and I finally achieved it.”
Meinershagen won the high jump on Saturday in the Class 5 state championship meet with a leap of 1.70 meters.
The high jump title pairs with a pole vault title she won on Friday where she jumped 3.66 meters.
“I’m so fortunate that I’m able to come out here and just excited that it all came together yesterday and today,” Meinershagen said.
MICDS senior Winston Moore sprints down the line during the Missouri State Track Championship meet on Saturday, May 27, 2023, at Adkins Stadium in Jefferson City, Mo. Paul Halfacre, Special to STLhighschoolsports.com
MICDS’ MOORE CHASES DOWN ELUSIVE CROWN
It wasn’t his best start of the season, but Winston Moore will take the end results.
The MICDS senior finally grabbed that elusive 100-meter dash title with a Class 4 state championship run of 10.69 seconds.
“It feels great,” Moore said. “I was here as a sophomore and junior and got third place last year, so to finally win it this year is awesome.”
Moore’s slower start out of the blocks cost him precious spots as he sat in the middle of the pack after 30 meters. But after making it to the state championship meet, Moore wasn’t going to let the opportunity go to waste as he found another gear.
“Since the beginning of the year, I knew I had to win this,” Moore said. “I came all this way, I had to win it.”
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