Tiger Girls See Two Events Win State Titles; Tyson Gibson Wins for Shamrocks

Worth County’s boys had won several meets along the way this year, including districts. But it was the girls who brought home two state titles in the Pole Vault and the 4x100, finishing seventh in state. 

East Atchison and Drexel were tied at 60 going into the final event, the 4x400, with East Atchison needing to avoid disqualification, since the top eight events score. The Wolves won the event outright with 70 points. Drexel had 60, Platte Valley 39, Rock Port 34, Richland 30, Brunswick 29, Worth County 28.5, DeKalb 28, Calvary Lutheran 24, Pattonsburg 22, Appleton City 21, Jamestown 21, Wellsville 21, Dora 20, North Shelby 19, Atlanta 18, Silex 15.5, Stoutland 15, Wellington-Napoleon 12, Polo 12, Liberal 12, Concordia 11, Northeast (Cairo) 10.5, Nodaway Valley 10, Mound City 10, Crane 10, Humansville 9, Vienna 9, Sheldon 9, Newtown-Harris 8, Chadwick 7, St. Joseph Christian 6, Van Buren 6, Santa Fe 6, Albany 6, Stanberry 6, Gilman City 5, Canton 5, King City 5, St. Elizabeth 5, Glasgow 5, South Holt 4, La Plata 4, Northwestern (Mendon) 4, Sacred Heart 3, McAuley Catholic 3, Novinger 2, North Andrew 2, Marquand-Zion 2, Meadville 2, Princeton 2, Academie Lafayette 1.5, and Clopton 1.

The first Tiger team to win state was the 4x100 team of Hailey Adwell, Emma Spencer, Rayleigh Smith, and Brooklyn Richardson. They got a personal best in winning the prelims with a time of 50.99. That extended the school record that they broke in sectionals. The finals were a rematch of the sectional match between Worth County and Drexel, and the Tigers came away victorious with a time of 51.36 to 51.71. Everybody but Adwell will return next year.

The other winner was Eva Engel, who won her duel with Ava Barnes (Mound City). They left the rest of the field far behind, with the third place finisher getting 9’2¼”. Barnes missed an attempt at 2.66 meters, while Engel missed her first try at 3.15 meters. But it was the mark at 10’6¾” which decided the event. Eva cleared it on her first try, while Barnes took until her third try to clear it. Neither one could clear the next barrier, which meant Eva Engel won the Pole Vault on tiebreaks over Barnes. Both will return next year.

In other results for the girls, Emma Spencer was fourth in the 100 with a time of 13.26. Her goal next year will be to break the 12.94 barrier, which will make her a favorite to win state next year.

Riley Ridge was tied for seventh in the High Jump with a height of 4’11”. Ali Brown was seventh in the Javelin with a throw of 117’9”.

It was a Shamrock who stole the show on the boys side as Tyson Gibson won state in the Triple Jump, getting a jump of 42’11¾”. He and Landon Gilliland (Atlanta) dueled throughout the event, with both getting their best jump on their next to last try. Gilliland was second with a jump of 42’2”. Justin Miller of Platte Valley was third with a jump of 41’9¾”. Miller will be a favorite in the event next year.

There were no clear favorites in the boys championship like there were on the girls side. Hayti and Hermitage tied for the title with 42 points. Crystal City had 33, King City 32, Nodaway Valley 28, Princeton 28, Green City 26, Newtown-Harris 26, Rich Hill 25, Marion C. Early 24, Dora 24, Braymer 21, Mound City 18, Albany 17, Tina-Avalon 16, Wellington-Napoleon 15, Polo 14, Gilman City 14, Thomas Jefferson Independent 14, East Atchison 14, Tri-County 13, North Andrew 13, Liberal 12, Sacred Heart 11, Concordia 11, Ballard 11, Worth County 10, St. Elizabeth 10, Santa Fe 10, North Harrison 10, Northeast (Cairo) 9.5, Atlanta 8, Jamestown 8, Winona 8, Humansville 8, Billings 7, Scott County Central 7, Crane 6.5, Van Buren 6, Platte Valley 6, Norwood 6, Southwest Livingston 6, St. Paul Lutheran 5, Paris 5, Slater 5, Wellsville 4.5, Miami (Amoret) 4, Leeton 4, Orrick 4, Sweet Springs 4, Stewartsville/Osborn 3.5, Vienna 3, Macks Creek 3, Otterville 3, Weaubleau 3, St. Vincent 3, Brunswick 3, Brashear 3, Glasgow 3, Stanberry 2, Climax Springs 2, Silex 2, Appleton City 1, and Bell City 1.

For Worth County, Levi Cassavaugh was fifth in the 400 with a time of 52.58. The 4x200 team got a personal best in the prelims with a time of 1:34.10 and finished fifth in the finals with a time of 1:34.38. 

Jase Latham was seventh in the Shot Put with a throw of 46’4”. Elias Alarcon got a personal best with a throw of 44’10¼”, but it turned out to be just out of the money as he finished 9th.