Kearney Track and Field Wins Conference
/The Kearney High School Boys and Girls Track and Field teams both claimed Conference titles on Wednesday, May 3 at Raytown South.
The Varsity girls scored 181 points to distance themselves from runner-up Smithville, while the Junior Varsity girls scored 148 points to outscore second-place Grandview. Ava Lawless broke school records in the 100 Hurdles, Long Jump, Triple Jump and 200.
“Ava Lawless had a very special evening in scoring 38 points herself and setting school records in four events,” Girls Head Coach Geoff Hutton said. “In my nearly 40 years of experience, I have never witnessed this type of performance from an individual athlete.”
This was the seventh straight conference championship for the boys. They scored 174 points to get the team gold. The boys’ Junior Varsity team also earned its first conference title with 159 points.
“We are extremely proud of our boys and girls squads for what they accomplished last night. School records were broken and all four teams won!” Boys Head Coach Scott Crall said. “For our JV teams, this is their State Championship and they performed at a very high level. The future will continue to be bright in Kearney with these amazing young athletes!”
Coach Crall also extended his gratitude to the entire Track and Field coaching staff for their hard work this season: Chris Daniels, Rachel Daniels, Brad Colhour, Tom O’Brien, Jake Danneman, Therese Rankin, Richard Haas, Kenny Brown, Mel White, Marcus Brinkley
“We are blessed to have the best track staff in the state of Missouri! These folks work tirelessly to train our athletes to compete at a very high level,” Crall said. “Over the years, these coaches have built each one of their events to be among the best in the state. This track program would not be where it is without these hard-working coaches!”
Boys 1st Team JV All-Conference
Nathan Watson – Pole Vault
Hudson Best – Javelin
Jackson Elea – 1600m Run
Aiden Smith-Coldren – Discus
Tyler Jarrett – Shot Put
Boys 2nd Team JV All-Conference
Isaac Smith – 800m
Sal DiBenedetto, Khalan Weeks, Jaxon Juvet, Degan Knowles – 4x100m Relay
Trent Fritz, Connor Reid, Reid Kelley, Rylee Johnson – 4x400m Relay
Holden Phipps – Long Jump
Boys Honorable Mention JV All-Conference
Degan Knowles – 200m
Jaxon Juvet – 200m
Rylee Johnson – 400m
Erik Wilson – 800m
Isaac Smith – 1600m
Taylor James – 3200m
Seth Ballard – 3200m
Degan Knowles, Rylee Johnson, Sal DiBenedetto, Cole Burnam- 4x200m Relay
Noah Whitehead, Isaac Smith, Erik Wilson, Johnny Karr – 4x800m Relay
Dax Matthews – Pole Vault
Drew Nelson – Pole Vault
Jackson Cook – Discus
Clayton Cowen – Javelin
Tucker Shinneman – Javelin
Carter Schmidt – Shot Put
Austin Pence – Shot Put
Boys 1st Team Varsity All Conference
Kyler Chappell – 400m
Kyler Chappell – 800m
Jacob Burkemper, Milo Griffith, Kyler Chappell, Jacob Zingerman-4x800m Relay
Zachery Grace – Shot Put (New School Record)
Zachery Grace – Discus
Aiden Smith – Javelin
Boys 2nd Team Varsity All Conference
Joe Marshall – 400m
Zachary Proctor – 400m
Theo Grace – Javelin
Boys Honorable Mention Varsity All Conference
Grant Noland – 100m
Grant Noland – 200m
Joe Marshall – 400m
Brock Colhour – 400m
Jacob Zingerman – 800m
Whitaker Steward – 1600m
Bradley Barton – 1600m
Bradley Barton – 3200m
Whitaker Steward -3200m
Cameron Daniel – 3200m
Jacob Grisham – 110m Hurdles
Zeb Appleman – 110m Hurdles
Grant Noland – 300m Hurdles
Jacob Grisham – 300m Hurdles
Cameron Emmons, Aiden Smith, Tre Smith, Zavier Weeks – 4x100m Relay
Joe Marshall, Kyler Chappell, Jacob Zingerman, Grant Noland – 4x200m Relay
Joe Marshall, Brock Colhour, Jacob Zingerman, Adien Smith – 4x400m Relay
Landon Goepferich – Pole Vault
Parker Graham – Pole Vault
Logan Timchak – Pole Vault
Ty Smith – Discus
Cameron Emmons – Javelin
KPGZ Sports - Ray Weikal of the Kearney School District Contributed to this story