The eight member schools of the Midland Empire Conference converged on Chillicothe High School on Thursday afternoon, for the Midland Empire Conference (MEC) track and field championships. The host Chillicothe Hornets won both ends of the team competition, with the Lady Hornets racking up 191 1/2 points to nip runner-up Smithville’s total of 184. The Chillicothe boys won with 194 1/2 points, well ahead of runner-up Maryville’s 147 1/2.
Individual champions, for the girls events, were Smithville’s Shae Harwood in discus and Maryville’s Lauren Becker in the shot put; Chillicothe’s Molly Jones in the pole vault; Benton’s Daejah Bernard in the high jump and triple jump; Smithville’s Trace Mosby in the long jump and 100 meter dash; and Chillcothe’s Jalynn Reeter in the javelin.
LeBlond’s Laura Robertson won the 200 meter dash, with Smithville’s Hannah Harness taking the 800, and Chillicothe’s Whitney Clampitt the 800. Chillicothe’s Ayat Youssef won both the 1,600 and 3,200 meter races. Jaime Albertson of the host Lady Hornets dominated the hurdles, winning the 100 and 300 meter competitions.
In girls relays, Smithville won the 4 by 100 and Maryville the 4 by 200. Chillicothe (Albertson, Chapman, Reeter, Clampitt) won the 4 by 400 and the Lady Hornets (Chapman, Beebe, Youssef, Stull) took the 4 by 800 title.
Final girls team standings from the MEC championships were:
Chillicothe – 191.5
Smithville – 184
Maryville – 107
Savannah and Cameron – 53
Bishop LeBlond – 42
Benton – 41.5
Lafayette – 32
In boys results, Maryville’s Elijah Gren won the discus throw with Cameron’s Levi Marlay taking the shot put title. Kyle Ross of Chillicothe took the pole vault, while Jesse Miller of Chillicothe had a strong day, with wins in the triple jump and high jump, while finishing second in the long jump. Tyler Garcia of Chillicothe was second in the javelin toss.
Cooper Burton of Benton won the 100 meter dash, with Chillicothe’s Mason Hayward claiming the 200 title. Joshua Sanders of Maryville picked up two titles, winning the 400 and 800 runs, with Jack Hausman of LeBlond winning the 1,600, and Layne Worman of Chillicothe the 3,200 (Worman was second in the 1,600 race). Benton’s Isaiah Johnson claimed the 110 hurdles title, with Brett Shaffer of Chillicothe claiming the title in the 300 hurdles race.
Benton won the 4 by 100 relay, with Maryville taking the 4 by 200 and 4 by 400 titles. Chillicothe’s team of Zach Holland, Layne Worman, William Perry, and Robbie Parkey, with a time of 8:40.98, won the 4 by 800 relay.
Boys team results were:
Chillicothe – 194.5
Maryville – 147.5
Benton – 99
Lafayette – 80.5
Smithville – 77.5
Bishop LeBlond – 59
Cameron – 53
Savannah -22
