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
Next is Districts on Saturday, May 13 at Staley High School.