Being the host for the Class 2 Sectional 4 Track and Field Meet was beneficial for West Platte as the Blue Jays qualified for state in 13 total events on May 14.
Charlie Kinslow, Hailey Peters and Sam Baker will have a busy weekend at state track with all three Blue Jays competing in four events apiece. West Platte will have a surplus of relay teams advancing, with the boys’ 4x200-meter relay team being the only relay the Blue Jays didn’t have finish in the top-4 at the sectional meet.
The Blue Jays’ 4x100-meter relay team – consisting of McClain Zendeja, Dominic Williams, Augie Hill and Chad Fowles – rebroke the program record with a first-place finish in 43.68 seconds. Guli Forti and Kinslow were on the second place 4x400-meter relay and the first place 4x800-meter relay teams that crossed the finish line in 3:33.42 and 8:26.40, respectively.
The 4x400-meter relay team had Dominic Williams and Augie Hill, while the 4x800-meter relay team – that broke its previous PR by 18 seconds – was filled out with Jonah McGivern and Tristan Newkirk. Cameron Williams, Dalton Hill, Peyson Chandler and Sam Davies will be the relay alternates traveling to state.
West Platte’s McClain Zendejas, above right, hands the baton to Dominic Williams, above left, in the 4x200-meter relay that finished in first place in the Class 2 Sectional 4 Track Meet at West Platte High School on May 14.
Kinslow was the sectional champion in the 800 and 1,600-meter runs with times of 2:00.90 and 4:34.03, respectively. The junior Blue Jay will look to bring some hardware back to West Platte as he will be competing in the most events for the boys.
Fowles was the only other Blue Jay to advance in an individual event when the senior finished in third place in the 100-meter dash in 11.22 seconds. Cameron Williams barely missed out on qualifying for state in the 300-meter hurdles when the senior ended in sixth place in 43.20 seconds.
The dynamic freshman Lady Blue Jay duo of Baker and Peters will make their state debuts in individual events, along with the 4x200, 4x400 and 4x800-meter relay teams. Baker was in a tight finish in the 400-meter dash, with the top-4 placers ending within one second of each other, when she earned fourth place in 59.68 seconds.
Peters claimed third place in the 100 and 300-meter hurdles when she completed the races in 16.64 seconds and 48.02 seconds, respectively. Laura Hill collected a bronze medal in the pole vault when she cleared the 9-02.25-foot bar to punch a ticket to state.
West Platte claimed second place in the 4x400-meter team when Avery Holmes, Katie Groom, Peters and Baker crossed the finish line in 4:17.05. Libby Vandel, Groom, Peters and Baker earned a bronze medal in the 4x200-meter relay with a time of 1:47.51.
Groom has now clinched a spot on each of the four state relay teams at least once in her three-year track career. West Platte had the last 4x800-meter relay that qualified for state when Julia Pattison, Madison McMillan, Holmes and Baker led the Lady Blue Jays to a fourth-place finish in 10:17.28.
The West Platte girls will compete in seven events and the boys will compete in six events at state. The Class 2 State Meet will be at Jefferson City High School on May 20 and 21.