INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Taiya Shelby may be one of the most under recruited standout track and field athletes in recent years.
The Park Hill senior dominates and the Class 5 Sectional 4 meet on Saturday, May 19 at William Chrisman High School was no exception.
Shelby won the 400- and 800-meter runs, while helping the 4x200 and 4x400 relay to championships as well.
All of which came in front of the eyes of a Nebraska coach. The Cornhuskers are making a late move to try to land the recent graduate, though Vanderbilt has also expressed interest.
“Oh my gosh, I did not want it to take this long but I mean if it’s for the best then I’m good with it,” Shelby said of the recruiting process still on going. “It’s stressful but worth it. I’m hoping by the end of this month.”
CODY THORN/Citizen photo
Park Hill’s Taiya Shelby, in lane 4, wins the 400-meter run during the Class 5 Sectional 4 meet on Saturday, May 19, at William Chrisman High School in Independence, Mo. Shelby will be competing at the state finals in four events this upcoming weekend.
Shelby got a challenge from Liberty’s Kaitlyn Lewis in the 400 dash, but Shelby won 55.33 to 55.84, which was a new personal best for her.
Later in the day, with the temperature up quite a few ticks after a thunderstorm passed over, Shelby won a very competitive 800 in 2:16.80. She made a late pass of St. Teresa’s Addison Coppinger and Park Hill South’s Emma Roth.
“Coming in I knew I had the double, so I was a little nervous about that,” Shelby said. “We did it last week but the 800 was at a slower pace so it was OK. But coming into this I saw the times for the 800 were more competitive so it was the decision to make it through, but I had to push through and finish it.
“Even my coach was like, you could’ve just got fourth and got in and I’m like, I can’t. Once I get to there, it was so hard coming from the 400. My legs were like literally dead but I mean, I pushed through. I wanted to get the win so that’s what I had to do.”
The only loss this year for Shelby in the 800 came at the KU Relays and there, she lost her shoe in the race.
“She’s the type of girl honestly if it wasn’t so close together she probably could have won the 200, 400 and 800 that just kind of what she is, but we figured she had more of a range in the 800,” Park Hill coach Rob Self said of Shelby. “We talked her into it and she bought in. I mean she has a good shot of winning next week.”
In the 4x200, she joined Teresa Thomas, Kristen Birmingham and Caleia Johnson in running 1:42.13. In the final race of the day, the team of Manuel Ngo Tonye Nyemeck, Jena Hahlbeck, Johnson and Shelby ran 3:54.97 to easily cruise to a win by four second ahead of Blue Springs.
The defending state champions will enter the MSHSAA State Track and Field Championships this weekend in Jefferson City — May 25-26 at Jefferson City High School — undefeated during 2018.
Thomas added a sectional championship for the Trojans as well, winning the 100 dash in 12.53.
Other state qualifiers included a trio of freshmen: Johnson was fourth in the 200; Birmingham third in the high jump and Simone Smith was third in the triple jump.
Sophomore LaShunda Tapp advanced in the shot put with a fourth-place showing, while Jordan Birmingham, Kristen Birmingham, Johnson and Thomas took fourth in the 4x100.
Ngo Tonye Nyemeck was fifth in the 400 dash, coming up a spot shot of advancing to state.
The girls had the third most team points with 86, behind Liberty (88) and Blue Springs (110 ¾).
The Trojans will have two athletes going to state on the boys side.
Kolby Heinerikson will return to state in the javelin thanks to his runner-up finish with a heave of 166 feet and 6 inches. He took fifth in state last year in the event.
He will also run in the 110-hurdles thanks to a fourth-place finish, while Payton Stanfield will run in the 300 hurdles after talking third.
The 4x400 team of Stanfield, Evan Sambroski, Antonio McCullough and Michael Baker ran a season-best time in 3:29.94 but took sixth.
“It was a pretty good day,” Self said. “We talked earlier, about as good as you expected, a couple surprises. Yeah, I think everything that we thought was going to get through got through and a couple extra.”