Accepting the Class 4 team championship trophy Friday in Jefferson City are: (COACHES) Shanda Stepp, Logan Walker, Aaron Davied, Jeremy Butler, Me, Corey Roy, Joseph Decker, Josh Baker, Caleb Hoover.

(FIRST STEP) Daunte Smiles, Josh White, Blake Vaughan, Roman Borboa, Owen Weller, Caleb Cook, Jordan Thornburg, Isaiah Brisco, Robbie Hollis, Billy Wolfe, Grayson Smith.

(TOP) Sam Winesburg, Asa Morgan, Luke Brumit, Mekhi Garrard, Zetthew Meister, Pryce Mason and Joseph Dawson.  (JOHN RODERIQUE PHOTO)

Boys are state track champions

They ‘plaqued’ all right, bringing home the ‘big one’

Webb City boys won the MSHSAA Class 4 Track and Field Championship trophy Friday.

Coach Dustin Miller says it took a “total team effort” to score 64 points. Kearney was second with 57 points.

Senior Mekhi Garrard earned the most points (18) individually. Ten were from his first place in long jump, and eight were from his second place in the triple jump.

The Cardinals got 13 points from the pole vault event. Miller says sophomore Grayson Smith had the day of his life to take second place (eight points), and Pryce Mason came in fourth.

Senior Luke Brumit had his season-best jump to take third in high jump and placed sixth in javelin.

Miller says Zetthew Meister stepped up at the right time to set a school record (165 feet 11 inches) in the discus and take fourth place.

Asa Morgan was third in the 100 hurdles and eighth in the 300 hurdles. 

Miller credits Morgan and two distance runners, Joseph Dawson and Owen Weller, for battling injuries during the season.

Dawson and Weller were on the fourth-place 4×800 relay team with Samuel Winesburg and Roman Borboa.

Borboa, a junior, placed eighth in the 1600 run.

The 4×400 relay team of Bill Wolfe, Mekhi Garrard, Asa Morgan and Pryce Mason took third place.

 This is the first time in decades that a Webb City boys team has placed in the top four, let alone come out on top. According to Miller’s research, Webb City’s best previous years as a team were from 1936 to 1938.

Miller says he thinks “we had a shot” at winning the state championship last year, but the state meet was canceled because of the pandemic.

He says four recent teams have had chances to plaque (top four teams receive plaques) but fell short by narrow margins.

So it’s “pretty cool to finally get a big win,” he says.

“We had a really great group of kids this year,” he says. “They competed well and had a big day.”

EMILY BERES WINS FIRST IN SHOT PUT

Seniors Emily Beres and Haidyn Berry accounted for all of the girls 16 points at state.

Beres placed first in shot put and sixth in discus. Berry threw for sixth in javelin.

Girls historic soccer season ends at quarterfinals

Webb City’s most successful girls soccer team had to end their season with a 22-4 record Saturday as Union won the quarterfinal match here 6-1.

Union lost its semifinal match 1-0 today against Ft. Zumwalt, which will play Grain Valley for the championship.

Lucas Davis has the quarterfinal story here at SOMO Sports.