Benton, Lafayette, Central qualify competitors for sectional track

May 16—All three St. Joseph schools earned qualifiers to sectional track and field meets following districts Saturday.

In Class 3 District 8, Benton's Devon Hoffman raced into sectionals in a tight 200 race, finishing third. Benton also earned third in the 4x100.

In the distance races, Maryville found a dominant step. Connor Blackford and Garrett Dumke each placed in the top two in the 1600 and 3200, Blackford winning the 1600 and Dumke taking the 3200. Cale Sterling also finished fourth in the 800.

Maryville also won the 4x800 by more than six seconds.

Chillicothe's Hayden Simmer qualified in the two distance races.

In the 100 hurdles, Chillicothe's Braxten Johnson and Cameron's James Jefferson moved on to sectionals. Maryville's Jesus Flores-Hernandez followed with a third in the 300 hurdles, and he also qualified with a second in the high jump.

In the field events, Chillicothe's Tristan Forck topped the high jump, and Benton's Caleb Addington topped the field with a long jump of 20-4. He finished third in the triple jump and will be joined by silver medalist Keaton Stone of Maryville.

Chillicothe's Gavin Funk won the pole vault by nearly a foot at 11-11.75, which teammate Rudy Yutzy placing thrid.

Maryville's Beau Gillespie won the discus, while second-place Damarcus Kelow of Chillicothe won the shot put.

In girls Class 3, Cameron's Avery McVicker won the 100, took second in the 200, won the long jump and took first in the triple jump. Maryville's Brooklynn Holtman took first in the 300 and high jump, third in the 100 and fourth in the 200.

Cameron earned another win from Natalie Garr in the 800, and Bailey Robinson finished second in the 1600, won by Chillicothe's Jolie Bonderer.

Benton's Tatum Levendahl outlasted Maryville's duo of Ilse Flores-Hernandez and Ella Schulte to win the 100 hurdles, though all three advanced. Hernandez finished fourth in the 300 and pole vault.

Benton's 4x1 took third, while Cameron, Trenton and Chillicothe advanced in the 4x400.

Ashlyn Alexander gave Maryville a sweep in the discus, and Chillicothe's Hope Helton won the javelin.

In Class 4 District 8, Lafayette's Carlos Cortez ran a 11.59 to win the 100 by three-hundredths of a second. Lafayette's 4x100 also advanced with a fourth in the 4x100.

Savannah's Ben Schneider, a Navy signee, won the high jump with a leap of 6-6.

On the firls side, Savannah's Danica Rodriguez finished second in high jump and Lafayette's Stevie Beasley came in fourth in the long jump and javelin.

In Class 5 District 8, Central earned five sectional qualifiers.

Damion Mujica won the 3200 with a run of 9:42.49, and the Indians also placed fourth in the 4x800.

Central's second gold came from Caleb Zweerink in the javelin. Zach Parmer finished fourth in the long jump.

Makenzie Garr took home third place in the discus.

Class 3 and 4 Sectional 4 will take place Saturday at Odessa, while Class 5 Sectional 4 will be at Liberty North.