Kearney Track and Field Wins Conference

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

KPGZ Sports - Ray Weikal of the Kearney School District Contributed to this story