Centralia track and field likes its future, but its present was pretty impressive this weekend at state.

State Track Day 1 Photo Gallery

State Track Day 2 Photo Gallery

In the Class 3 state meet on Friday and Saturday at Adkins Stadium in Jefferson City, Nolan Spickert set three school records while winning medals in the 1600, 3200 and 4x800 relay with Dryst Bostick, Carter Moss and Wesley Robertson. Ethan Ross medaled in the 100 and 400 while breaking his own school record in the 400, and Cora King and Kenedee Moss each medaled in two events for the girls while setting new personal-bests. 

Head coach Ben Sontheimer said he liked how competitive his younger team was this year, considering the Lady Panthers led at the end of the first day and the Panthers finished fifth behind Blair Oaks — missing a team trophy by 0.5 points — with 31.5 points.

“We have high expectations, and they still exceed them,” Sontheimer said. “It’s not just the way we competed but also the way they were encouraging their teammates and being there for each other. Kids showed up on days they didn't have events to encourage their teammates.”

The freshman Spickert had an eye-opening state debut when he broke the 1600 school record that had stood since 1982. He ran a time of 4:16.86 to finish fourth and be better than the 4:20.38 time by Dan Wieschhaus.

On the second day, Spickert anchored the 4x800 relay that set a school-record time of 8:06 and finished on the heels of John Burroughs’ winning time of 8:03.86. In the 3200, Spickert broke his own school record with a runner-up time of 9:23.42.

“That mile (1600) record had been up there for a while, and I know a lot of coaches were glad we finally had somebody break it,” Sontheimer said. “A lot of the success in cross country carries over to track, and (distance coach Jason) Watermann’s got a really great culture with the kids right now.”

Spickert said he thought the 1600 record was “far out of reach” and would be more of a “senior goal” but is glad he “ran the race of his life.” He was an all-state cross country runner in the fall for the state championship Panthers and then performed well last weekend in front of his family that he said traveled from hours away.

“It’s going better than I thought it would,” Spickert said. “I thought maybe I could make it (to state) let alone be on the podium. We’ve been putting in the work all winter with great coaching and lots of teammates to take you there.”

The 4x800 Panthers missed the podium at state last year but came close to John Burroughs, who defeated Centralia by a wider margin at sectionals. Bostick said “25 more meters” would have allowed Spickert to run down the championship but is glad how his career and the team’s year finished. He, Moss and Robertson made it into the school record books for the first time.

“We knew we just had to stay close to John Burroughs, and we’d be up there right near the top,” Bostick said.

Moss said Bostick gave the team a good spot in the beginning with his start by not being boxed in or cut off. He built off Bostick’s leg and then Robertson built off Moss’s leg. Robertson said he avoided starting out too fast this year and was more relaxed instead of being “a nervous wreck.”

Ross owns the boys 100, 200 and 400 school records and has broken each one multiple times this season. After finishing the 100 with a seventh-place time of 10.88, the sophomore set a new 400 school record with a fourth-place time of 49.97.

“This year, he made a full-time commitment to track, and you can see the difference,” Sontheimer said. “I think the ceiling is still really high with him.”

As a freshman, Ross’ track season halted near the end of a season with stress fractures in his left hip. Ross said resting most of the summer ensured he was back to normal for football in the fall.

“I worked pretty hard in the offseason lifting and just tried to stick to good food and get it done,” Ross said.

Jacob Beard not only had to vault over the bar to tie for sixth with a height of 4.13 meters in the boys pole vault but over other obstacles. First, Beard moved past districts in a field with five of the state’s top 10 and then past sectionals with six of the top 10. The senior survived sectionals despite hurting his hip and bruising his kidney and a couple of ribs after falling in the pit during warmups.

“My coach Luke Gramke, he’s made me the mental hardhead that I am,” Beard said. “He said ‘live in the moment and not in the past.’”

Josh Russell was another senior who earned his first state medal after missing the podium last year in the discus. Russell finished eighth with a throw of 46.57 meters, but his third throw of 45.09 meters had great importance. It was Russell’s last shot at qualifying for finals after scratching his first two attempts.

“It was the biggest sigh of relief ever,” Russell said. “I took a second to look around, and I saw all of the people supporting me from Centralia. I knew I had to get one in because not only would it let me down, but it would let everybody else down.”

Sontheimer said Beard and Russell each had to emerge out of tough fields as the eighth-place discus throw last year was 43.31 meters. He said Russell has greatly benefitted from working with throwing coach Donnie Harn, and the taller and thinner Russell agreed by describing himself as “not a strong human being.”

Harn’s commitment showed with the girls, too, with medals. King finished fourth in the girls discus with a personal-best throw of 38.45 meters and eighth with a personal-best throw of 10.81 meters in the shot put. Kassena Ridgel was third in the discus with a personal-best throw of 38.86 meters. 

Sontheimer complimented the coaching of Keith Davis, who coaches javelin thrower Addison Reynolds. While she missed a medal by one place, Reynolds finished ninth in the finals with a throw of 34.53 meters and showed she belonged with the best.

“Most nights, our throwers are the last kids to leave,” Sontheimer said. “(Harn) does a great job with them, and he’s a workhorse. On Friday, we’re here all day and he comes home and is out there practicing for 35-40 minutes with Cora and Josh for their events Saturday. I don’t know a lot of coaches who do that.”

King said using her “nerves and adrenaline to my advantage” helped her in the shot put and discus. She credits Harn for getting her to state and making her realize she has better form if she doesn't rush her throws. 

After many hours, Ridgel said Harn has helped her improve in the discus by staying positive. She said competing in the same event with King was a treat.

“I’m really happy I had Cora with me the whole way,” Ridgel said.

“We were just talking the whole time and goofing off,” King said.

Kenedee Moss finished third in the girls 1600 with a personal-best time of 5:25.37 one day after finishing with a fifth-place time of 10:03.90 in the 4x800 relay with Katie Asbury, Elizabeth Romine and Becca Erisman. Sontheimer said Moss “really kicked it” and showed heart in the final 150-200 meters of the 1600 and is glad to have her part of that fully returning relay next year.

“She brings it every day and pushes herself,” Sontheimer said. “It shows a lot of time where she is exhausted during practice. That’s how you have to get better.”

Moss said she initially didn’t think she would be good at the 1600 since it is two miles less than a cross country race. She said there is more adrenaline in track to the point where “you don’t even feel like you’re running.”

Before running the 4x800 relay on Friday in an event the Lady Panthers just missed qualifying for last year, Moss said she was excited. That excitement only increased before Moss’ anchor leg as Asbury, Romine and Erisman each moved the team up a place on the leaderboard

“I was crying before the meet because I was so excited,” Moss said. “We worked so hard this entire season.”

Asbury said Watermann helped her understand why and how she could have a faster start, Romine likes how the girls can hear him through the crowd to help maintain position and Erisman is motivated by her teammates to do well.

Claire Page finished fourth in the girls pole vault with a height of 3.25 meters in a performance Sontheimer thought “stole the show” on Friday. 

“I think she set a PR three or four times,” Sontheimer said. “She was in the zone like a pitcher throwing a no-hitter. You don’t talk to her and you don’t mess with her, but coach Gramke did a great job redirecting her and focusing on the little things she had to do to get better.”

Page’s first state medal was a fun experience for her, and she said she settled into the “nerve-racking” atmosphere. 

“Whatever my coach said, I try to really think about why he was saying those things,” Page said. 

Centralia brings back many kids, including all of the girls state qualifiers. Sontheimer hopes being competitive this year “lights a fire” for the boys and girls.

“It would be great to come here next year and plaque for both boys and girls teams,” Sontheimer said.