Centralia’s all-state track and field athletes involved plenty of comebacks.

State Track Day 1 Photo Gallery

State Track Day 2 Photo Gallery

Comebacks in the sense of several familiar faces returning and some even in the sense of coming off adversity. In total, Centralia made the podium 11 times, with nine of those happening on the second and final day of the MSHSAA Track and Field Championships on Saturday at Adkins Stadium in Jefferson City.

Shelby Lewis was one of several Centralia seniors to medal on Day 2 and one of a few who have medaled multiple times in four years. For Lewis, the four she earned on Saturday gave her 13 in her career. 

“It was a great career,” Centralia head coach Ben Sontheimer said. “She holds the (school) record for our 400, and she’s been on the 4x200 team and they broke the school record again this weekend. She’s a really strong runner with great determination and a great work ethic.”

Lewis finished fifth in the Class 3 girls 400-meter relay with a time of 59.30 for her fourth straight medal in the event; she along with senior Kaelyn Walters, Becca Erisman and Ryenn Gordon set a school-record time of 1:46.35 finished seventh in the 4x200-meter relay for her fourth straight medal in the event; she and her teammates of senior Olivia Adams, Erisman and Gordon finished sixth in the 4x400 relay with a time of 4:11.00 for her third straight medal in the event; and her eighth-place 200 time of 26.35 was good enough to medal in the event for the second straight year.

Lewis said she is glad she’s been able to accomplish so much at Centralia and is proud to do it in front of her family, which was near the top of the bleachers in the stadium cheering her on.

“I’ve been really proud of myself because it takes a lot of work,” Lewis said. “People think that it just comes natural, but it really doesn’t. I really have to work hard at it, and I have my family and they all push me. Having a really good support system has really been more exciting.”

Lewis said had so much belief in the training the coaches did with her, including 300-meter runs to train her for the 400.

“It sounds like it wouldn’t be enough, but it really helps because you can go full out for 300 and still have a lot of endurance built up,” Lewis said. “It is knowing how to start and attack the corners and having the confidence, ‘I know I can do it’ because it’s just a matter of doing it.”

Sontheimer said she and her fellow seniors Walters and Adams have meant a lot to the Centralia girls’ success in relays in recent years. Walters was on three of the all-state 4x200 relay teams with Lewis, and Adams was on all three all-state 4x400 teams with Lewis.

The girls 4x400 relays were the final events on the state meet schedule so it was one final performance for the seniors Lewis and Adams. It is sad to see them go, Sontheimer said, but it makes it easy to realize how great their and Walters’ careers have been. 

“They’ve been the backbone of those relays and the backbone of our track team, as far as sprinters go the last four years,” Sontheimer said. “I’ve been really blessed to be able to coach those girls and have them on the team. They’re also really good teammates. That’s just as important as their athletic ability. They’re great kids.”

Lewis said there has always been trust in the relay teams. For instance, the new additions to the 4x200 team this season Erisman and Gordon are trusted as much by Lewis and Walters as last year’s legs of Autumn Hawkins and Harper Sontheimer.

“I definitely think it’s the dynamic,” Walters said. “We’re really close as a team and so that helps the best just to trust the handoffs.”

Centralia had three different kids medal in the hurdle events, which Sontheimer said is a credit to the coaching of Khaldoon Saleh. Because of that guidance, two seniors were able to close their careers on a high note with their first career state medals.

Beau Hatton made his first trip to state this year and was back after missing track and field due to a knee injury in the previous summer. Hatton had the best qualifying time in Friday’s Class 3 boys 110-meter hurdle preliminaries before finishing fifth with a time of 14.93 and sixth in the high jump with a height of 1.9 meters. After landing wrong after a jump while playing basketball, Hatton said his knee is “stronger than before.”

“I really enjoy hurdles and high jump,” Hatton said. “It’s something I really like to do. Everything else is just running. I think it’s fun.”

Dunn said he missed the finals the previous two years in the hurdling events after tripping and almost falling two years ago and then falling last year after being ranked second in the 300-meter hurdles. He finished third after being ranked fifth in the same event this year with a personal-best time of 39.40, which is the second ever time Dunn has been under 40 seconds.

“I focused on myself more,” Dunn said. “Last year, I was more focused on, ‘This guy ran this time and I’ve ran this time so I’m better, but this guy has also run this time.’ I only looked at the state rankings once this year. I’m going to do what I can only do. I have to run my race, and I’m not running anybody else’s race.”

Gordon had three state medals in her freshman year, breaking the school record in the girls 100-meter hurdles on Friday with a preliminary time of 15.25. She finished fourth with a time of 15.36. 

Saleh was credited by Gordon for teaching good technique for the hurdles and emphasized her starts. Gordon said she has been good at reaching the first hurdle fast. 

“You’ve just got to act like you’re running and don’t look at the hurdle,” Gordon said. “It helps me to just don’t look at the hurdle.”

Sontheimer said Gordon is someone who has a bright future for Centralia along with junior Claire Brinkman and sophomore Cora King. Brinkman finished in a four-way tie for seventh in the girls high jump with a height of 1.5 meters to earn her first career state medal, and King finished eighth in the girls shot put with a throw of 10.68 meters for her first all-state honors. 

“(Cora’s) had a great season and has improved a lot this year and as a sophomore, we’re looking forward to what she can do next year as well,” Sontheimer said. “(Claire) is a kid who’s been determined to be a good high jumper the last three years. This time last year, she never envisioned where she’d be at right now.”

Before this season, Brinkman said she hadn’t made it out of districts but saw her state chances going up after a personal-best height at the Clarence Cannon Conference, setting a new PR at districts of 1.55 meters to earn her a district title. Brinkman enjoyed sharing a moment on the podium with her friend from Palmyra, Ruby Comstock, who was one of the other three that tied for seventh. 

“It made feel really good because I knew clearing my first two heights was really important,” Brinkman said. “That’s why we all tied because a clean card is really what helps you at meets.”

Sontheimer said Rohan Holiman is another senior that can’t be forgotten after being the “heart and soul” of the boys 4x800-meter relay team the past three years and medaling the 800-meter run the past two years. Holiman finished sixth this year with a time of 1:57.84, following his school-record time of 1:56.83 at sectionals.

Holiman said he not only was physically stronger this year but mentally stronger, being more certain of his ability to perform at the right time. He was not afraid and was “centered and composed,” especially when he was trapped in a pack for most of the race.

“The toughest thing about this is I felt like I had more to give in that race, but there was just nowhere to go,” Holiman said. “You couldn’t gain on anybody unless you wanted to hang out in lane 8, which I wasn’t doing that. I knew I could’ve done better because I was catching kids on the home stretch. I’m still happy about it.”