Centralia earned not one but two trophies last Saturday.

Centralia, North Callaway, MMA District Track Photo Gallery

The boys and girls track and field teams each won the Class 3 District 4 meet in Centralia for the first district championship sweep since 2021. The Lady Panthers won their fifth straight district title with 124 points to finish ahead of Moberly’s 97 points, and the Panthers won their first championship since 2021, which was the last of four straight district titles by the boys (2020 is excluded because of COVID-19 cancellations that season). 

Head coach Ben Sontheimer said it was definitely an all-around effort by the boys and girls. For finishing in the top four of their respective events, the boys will have representation in 12 events for this Saturday’s Class 3 Sectional 2 meet at Montgomery County while the girls will be in 11 events. Centralia won 10 events that were part of 31 sectional qualifiers.

“I’m super proud of the kids and coaches,” Sontheimer said. “Everybody contributed to that. We’ve come a long way in our program and am super pleased with the results.”

For the boys, Ethan Ross won the 100, 200 and 400 with respective times of 10.95, a school-record 22.18 and 51.06 and also qualified in the long jump in third place. Nolan Spickert won the 1600 and 3200 with respective times of 4:36.05 and 10:02.20 and was on the winning 4x800 relay team with Dryst Bostick, Carter Moss and Wesley Robertson. Tilmon Sontheimer won the discus with a throw of 44.65 meters.

Cora King won the girls shot put and discus with respective throws of 10.72 meters and 35.23 meters, and the girls 4x800 relay team of Katelynn Asbury, Elizabeth Romine, Becca Erisman and Kenedee Moss won with a time of 10:07.21.

Sontheimer said he is especially glad his senior boys won a district title because they didn’t have one yet. Bostick (third in the 800 and fourth in the javelin), Moss (second in the 3200), Jacob Beard (fourth in the pole vault), Josh Russell (second in the discus), Jesse Caballero (third in the 4x200 relay) and Logan Rosenfelder (third in the 4x200 relay) each qualified for sectional events while Jameson Cooper contributed points to the effort by finishing seventh in the shot put after a productive season in all three throwing events.

“Josh Russell has been doing a great job in the discus,” Sontheimer said. “Dryst Bostick and Carter Moss are a couple seniors that are a big part of that 4x800 relay. Jesse Caballero has been an important part of all of our relays and sprints the last four years. Logan Rosenfelder is a long and triple jumper and works in the sprints and is a great leader for our kids.”

Sontheimer added Beard’s fourth-place pole vault finish of fourth was among the “top end of the kids in the state.” Beard finished behind three reigning state medalists, including the top two pole vaulters last year in Macon’s Caelan Harland and Blair Oaks’ Tomas Gonzalez, and just finished ahead of reigning medalist Drew Riegel, of Fatima. 

The Panthers’ non-senior sectional qualifiers included Lane Chancellor (fourth in the 800), Robertson (second in the 1600 and third in the 3200), and Peyson Bryson and Cody Prater (third in the 4x200 relay). Spickert and Sontheimer stand out as returners for next year, but the sophomore Ross stands out most of all. Ross, who was the Clarence Cannon Conference athlete of the year, scored 36 points with his qualifying events to continue a comeback this season.

“It’s great he’s healthy this year,” Sontheimer said. “He was injured last year at the end of the season. We lost him in the middle of April last year. At that point, you’re just scrambling to try to get him back. He just never could go.”

The Lady Panthers have been making a district championship routine over the last five years, but Sontheimer said it isn’t easy to repeat. That is especially the case this year as he wasn’t sure what the girls would accomplish this season.

“We graduated so much last year and graduated so much the last couple years,” Sontheimer said. “There’s a lot of question marks going into the season on just where we were going to end up. I knew we had some events that we were going to be pretty strong in, but we had some kids really step up.”

Other Centralia girls sectional qualifiers included Sadie Bohlmeyer (fourth in 100), Asbury (second in the 400), Moss (second in the 1600 and third in the 3200), Claire Brinkman (fourth in the high jump), Erisman (third in the long jump), Claire Page (third in the pole vault), Kassena Ridgel (second in the discus), Addison Reynolds (second in the javelin) and Emery Auck (fourth in the javelin), and the third-place 4x400 relay team of Erisman, Romine, Asbury and Avery Adams.

Sontheimer said Brinkman is the only Lady Panther senior this season and is a reigning state medalist in the high jump. However, he said she used to not be able to clear the opening heights in her sophomore year so she has improved dramatically after “sticking with it.”

Moss is a key athlete in the distance events, Sontheimer said, but is also a part of a 4x800 relay team that has impressed in recent weeks. He said those girls have shaved 20-30 seconds off their time in the last two weeks. Erisman is also a part of that relay and gave Centralia the lead on the third leg of the event on Saturday after being third during the first two legs.

“I’m glad she’s having results because she deserves them based on how she came into the season in shape and how she’s worked throughout the season,” Sontheimer said. 

Sontheimer said it’s impressive how the Lady Panthers had five throwers make it to sectionals, which is a good example of Centralia’s well-roundedness.

“You look and almost qualify in every single event. That’s a pretty good day,” Sontheimer said. 

Siegel, Rasmussen qualify for North Callaway girls

North Callaway qualified a couple girls in last Saturday’s district meet in Centralia for this Saturday’s sectional meet at Montgomery City. Jocelyn Siegel finished second in the triple jump with a mark of 10.37 meters, and Grace Rasmussen finished third in the 1600 with a time of 5:45.97. 

McBride qualifies, breaks record for Missouri Military Academy

Missouri Military Academy’s Alexander McBride advanced to sectionals at Montgomery County by finishing third in the 400 with a time of 52.16 in Saturday’s district meet in Centralia. He and the 4x800 relay team of Ryan Miles, Jesus Robinson and Christopher Song finished fourth with a time of 9:06.76 to advance to sectionals. McBride teamed with Ryan Miles, Luis Sass-Zaragoza and Grayson Hanson to finish seventh in the 4x400 relay but also set a school record with a time of 3:45.04.

Welch, Carter advance to sectionals for Community R-6

Community R-6 will have a pair of boys competing in sectionals this Saturday.

In the Class 1 District 2 meet last Saturday at New Haven, Drake Welch finished second in the javelin with a throw of 42.62 meters and Lane Carter was third in the 100 with a time of 11.93. They will go to the Class 1 Sectional 1 meet at Grandview High School in Hillsboro.

Hopke, Utterback going to sectionals for Van-Far

A couple of Van-Far boys made it out of districts last Saturday.

In the Class 2 District 3 meet in Glasgow, Garrett Hopke finished third in the 3200 with a time of 10:43.64 and Evan Utterback finished third in the javelin with a throw of 44.22 meters. They will compete at the Class 2 Sectional 2 meet at South Callaway in Mokane this Saturday.

Chapman double district champion for Paris, 12 going to sectionals

Landen Chapman will be in every sectional event for the Coyotes this Saturday.

At the Class 2 District 3 meet in Glasgow last Saturday, Chapman won the boys 800 and 1600 with times of 1:58.58 and 4:34.89 and also finished second in the 3200 and the 4x800 relay to be in the top four needed for qualification to the Class 2 Sectional 2 meet at South Callaway in Mokane this Saturday. The Lady Coyotes qualified in eight events to bring the total to 12 in the first season Paris was bumped up to Class 2.

Chapman’s 4x800 relay teammates will be Owen Buie, Hayden DeOrnellas and Logan Mitchell.

For the Lady Coyotes, who finished fifth out of 14 schools with 60 points, Mia Kendrick finished second in the 200, third in the 100 and third in the long jump. Ava Crain finished second in the pole vault and fourth in the 400, and Sophia Crusha was fourth in the 800. Crain and Crusha were part of the second-place 4x100 relay team with Gretchen Crusha and Evelyn Rudderforth and were also on the second-place 4x200 relay team with Kendrick and Gretchen Crusha.