Blog

By Jim Wieners

On May 25 the Hazelwood Central Boys Track & Field team gains their fourth straight title, the first by any school to win four straight in Class Four and it is also their fifth state title including 1987. As a result Hazelwood Central head coach Rich Copenhaver is the most successful coach in school history in terms of state titles. Meanwhile the Hazelwood School District has five straight state titles in Boys Track & Field with Hazelwood East winning in 2009.

Of the five state titles won by Hazelwood Central this year the Hawks had the most points of any championship team. At Dwight T. Reed Stadium, Lincoln University, Jefferson City, May 25, Hazelwood Central scored 62 points and was 22 better than runner up Blue Springs’ 40. Truman and CBC shared third place (35), Rockwood Marquette was fifth (34), McCluer North took sixth (33), Ritenour finished 16th (13.5), McCluer and Hazelwood East shared 17th with Kirkwood and Eureka (13) and Hazelwood West (eight) shared 29th with Ruskin, Park Hill and Parkway Central.

Hazelwood Central had qualified for sectionals and state in nine events and took home medals in all nine of them. The most successful event in state for the Hawks was the 400-Meter Dash as Marcus Davis won with a 48.88-second sprint, Brandon Chunn was third (49.27 seconds-0.39 behind Davis) and Matt Quarrells was fourth (49.36 seconds-.048 behind Davis). According to a published May 26 report that event pulled Hazelwood Central from an 11-point deficit behind Blue Springs to a 10-point lead.

Davis, Chunn, Quarrells and Kendall Preston teamed up to win the 4×200 Relay as the Hawks took the event in 1:27.28. Davis Chunn, Quarrells and Chris Wright helped the 4×400 Relay team to a second-place finish (3:16.94-0.82 second behind CBC). In the 200-Meter Dash Quarrells was third (22.1 seconds) and Preston was eighth (23.32 seconds), Wright was third in the 300-Meter Hurdles (39.18 seconds), the 4×100 Relay team took sixth (43.26 seconds), Jimmy Adams was sixth in the Triple Jump (44’9.75”), Preston finished seventh at 100 Meters (11.28 seconds) and Davis was seventh at 800 Meters (1:59379)

McCLUER NORTH missed out on a state trophy by two points and what hurt the Stars was a disqualification by Aaron Mallet in the 110-Meter Hurdle preliminary heat for hurdle encroachment, reportedly knocking a hurdle into another runner’s lane. That erased a 13.81-second effort that would have tied a 1990 state record set by Damon Love, Hazelwood East. Mallet rebounded by winning the 300-Meter Hurdles in 36.98 seconds and taking fourth in the 200-Meter Dash (22.19 seconds)

Nicholas Stewart, a State Cross Country qualifier last November, took home three individual medals as he finished second at 800 Meters (1:55.05-nine/tenths of a second behind Noah Kauppila, Rockwood-Marquette), sixth at 3,200 Meters (9:17.5) and eighth at 1,600 Meters4:16.82). The Stars finished third in the 4×400 Relay (3:18.5).

HAZELWOOD EAST had a pair of third-place finishers including the 4×200-Meter Relay (1:28.7) and in the 100-Meter Dash by Timothy Harris (11.12 seconds) while Kyle Washington was eighth in Discus (154’). East, however, was disqualified in the 4×100 relay final because of a relay infraction.

McCLUER took three medals in field events including the shot put as Diontay Hatch finished third (55’1.5”) while Lynzel Owens was fifth (53’10.75”). Meanwhile Malik Ray finished in a four-way tie for fifth in the high jump (6’2”). HAZELWOOD WEST triple jumper Anthony Ball finished second (46’4.75”) behind Chris Martin, Cape Girardeau Central.

IN CLASS THREE TRINITY CATHOLIC had two fourth-place finishes from Joe Anger, at 800 Meters (1.56.15) and 1,600 Meters (4:25.64). NORTH TECH triple jumper Cortez Burnett finished eighth (42’6.75”).