We entered the championships this year with small numbers and big hopes. The hopes were fulfilled as we hit PRs, season bests, and just flat-out competed. It started in the pole vault. Cecilia Mora had been improving all season, but beating Daisy Nelson (District MVP) in head-to-head competition for the gold set the tone for the day. Dakotah Stafford and Daniel Green followed that up with personal PRs and 1st and 2nd place in the men's pole vault. The kids came in focused.
Next up were the throws. Wow! Serenity Mora and Josie Oliver put in hundreds and hundreds of throws over the past few weeks. Technique getting better and better. It all came together with a Gold medal for Josie and 6th for Serenity. 13 big points. ChaKong had been in a season-long battle with Cadien Ore of Mansfield. Ore had won multiple meets this season with ChaKong medaling. ChaKong is so committed to weightroom and technique in the circle on a daily basis. It all came together at the right time with a championship throw in round 2. Gold for ChaKong, 6th for Bryson Smith, 10th for Troy Carey, 11th for Keaton Corbitt. Troy led the way in shot put as he, Bryson, Chakong, and Keaton finished 4th, 6th, 11th, and 12th. Zoey Thurman 6th with a PR, Josie 8th, Serenity 9th, and Ivy Staton 15th for 4 more crucial points in the team standings.
In the jumps we brought home 2 medals. Cecilia Mora was in an incredible battle with McCaslyn of Mountainburg. The two just kept going higher and higher as other jumpers failed to meet the standard. Cecilia PRed, then PRed again, then PRed again for the win! Josie Oliver 9th tying her season-best. Alan Downs placed 6th on the boys side. Then in triple jump, Cecilia and Ainslee Chappell both hit big for silver and 4th place for 12 points. Finally, in the long jump, Ainslee hit for 5th place, Cecilia 9th, Zoey 11th, and Becca Cox 13th
Daniel 8th, Keith 11th, Alan15th, and Brock 18th.
With the field events concluded, both squads were in 2nd place. Some misfortune hit the boys team as Keith and Keej were unable to compete. The loss of depth proved costly.
The running events start with the 4x800m relays. Phoebe, Serenity, Everlee, and Dessi led for much of the race but held on for a bronze medal and 6 more points. Daniel, Isaiah Ward, Austin Scott, and Hunner Inkelbarger also ran to a bronze. Cecilia took bronze with a nice 18.92 in the hurdles and Dakotah took 8th. ChaKong 4th in the 100m dash. Ainslee 7th, Zoey 13th, Becca 15th, Dessi 17th. In the 4x200m relay, Ainslee, Leah, Zoey, and Becca took bronze while ChaKong, Daniel, Dakotah, and Isaiah also finished 3rd.
The 1600m run was a featured race as Magazine had 2 great All-Conference runners pitted against one All-State runner and multiple All-Conference athletes. It lived up to the billing as Phoebe ran an incredible race to hold on for Gold over Olivia Prothro of Mtburg, Rylan Jones of Mansfield, and Valin Spangler of Western Yell County and Serenity brought home the 5th place!!
In the short sprint relay, the girls took 4th with Ainslee, Josie, Becca, and Ivy. The boys, in a repeat of the previous relay, finished bronze with ChaKong, Dakotah, Keaton, and Brock. Isaiah and Hunner finished 8th and 11th in the 400m. Cecilia ran a nearly 3-second PR 55 in the 300m hurdles for silver and Dakotah finished 7th. The 800m was a huge event for the Rattlers as Mountainburg had made a big push to close the gap to 8 points. Phoebe, Serenity, and Everlee scored 12 points to keep the Dragons at bay. Daniel took the bronze. Dessi, Becca, and Ivy finished 10th, 11th, and 14th in the 200m dash. Finally, in the 4x400m relay, our all-star crew with Phoebe, Serenity, Everlee, and Zoey took 4th to seal up the runner-up trophy.