SLIDESHOW: Jaguar clears final hurdle

If Blue Springs South’s Keyen Porter had penned a version of his senior track season, the Jaguars’ hurdler admits it couldn’t have topped what he actually accomplished.
“I dreamed of a state championship, and today, it happened,” Porter said Saturday after blitzing the competition in the 110-meter hurdles (14.14) to lay claim to the area’s lone title at the 82nd annual Missouri State High School Track and Field Championship at Lincoln University’s Dwight T. Reed Stadium.
The event was delayed two hours by rain, but finished under pleasant conditions.
“If I’d have written the script I couldn’t have come up with anything much better than this. Last year coach told me that I could win it all this year, and I wanted to prove him right.”
Coach Troy Harding knew Porter was a special athlete when he placed fourth in the event as a junior.
“You really need to just sit back and appreciate a talent like Keyen,” Harding said, “and that’s what I’m going to do this weekend.”
Porter had dominated area competition all season and was eager to see what he could do against the best athletes from across the state.
Many believed his closest competition would come from Andre McDonald, but the Park Hill senior finished a surprising fifth.
“McDonald gets off to such a great start, it’s just unbelievable,” said Porter, who helped the Jaguars to a 14th-place finish with 18 points. “But today, he didn’t have that strong of a finish. It kind of reminded me of the way I ran last year. I’ve really worked on being consistent throughout the entire race and it paid off.”
Porter later teamed with Matt Gross, Donte Strickland and Derrion Thomas for a fourth-place finish in the 800 relay. Thomas also captured sixth in the 200 (22.39).
“We all wish we’d have done better in the 4 x 200, but overall, I’m very happy with this day,” Porter said. “The only drawback was the weather. I got up this morning all excited, got out here and had to spend a couple of hours on the bus – but that’s all right. That’s a small price to pay for a state championship.”
Blue Springs junior Gus Toca enjoyed a successful afternoon as he placed second in the discus with a toss of 173 feet, 8 inches.
“I am thrilled,” Toca said. “This is my first time at state and I didn’t really know what to expect. I was watching the other guys throw and was so impressed with their distance. I knew I was going to have to have a good throw to compete and I got a good throw.
“The only way I’d be happier is if I’d have gotten first place. So this (finish) gives me something to shoot for next year.”
Toca’s teammate, senior Carlos Anderson, finished seventh in the 100 (11.02), fourth in the 200 (22.18) and anchored the fourth-place 1,600 relay team (Donnie Prater, Evan McCray, Drew Matthews and Anderson, 3:19.34).
Anderson was upset with the relay team’s performance after the meet because the Wildcats were the defending state champions in that event.
“We wanted to go out with a bang, and it just didn’t happen,” said Anderson, as the Wildcats broke their school record in the event with a 3:17.68 clocking in Friday’s preliminaries.
“This is a team that had the talent to win a trophy, but injuries really hurt us,” said Anderson, who will play football at Northern Iowa University. “This is it for me as a member of the Blue Springs track team and I really wanted to accomplish something special, and we just didn’t do it. We did all right – but we didn’t do what we wanted to do and that’s bring home a trophy.”
First-year Blue Springs coach Joe Cusack said the relay team didn’t let anyone down.
“They shattered the school record in the prelims and ran the fastest of any team in our area, so they have a lot to be proud of,” Cusack said after his Wildcats finished ninth with 24 points. “And I can’t say enough good things about Gus and Carlos. Gus is just a junior and we look for good things from him and Carlos has been a real leader and an inspiration to everyone on the track team.”
Raytown South’s Maurice Mitchell successfully defended his individual titles in the 100, 200 and 400 and anchored the winning 400 relay team as Raytown South claimed the first boys track and field state championship in school history (please see column).
Raytown South won the championship with 76 points. Hazelwood East (55) was second, followed by Hazelwood Central (43) and Waynesville (34.5). The top four teams earn state trophies.
Lee’s Summit West was fifth (32), Lee’s Summit took 17th (15.5) and Lee’s Summit North, last year’s state champion, was tied for 47th (1).
CLASS 3: Oak Grove’s Shawn Boss placed fifth in the high jump to bring home a medal.
“It’s really bittersweet,” the senior said after finishing at 6 feet, 2 inches – 2 inches lower than his season best. “I’m happy I medaled, but I’m not happy with my performance. I really thought I’d do better. But I guess this is it (for high school competition) and it’s time to move on.”
Grain Valley’s 400 relay team of Cody Fogle, Chris Burns, Michael Moore and Billy Creason ran a 43.94 to bring home a sixth place medal and finally wipe the bad taste out of their mouths following last season’s disqualification for a false start.
“At least this year, we got the chance to run against the best in the state,” Creason said. “Last year was so disappointing. We’ve been thinking about this event for a year and we’re not that happy with the finish, but we are happy that we medaled.”