Aubri Meyer and Mekela Waters led New Haven Friday and Saturday at the MSHSAA Class 2 State Track and Field Meet in Jefferson City.
Meyer, a junior had the program’s top finish, third in the girls shot put.
Waters, a junior, earned two state medals, ending sixth in the shot put and seventh in the discus.
We were fairly pleased with our performance at state this season,” New Haven Head Coach John Tucker said. “Mekela Waters was all-state in both the shot and discus and Aubri was all-state in the shot. I felt that we performed well given the situation.”
Meyer’s best throw in the shot put was 11.74 meters and came on her third attempt. The two who placed higher, Russellville senior Trinity Riggs and East Buchanan freshman Brooklynn Johnson, didn’t surpass Meyer until their throws in the finals. Riggs hit her 11.93 meters on the final throw while Johnson’s 11.76 meters came on her fourth throw.
Waters finished sixth with a best distance of 11.52 meters. That came on her third throw of the initial round.
Waters ended seventh in the Class 2 discus, posting a top throw of 35.27 meters. That came on her fourth throw.
New Haven sophomore Katherine Holtmeyer finished 11th in the discus with a top throw of 30.46 meters. It came on her third throw and was the only one which counted. That wasn’t enough distance to make the final round.
New Haven’s lone male qualifier, junior Jack Feldmann, placed 14th in the javelin with a top throw of 39.03 meters.
Tucker noted that the boys javelin and girls discus events took place at the same time at different venues.
“It was difficult for Coach (Josh) Hoener to be at both places and help make the correction to techniques that are so important to the throwing events,” Tucker said.
In the Class 2 girls team standings, the Lady Shamrocks scored 11 points to tie Plattsburg and Conway for 24th place.
North Platte won with 86 points while Father Tolton Catholic was second at 83 points. South Harrison ended third at 36 points.
In the team standings, Summit Christian Academy and Charleston both scored 47 points to tie for the state title. O’Fallon Christian and West Platte tied for third at 38 points.
“I feel that the athletes did the best they could at the time so we have nothing to be upset with even though not everyone earned all-state honors,” Tucker said. “The other bright spot is that none of them are seniors so they have next season to continue working.”
Tucker is retiring from coaching and teaching at the end of this school year.
