North Shelby’s Prange wins Missouri Class 1 shot put championship, leads brigade of area medalists

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The state medal haul began in earnest Friday for the boys and girls track and field teams from Northeast Missouri.

One individual won a state championship, while nine other individuals and two relay teams captured podium spots at the Class 1 and Class 2 state championships at Jefferson City High School’s Adkins Stadium with an opportunity to add to the medal count during Saturday’s competition.

North Shelby sophomore Drake Prange won the boys Class 1 shot put state championship with a toss of 49 feet, 6 ¼ inches. His best throw, the first of six attempts, was more than a half-foot further than Tina-Avalon’s Tanner Singer.

Two boys finished as state runners-up. South Shelby senior Aadon Magruder took second in the Class 2 shot put and broke the school record with a toss of 53 feet, 9 ¾ inches. Stockton’s Brandon Garner-Sims won the event with a toss of 55-4¾.

In the Class 2 high jump, Monroe City sophomore Wyatt DeGrave finished second by clearing 6 feet, 3¼ inches. Salisbury’s Patrick White won by clearing 6-5.

South Shelby had two other place finishers as senior Gabe Bowen took third in the boys Class 2 javelin with a throw of 167-11, and senior Owen Stueve ended up seventh in the Class 2 long jump with a leap of 20-10½.

Mark Twain senior Sam Northcutt finished seventh in the boys Class 2 800 run, finishing in 2:00.76

On the girls side, South Shelby junior Charlie Roush finished as a state runner-up in the girls Class 2 discus with a throw of 128 feet, 7 inches, and teammate Callie McWilliams finished fourth in the girls Class 2 triple jump with a leap of 36-11½. Monroe City’s Bradi Keller finished sixth in the Class 2 pole vault, clearing 9 feet, 10 ¾ inches, while North Shelby freshman Mallory Griffin finished eighth in the Class 1 triple jump with a leap of 32-11 ¾.

In the Class 2 girls 4×800-meter relay, South Shelby and Monroe City ran their way to the podium. The Lady Birds’ quartet of Makenzie Wilt, Ainsleigh Truitt, Avery Gough and Samentha Koper took sixth in 10 minutes, 12.36 seconds, while the Panthers’ squad of Emily Spalding, Rylie Mulvaney, Brynn Williams and Keller finished eighth in 10:23.49.

The South Shelby, Highland and North Shelby girls relay teams qualified for Saturday’s finals in three events.

In Class 2, the South Shelby squad of Belle Roush, Samentha Koper, Gracynn Lanpher and McWilliams finished first in the 4×400 relay in 4:08.13 — 90 seconds in front of North Platte. The Highland quartet of Ali Lundberg, Eva Logsdon, Hannah Ritterbusch and Chevie Sharpe was third in 4:09.87.

Highland was fifth in the 4×100 in 43.71 and fifth in the 4×200 in 1:31.50. South Shelby was eighth in the 4×100 in 51.04 and sixth in the 4×200 in 1:47.58.

In Class 1, North Shelby qualified sixth in the 4×100 in 52.85, eighth in the 4×200 in 1:53.24 and eighth in the 4×400 in 4:23.52.

Sharpe qualified for the finals in the girls Class 2 400-meter dash, taking fourth in 59.06. Highland’s Lane Hinton narrowly missed qualifying for the finals in the boys Class 2 100 dash, placing ninth in 11.14 seconds.