Canton’s close call in relay highlights Class 1 state berths at Paris Sectional

PARIS, Mo. — Even after she crossed the finish line, Canton sophomore MaryKate McReynolds wasn’t sure if the Tigers’ 4×100-meter relay team had qualified for state.

It was only after she saw her school’s name next to the No. 4 indicating fourth place on the scoring monitor that she knew they had done it.

“I honestly didn’t think I had it,” McReynolds said. “I was just hoping that I could lean far enough.”

That lean forward at the finish was just enough to give the Tigers the final Class 1 state berth by .05 seconds over Knox County at the Paris Sectional on Saturday. 

McReynolds hadn’t practiced all week as she battled injuries to both hip flexors. While the pain on her left side had subsided, she couldn’t say the same for her right side, but with this relay as her only event of the day, she was determined to give it a go.

“I’ve just been trying to recover it as much as I can this week so I could run today,” McReynolds said. “I just told myself, ‘I have one 100 today, just get through it, then I have the next week to recover.'”

Two other members of that Tigers’ relay team — sophomores Laken Hudnut and Sophia Slater — qualified in additional events. Hudnut placed fourth in the 100 dash, and Slater finished fourth in the triple jump to qualify for state. Slater also set a personal best of 9.73 meters in the process.

North Shelby sophomore Harper Copenhaver qualified for state in both the 200 meter and 400 meter dashes with third and first place finishes, respectively. She also anchored the 4×400 meter relay team that finished third as well as the 4×200 that won with a time of 1:54.57. Copenhaver said the Raiders executed a virtually flawless race in the 4×200.

“I am so overjoyed,” she said. “I have the best teammates, and our handoffs were finally on point, so we were so excited. We’ve been working on our handoffs every day in practice, and we finally put it into play today.”

Another North Shelby underclassman — freshman Drake Prange — is state bound. He finished second in the discus with a throw of 44.04 meters. Prange said the future of his track and field career is bright having already qualified for state as a freshman.

“It’s unreal,” Prange said. “Qualifying for state at any age is unreal. Being able to accomplish that as a freshman, my expectations are only going up as I enter my sophomore year.”

Prange isn’t the only North Shelby freshman on his way to Jefferson City. Gannon Bowen finished fourth in the javelin with a long throw of 43.37 meters.

Marion County is sending several athletes to state, as well. Sophomore Kennedy Hathaway finished fourth in the 100 meter hurdles, and the Mustangs 4×800 relay team finished fourth in the first race of the day. Junior Samantha Kindhart earned the final qualifying spot in the shot put and discus with throws of 9.44 meters and 30.17 meters respectively.