Terry nearly hits his mark

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Central sophomore Tyler Terry wanted to jump at least 45 feet, 6 inches in his first appearance at the Class 4 state track meet in the triple jump.

He came up three-quarters of an inch short. Terry jumped a personal best 45-5 1/4 and finished third on Friday in the Class 4 track and field state championships at Dwight T. Reed Stadium in Jefferson City.

"That was really close," Terry said of just missing his goal.

In only his third year of competing in the triple jump, Terry has already put himself among the best in the state. Terry managed to squeak by the fourth-place jumper by just one-quarter of an inch and finished a little more than 2 feet behind state champion C.J. Johnson of Marquette.

"I really didn't know how I was going to do. This was my first time here," Terry said. "But I know what it's like now, and I don't have anything to get nervous about."

Terry came into the meet with the ninth-best distance coming out of the state's four sectional meets. At Parkway South, Terry won the sectional with a jump of 43-6 1/4.

After seeing the others in the state field jump, Terry knew he belonged.

"It helped my confidence a lot," Terry said.

With two more years of high school ahead of him, Terry is looking to bring home the state title in the future. Terry will have plenty of competition -- the top two finishers this year both juniors.

"I want to go at least 48 feet if everything goes well," Terry said.

In all, three area competitors brought home all-state honors in the event finals Friday. Jackson senior Amy West (Class 4 pole vault) and Notre Dame senior Austin Critchlow (Class 3 800) both earned all-state recognition for the second straight year by finishing in the top eight in their respective events.

West, who will compete for Southeast Missouri State University next year, finished fifth after a sixth-place finish a year ago. Despite a foot injury West suffered late in the season, the senior managed to match her height from last year's state meet of 10 feet.

"Amy jumped well today, considering she hasn't been able to train competitively," Jackson coach Bob Sink said. "It was one of those situations where we had to hold on to our rears and hope she maintains."

While West could not match her season-best mark of 10-6 which she cleared at the district meet, her 10-0 mark helped her improve on last year's finish. The field had four vaulters jump at least 10-9. Vera Neuenswander of Jefferson City and teammate Breanna Bussel both cleared 11-8 and Neuenswander won with fewer missed jumps.

"I thought she held together really well," Sink said of West. "The four girls that beat her were really quality, especially Jefferson City."

Critchlow, after finishing second at last year's Class 3 meet, finished seventh Friday. After qualifying for state with time of 1:59.44, Critchlow ran a 1:58.45 on Friday.

The 800 field had to run in wet conditions, as a light rain left the track with shallow puddles.

"It was tough conditions today, for everybody," Notre Dame coach Bill Davis said. "It was just a real fast field. He was right off our school record."

In other event finals, Central freshman Nadia Cox just missed an all-state honor with a ninth-place finish in the Class 4 long jump. Cox, who will compete in the triple jump today, had a distance of 16-11 1/2.

Central pole vaulters Matt Willingham and Lance Altenthal each matched personal records with jumps of 13-6, but finished 11th and 12th in Class 4, respectively.

Notre Dame junior Matt Pfau was 14th in the Class 3 mile (4:37.69), Jackson senior Billy Uren was 12th in the Class 4 discus (137-0), Jackson sophomore Amanda Peiffer was 15th in the Class 4 discus (98-9), Perryville senior Kyle Cottner was 11th in the Class 3 long jump (20-11 1/2) and Central's girls finished 15th in the Class 4 3,200 relay (10:02.39).