Republic’s track and field team will send 12 qualifiers to the sectional meet at Waynesville next weekend after strong performances at the Class 5 District 6 meet at Nixa on Saturday.
Keiran Govan led the boys team with a district championship in the high jump and a second-place finish in the triple jump. For the girls, Reese Finley captured first place in the 400-meter dash, while the 4×800-meter relay team of Zoey Johns, Brylie Harris, Josie Stalzer, and Gracie Troester also brought home a district title.
Troester qualified in three individual events. She placed second in both the 800-meter run and 3200-meter run, while adding a third-place finish in the 1600-meter run.
Other boys qualifiers include Gavin Lawhon (third in 100-meter dash), Will Payne (fourth in 300-meter hurdles), AJ Uhl (third in high jump), Danny Fair (fourth in pole vault), and Kaleb Norman (third in javelin).
Sienna Blankenship rounded out the girls qualifiers with a third-place finish in pole vault.
The top four finishers in each event advance to the sectional meet. Several Republic athletes narrowly missed qualifying with fifth-place finishes, including Finley in the 200-meter dash, Nevaeh Ghan in high jump, Sammi Watson in javelin, and Ekene Chukwu in discus.
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