Republic earned two medals at the Class 5 MSHSAA state track and field meet in Jefferson City over the weekend, with Gracie Troester and Keiran Govan both reaching the podium.
Troester captured fifth place in the 3200-meter run Friday afternoon, improving on her 15th seed to earn her sixth career state medal. Troester had struggled in the event this season.
“The 3200 hasn’t been going the way I wanted it to this season,” Troester said. “I knew I just had nothing to lose. I knew I just had to go out there and give it all.”
Troester’s aggressive early pace paid off as she stayed with the leaders throughout the race, eventually earning a 20-second personal best for the season.
“I got out pretty quick and was able to stick with the faster people,” she said.
Govan added the second medal Saturday morning in the high jump, tying for seventh place after clearing 1.88 meters. The sophomore wasn’t expected to qualify for state based on sectional seeding but finished second at that meet to earn his spot. He did it despite missing practice because of a trip planned before he knew he’d be qualifying for state.
“I haven’t been at practice all week. I’ve been in Florida actually, just got in like two days ago,” Govan said after receiving his first career medal. “I came in as like the tenth jumper. But as we were going up, I felt really good and I kept going, just couldn’t get past that 6’4″.”
Republic’s 4×800-meter relay team of Troester, Josie Stalzer, Zoey Johns and Brylie Harris opened competition Friday with a 13th-place finish in 9:48.69, improving from their 15th seed.
Reese Finley reached the 400-meter dash preliminaries Friday, finishing 10th in 58.32, just .29 seconds behind eighth-place qualifier Aniya Davis. Kaleb Norman competed in the javelin throw, placing 14th with a distance of 46.89 meters.
Saturday brought mixed results for Republic’s remaining competitors. Sienna Blankenship set a personal best in the pole vault, clearing 3.23 meters to finish 12th as a sophomore. The mark represented back-to-back weeks with personal bests for Blankenship.
Troester competed in two more events Saturday. She placed 16th in the 1600-meter run with a time of 5:38.54 before finishing 11th in the 800-meter run in 2:20.08. The 800 marked her final race as a Lady Tiger.
Govan narrowly missed a second medal in the triple jump, finishing ninth after holding fifth place before the final attempts. Strong jumps by other competitors in their final tries dropped him out of medal contention.
The weekend capped Troester’s career with six state track and field medals and one cross-country medal. The other seven state qualifiers will all have a chance to return next spring.
