8
Republic athletes who punched tickets to the Class 5 state meet at the sectional in Waynesville. Alex Johnson qualified in three events, with individual berths in the 100 and 200 plus an anchor leg on the record-setting 4×100 relay. He’ll be joined on the relay by Gavin Lawhon, Treyton Gray, and Jacob Duran. Kaleb Norman and Izaiah Hull both qualified in the javelin. Ekene Chukwu made it in the discus. Maura Lander earned a spot in the triple jump.
42.17
The new school record in the boys 4×100 relay. Duran, Lawhon, Gray and Johnson combined to finish second at sectionals and erase the previous mark of 42.66, set at the Bearcat Classic at Southwest Baptist University earlier this season.
2
Personal bests for Johnson on the day. The junior ran 10.70 in the 100 and 21.53 in the 200. Maura Lander also set a personal best by a wide margin with her third-place triple jump of 11.31 meters.
12
The number of years since a Republic freshman girl qualified for state in a field event. Maura Lander’s third-place triple jump sent her to the state meet, and she’s the first freshman to do that in a field event since her older sister, Haven Lander, qualified in the pole vault as a freshman 12 years ago.
50.94
Kaleb Norman’s runner-up throw in the javelin, in meters. Norman, who missed most of the season with an injury from the second week until districts, earned his second career state berth. Izaiah Hull qualified in fourth at 49.47 meters for his first trip to state. The pair flipped their district finishes from a week earlier, when Hull was second and Norman fourth.
4th
Ekene Chukwu’s place in the discus, with a throw of 49.20 meters. Chukwu was the first Republic state qualifier of the day.
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