KC-area athletes hurdle obstacles at Missouri state track meet

Source: The Star

R.J. ORIEZ | Special to The Star

Staley junior Hans Pitia had enough left in the tank to stay ahead of the field Friday and win the 800 in Missouri Class 3.

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JEFFERSON CITY | The state track and field meet has a way of bringing out the best in athletes.

Whether they’re Lee’s Summit West senior triple jumper Bobby Carter, who must have felt like Mr. Glass this season — seemingly every time he competed hard, something in his body snapped or strained. Or Lincoln Prep senior Jalexis Peterson, the self-critical triple jumper who wouldn’t make excuses for her nagging pains.

Or even Staley junior Hans Pitia, dog-tired after competing in a preliminary event only to turn around minutes later to compete for an 800-meter state championship.

In the first round Friday at the Missouri Class 3 and 4 state meet at Dwight T. Reed Stadium, these three athletes — despite their personal hurdles to clear — came up with their best performances of the year and became state champions.

“I’ve been working hard all season,” Carter said. “I didn’t let it get in my head. I told myself I was going to make it.”

Carter had to be positive when his season took a left turn at the first meet. After reaching his personal record in the long jump, Carter aggravated a groin muscle. Weeks later at the KU Relays, he strained a hamstring and was forced to heal on the sidelines.

“The injuries were just holding him back,” Lee’s Summit West coach Bob Klausing said. “(But) here today he had looked as good as he has all week.”

In Friday’s finals, Carter ranked second behind Raytown South sophomore Marquise Cushon, the kid with the farthest triple jump in the state, and had one last chance to move ahead. On that final jump, Carter launched and then landed 48 feet, 3 inches in the sand — a school record and the state-championship winning mark.

“I was screaming,” said the usually reserved Carter. “I knew that was the jump right there.”

Peterson stayed reserved while winning the Class 3 girls’ triple jump at 38-11, most likely because she wasn’t content with the leap.

“I wish I could’ve done better,” Peterson said. “But it’s a state championship.”

It was her first state championship and a personal record. Peterson had an All-State background heading into this season, but a mysterious lower-back injury limited her performance. She doesn’t know how or when she got injured and says she only began to feel right last month at the Interscholastic League championships. Now as the best in the Class 3, Peterson plans to focus on her upcoming career at Pittsburg State.

“I’m just getting started,” she said.

The same can be said about Pitia, who has a full slate of running events scheduled today. On Friday, there was no rest as Pitia qualified in the Class 3 boys’ 400 meters and after that full-out race, needed to recover for the 800. Pitia outpaced the pack, creating distance around the final curve, looked over his shoulder and then turned on the speed to win in 1:55.93.

“I didn’t have anything left,” Pitia said. “I can’t believe I pulled it through.”

Pitia found motivation in the race strategy from his coach, Todd Warner, who tells him to break up the two laps as if they are separate races. Once he crosses the finish line and starts the final lap, think of it as a clean slate.

“It was a new race,” Pitia said. “So I had to go.”

Today, Pitia will compete in the finals of the 400 and the 1,600- and 3,200-meter relays.

submitted by CANDACE BUCKNER - 2009-05-29 23:18:02