PC Tracksters in Laurel

Seven athletes from Phillips County participated in the 2019 State Class A-C Meet in Laurel from Thursday, May 23, through Saturday, May 25.

The Dodson, Saco, and Whitewater track teams were each represented by at least one member at the event.

The Whitewater Lady Penguins were the only team to get on the board, with sophomore Kelsee Cummings taking fifth place in shot put. Cummings had a throw of 34-01.50 in the event.

"Is has been pretty fun and last year I placed seventh, so I moved up a little bit and it has been a good experience," Cummings said.

Cummings would go on to say that the event was tiring because she had to wait until the third day of events to throw.

Dodson junior Christina Jaynes just missed placing in the event, taking seventh with a throw of 33-06.50 in the finals. Jaynes feared that she was going to miss out on making the finals, but she did make the top ten in the event to throw again.

"With the throws that I had, I wouldn't have even qualified for state," Jaynes said. "I finally calmed myself down and it happened."

Jaynes also took ninth in discus with a throw of 99-01 in her preliminary round on her third throw after scratching two potential 100 foot throws. Though Jaynes wanted to hit her personal best of 102-10, she admired the quality of throwers at state.

"Wow," she said. "Some of these throwers are out of this world. Some of them I can catch but some of them. No."

Whitewater freshman Hannah Hanley took eighth in the 300 meter hurdles with a time of 49.18, a new personal best. Hanley also broke the school record in the 100 with a personal best of 13.40, which gave her eleventh in the event. The previous record was 13.44 set by Hanley at the Eastern C Divisional meet on Saturday, May 18.

"I am just happy I didn't false start and I got a personal best," Hanley said with a smile.

Hanley also broke the school record for the 300 hurdles, posting a time of 49.18. The previous record was 49.47 set by Mandy Olsen in 1992; Hanley took eighth in the event. Hanley also took fifteenth in the 200 with a time of 28.14.

Saco's Jaycee Erickson was the first athlete to compete at state on Thursday, a day that featured cold winds. She cleared 8-0 and took eleventh in pole vault.

"It was really fun," Erickson said of performing at state. "I just really wanted to get my PR. It was exciting and it was really cool to see the other vaulters and how good they are."

Erickson had the chance to see her fellow Lady Maverick teammate Kaitlyn McColly of Hinsdale take third in the event by tying a Hinsdale High School Record of 9-9.

"She did awesome today," Erickson said.

Whitewater sophomore Kia Wasson was fourteenth in the 3200 with a time of 13:47.82. She was also eighteenth in the 1600 with a time of 6:18.71. She shared how she felt about her 2019 outing at state.

"Terrible," she said. "My leg feels a lot better but I had to take a lot of time off to help it feel better so I am not really in shape anymore."

She shared what she thought of the State meet which featured packed out stands and crowded fences outside of the field.

"It's kind of intimidating," Wasson said. "You see all of the people and hear the loud crowds."

Penguin Beau Simonson took seventeenth place in shot put with a throw of 40-11.26.

"It's definitely a different environment," Simonson said of the State track atmosphere. "Everyone is pumped up and there is more pressure."

Dodson freshman Michael Jaynes took eighteenth in triple jump with a length of 39-08.75.

Saco senior Josh Salveson participated in pole vault. He was unable to clear the opening height at 10-6, his personal best. He was extremely close to getting over on his second try, with more than three quarters of his body over the bar.

"The second attempt I came down and I raked right across the backside of my shoulder on the way down," Salveson said. "I overcompensated for the first attempt in which I kicked (the bar) off."

The event marked Salveson's first state performance, something he had been striving for since freshman year.

"It was pretty exciting and it was fun all along the way," Salveson said. "I had as much fun as I possibly could."