DEXTER — Saxony Lutheran turned in a strong showing at the MSHSAA Class 2 Sectional 1 meet on May 16 at Dexter High School, with the Lady Crusaders winning a sectional championship, the boys team placing 3rd and 13 athletes qualifying for next week’s state meet in Jefferson City.
The Saxony girls captured the sectional title with 78 points, finishing ahead of Jefferson (Festus) (64), Louisiana (63), Whitfield (48) and Chaffee (48). On the boys side, the Crusaders placed 3rd with 61 points behind Jefferson (92) and St. Pius X (86), while Kelly (53) and Steelville (48) rounded out the top 5.
Saxony’s girls team was powered by senior Casey Call, who qualified for state in 3 events. Call won the pole vault at 3.05 meters, finished 2nd in the high jump at 1.40 meters and placed 4th in the shot put with a throw of 9.92 meters. Junior Sarah Seabaugh also punched her ticket to state, finishing 3rd in the pole vault at 2.74 meters.
Freshman Kadence Turner turned in a strong sectional performance, placing 2nd in the 100-meter hurdles in 16.11 seconds and finishing 4th in the long jump at 4.45 meters to advance to state in both events. Turner also ran on Saxony’s state-qualifying 1,600-meter relay team.
Junior Raylee Matthews qualified for state in multiple events, finishing runner-up in the long jump with a leap of 5.17 meters while taking 5th in the 400 in 1:02.54 and 8th in the 200 in 27.07. Freshman Rena Matthews added a 4th-place finish in the 300 hurdles in 48.95, while Turner placed 8th in the event in 52.28.
The Lady Crusaders also qualified 2 relay teams for state. Saxony’s 1,600-meter relay team of Kadence
Turner, Rena Matthews, Madilynn Hager and Raylee Matthews placed 4th in 4:19.64, while the 3,200-meter relay team of Adalyn Brandhorst, Gretchen Wolfe, Lydia Hitt and Eva Williamson finished 3rd in 10:48.51. Adalyn Brandhorst also finished 7th in the 800 in 2:53.52, while Briley Meyr placed 8th in the 1,600 in 6:16.03. The Lady Crusaders’ 400-meter relay team placed 8th in 55.34.
For the boys, senior Maksim Mayhew led the Crusaders by qualifying for state in the 400 after placing 3rd in 51.33. He also took 6th in the 200 in 23.24. Henry Klaus added a 5th-place finish in the 400 in 54.94.
Na’Shaun Davis qualified for state in the 110 hurdles, placing 3rd in 14.94, while teammate Otis Turner III finished 5th in 16.45. Turner added a 6th-place finish in the 300 hurdles in 42.62, while Davis placed 8th in 53.94.
Freshman Alan Rudd claimed a sectional championship in the long jump with a leap of 6.30 meters to qualify for state, while Clark Jones placed 5th at 5.90 meters. Mark Richey added a 5th-place finish in the 3,200 in 11:13.74, Nicolas Chambless finished 6th in the 1,600 in 5:01.86 and Evan Ward took 7th in the same race in 5:03.13.
Saxony’s boys relay teams also competed at sectionals, with the 400-meter relay team placing 5th in 44.63, the 1,600-meter relay team finishing 5th in 3:38.65 and the 3,200-meter relay squad taking 6th in 8:47.03.
