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at andymeyer@npgco.com.W e d n e s d ayMay 30, 2012

PHENOMENAL fiNisH

Tuck chases down 3 medals at state

By Andy Meyer

JEFFERSON CITY — All year long, Smithville junior Katie Tuck stared at the goals that she keeps in her room.

Not only did she want to run down a top-four fin-ish in the mile this year. She wanted to set the school record in the event. Neither one would be easy by any stretch of the imagination.

That’s what made it so special when she met, and even exceeded, every dream she had.

Tuck obliterated the prior school record by five seconds on the way to a second-place finish in the mile Friday, May 25, during the Class 3 Track and Field Championships. Her time of 5:05.38 surpassed her own goals, and she finished less than a second behind state champion Saga Barzowski of Arcadia Valley.

Joy, surprise and relief all

swept across Tuck’s face as she stood on the state medal stand as the Class 3 state runner-up.

“This is why I run,” Tuck said, exhausted. “This is exactly it.”

In all, Tuck finished the two-day state event with three all-state honors, includ-ing another individual medal in the 800 (5th) and as the anchor leg in the 3,200-meter relay team (6th).

But she was the first to admit that she poured all of her effort and attention into the mile.

Tuck competed at state in the event last year, and fin-ished 10th in a field that included former teammate Siara Stahl, who nabbed the school-record time of 5:10.38.

No sooner had the meet ended, and Tuck was already making plans on a better showing as a junior.

Lamb comes up just short of title

By Andy Meyer

JEFFERSON CITY — When he first joined the track and field team 15 months ago, Tyler Lamb didn’t have too many expectations.

Mainly, it was something to do in the spring to keep him in shape for football, along with several of his closest teammates. Little did he know that he’d wind up as one of the most dominant athletes ever to compete in a Smithville uniform.

Lamb wrapped up his extraordinary career with a second-place finish in the long jump on Saturday, May 26, at the Class 3 Track and Field Championships. He actually was in position to win the state title for much of the meet but came up just two inches short of the victory.

Still, it was his second state medal in the event in as many years and allowed

him to finish his whirlwind season with one of his best meets of the season.

“Not at all. I didn’t expect any of it, honestly,” Lamb said, looking back at his career. “I didn’t know what events I was going to do, didn’t know what they were going to put me in.

“I was happy with the events I got, I guess.”

Lamb finished the outdoor season with the Smithville school record in the event with a leap of 23 feet, 5 inch-es, which also gave him the best jump in the entire state — regardless of class — dur-ing the outdoor season.

He set the mark at the very first meet of the year at the UCM Mule Relays, and just as he did then, he ripped off his best jump right out of the gate.

On his first leap, he took an early lead by going 22-2.5, which would stand as

n Smithville’s track and field teams made the most of last weekend’s MSHSAA Class 3 State Championships, as the Warriors wound up with medals in seven different events.

n Katie Tuck (mile) and Tyler Lamb (long jump) both finished second in their respective events, while Tuck was also fifth in the 800.

n The girls 3,200 relay earned a state medal for the fourth year (SEE PAGE B4), while the boys 400 relay also finished strong (SEE PAGE B5.)

n Elsewhere, Miranda Migletz (high jump),Josh Petersen (800) and Katie Berger (3,200) also earned all-state accolades, while Junior Fairbanks (pole vault) also took part in the year-end meet (SEE PAGE B8.)

s tat e s u cce s s

MSHSAA TrAck And Field cHAMpionSHipS

Krull’s late goal seals trip back to Final Four

By Bill Knust

Smithville’s game-win-ning goal in the Class 2 quarterfinals Saturday, May 26, against Notre Dame de Sion was scored by the most unlikely of players.

But when senior Katie Krull’s corner kick found the net in the 76th minute, she scored the Warriors’ biggest goal of the season in a 2-1 victory that punched Smith-ville’s ticket to the state final four in Blue Springs on Fri-day, June 1.

“I thought it was going to go by the goal, and then it hit off (Sion goalie Anna Hendrix’s) hand and went in,” Krull said. “I started crying, and I was like ‘Oh my God.’ I am not the per-son who gets game-winning goals. I get assists on unim-portant goals and stuff. It was so exciting.”

The goal wrapped up a whirlwind final 4:22 that saw Sion tie the game on a penalty kick only for the Warriors to answer less than a minute later and celebrate a victory on their home field.

It looked like Smithville wouldn’t need Krull’s game-winner after freshman striker Kelsey Mothershead scored her 47th goal of the season, tying a school record, to put the Warriors ahead 1-0 in the 63rd minute of the contest.

The Warriors dominated the run of play and created chance after chance.

“I think a lot of it had to do with the wind,” Krull said. “We were able to settle the ball, pass it and play good soc-cer when we had the wind.”

GirlS Soccer: SMiTHville 2, noTre dAMe de Sion 1

u See Krull Page B2

u See TucK Page B4 u See lamb Page B5

Bill KnuSt/The Smithville Herald

Smithville senior katie krull (center) celebrates with her teammates after she scored the game-winning goal during a 2-1 victory against notre dame de Sion in the class 2 quarterfinals.

Andy MEyEr/The Smithville Herald

Smithville junior katie Tuck (center) places a medal around the neck of freshman Brooke Stearns as 3,200-meter relay teammates leigh carlson (left) and katie Berger (right) look on during the class 3 Track and Field championships. The relay placed sixth and helped Smithville earn all-state honors in seven events.

Kelsey Mothershead (right) eyes school record heading into state finals, PaGe B2.InsIde: