~ Dylan Rush and Sierra Maddox swept the pole vaulting events for the Indians

Dylan Rush thought he was aiming to clear 15 feet, 3 inches in the pole vault Saturday during the Jackson Invitational.

Turns out he was aiming for a school record.

Rush, a senior, cleared 15-6 on his third attempt to tie meet and school record, according to Jackson coach Jimmy Stoverink.

His effort sparked a 1-2 finish for the Indians in the event and helped the Jackson boys to a second place team finish behind Kirkwood in a meet that featured boys and girls teams from 15 schools.

"I didn't believe them," Rush said after the feat, which also earned him an Outstanding Athlete nod in boys field. "It makes me feel pretty awesome."

Fellow senior Sierra Maddox shattered the meet mark she set last season and tied her own school record with a vault of 12-6, helping lead the Indians to the girls team title ahead of second-place Poplar Bluff on warm, sunny afternoon at the Jackson Junior High School track.

"We've head a lot of good practices lately, and I felt really ready for this," said Maddox, who was named Outstanding Athlete for girls field. "It was fantastic. Lately all of our meets have been cold with strong headwinds. It was nice to have something different for once."

Bob Sink, one of Maddox's vaulting coaches along with Tim Radamaker, said determination helps makes Maddox one of the state's premier vaulters.

"This is important to her," Sink said. "When she won the state championship [last season] she called me Sunday and said 'Coach, I want to go practice.' She makes changes because in the pole vault you've got to able to make changes, and sometimes kids have a difficult time making those changes -- but she makes the changes. She's very determined. This is her deal. This is her thing."

Stoverink was decidedly pleased after his teams won the combined event by five points over Kirkwood.

"We're real happy," he said. "You've got a very competitive meet, a lot of really strong track teams. ... Dylan and Sierra, those are both outstanding vaults, especially this early in the season. Both of them are ranked No. 1 in the state, so we have a chance to go up to [the state meet] later this year and win both of those."

Jackson also earned a first-place finish in the boys shot put with Nick Keser's effort of 51 feet, 8 inches.

"A [personal record] on the season, so I'm pretty happy about it," Keser said. "Of course, I'd like to do better, but it's still early. Fifty-one-eight is a pretty good mark for a home meet, but I can build on it though. We have [the Missouri Relays] next Friday, and I'm hoping to be around 52 or 53 [feet] by the time that comes around. Hopefully I can hit that mark up there."

Keser's throwing coach, Richard Rushin, said his work ethic and training are keys to Keser's success.

"He is lean and trim, and that makes him quick and strong," Rushin said. "And getting the good technique down has helped him advance. He's got the potential to get into the mid-50s this year. We have high hopes of him not only going to state, but placing."

Jackson's Calvin Lysell earned boys track Outstanding Athlete honors after winning the 800 meters in 2 minutes, 2.82 seconds and running on the Indians' 3,200 and 1,600 relay teams that finished first and second, respectively.

Other local winners included Jordan Barber, a senior from Notre Dame, who won the 400-meter dash in 49.54 seconds, and Jackson junior Gabe Underwood, who won the 3200-meter run in 10:18.56. Jackson's team of Lysell, Underwood, Alex Philipps and Jack Jeffers won the 4x800 relay with a time of 8:29.09.

On the girls' side, Notre Dame senior Marissa New defeated Poplar Bluff junior Jessenia Ellis by nearly three feet in the discus with a toss of 125 feet, 2.5 inches.

"I honestly had no clue what to expect today," New said. "I knew that it was great weather out today, and I was just ready to go throw, and I was motivated. I just went in the circle, put my mind to it and I threw it."

Her winning throw came on her first attempt, which allowed her to relax on her final three attempts. Although she failed to improve upon that mark, it was enough to hold off the rest of the field.

"We've had three meets so far, and I've PR'ed [set personal records] every single one," she said. "So if I keep on PRing, it'll be a great season for me."

Other local winners on the girls side included a foursome of Jackson athletes. Freshman Nicole Humphreys won the shot put with an effort of 34-3.5; freshman Morgan Stone took the 100 with a time of 12.59 and the 200 in 26.32; sophomore Chelsea Drum claimed the 800 with a time of 2:22.96; and junior Tayler Winick won the 3200 with a time of 12:46.37.

Not everything came up roses for the meet's top competitors. Jackson senior Clay Darnell, who holds the best discus throw in the state so far this season with a heave of 173-4, scratched on all four of this throws, stepping out of the throwing circle each time, and failed to place in the event.

"It's just one of those days," said Darnell. "My release on the throws were not like they should be. It wasn't happening today.

"I know what I can do, and I know I can do better than what I've thrown. It's just I've got to focus a lot more and make sure I have everything down. ... I have a lot better throws in me. I just have to focus a little bit more."

BOYS

Team Scores -- 1. Kirkwood 164; 2. Jackson 119; 3. Notre Dame 87.5; 4. Poplar Bluff 83; 5. Sikeston 75; 6. Murphysboro (Ill.) 42; 7. Farmington 40; 8. North County 31.5; 9. Charleston 29; 10. Fredericktown 17; 11. Cape Central 13; 12. Zalma 1.

High jump -- 1. Bryant Boyd (K) 6-2; 2. Zacari Waller (K) 6-1; 3. Collin Boner (ND) 6-0; 4. Logan Whitwell (NC) 5-11.

Pole vault -- 1. Dylan Rush (J) 15-6; 2. Dakota Maddox (J) 13-6; 3. Aaron Vincent (PB) 12-7; 4. Jacob Pulliam (PB) 12-6.

Long jump -- Eric Phillips (K) 22-0; 2. Steven Baker (S) 20-1 1/2; 3. Trey Walker (K) 19-9; 4. Dyrel Pierce (Ch) 19-7 1/2.

Triple jump -- 1. Bryant Boyd (K) 42-6; 2. Blake Reimann (J) 41-4; 3. Dyrel Pierce (Ch) 40-10; 4. Deterio Newman (S) 40-3 1/2.

Discus -- 1. Quinton Michael (PB) 138-8 1/4; 2. Reece Goddard (K) 133-4 1/4; 3. Nicholas Michael (PB) 129-8 1/2; 4. Zack Keller (Fr) 126-3.

Shot put -- 1. Nick Keser (J) 51-8; 2. Quinton Michael (PB) 49-6 1/2; 3. Nick Brindley (ND) 43-6; 4. Seth Firebaugh (Fr) 42-8.

3,200 relay -- 1. Jackson (Jack Jeffers, Calvin Lysell, Alex Phllips, Gabe Underwood) 8:29.09; 2. Kirkwood 8:33; 3. Farmington 8:36.31; 4. Notre Dame 8:52.12.

110 hurdles -- 1. Aaron Mason (K) 15.23; 2. Jordan Caruso (ND) 16.23; 3. Tyler Craig (Ch) 16.35; 4. Caleb Clover (M) 16.44.

100 -- 1. Steven Baker (S) 10.60; 2. Eric Phillips (K) 10.88; 3. Devonte Ware (Ch) 11.12; 4. Tim Brady (Fa) 11.29.

800 relay relay -- 1. Kirkwood 1:32.73; 2. Sikeston 1:33.21; 3. Poplar Bluff 1:35.20; 4. North County 1:35.73.

1,600 -- 1. Tony Lyerla (M) 4:40.74; 2. Rudy McClellan (ND) 4:43.26; 3. Jacob Meadors (ND) 4:43.50; 4. Drew Wagner (K) 4:43.72.

400 relay -- 1. Kirkwood 44.11; 2. Sikeston 44.76; 3. Poplar Bluff 45.43; 4. North County 45.97.

400 -- 1. Jordan Barber (ND) 49.54; 2. James Willis (K) 49.74; 3. Deterio Newman (S) 52.00; 4. Gabe Dudley (J) 53.59.

300 hurdles -- 1. Aaron Mason (K) 40.37; 2. Ty Crowden (J) 42.49; 3. Tyler Helm (Fa) 43.51; 4. Caleb Clover (M) 43.81.

800 -- 1. Calvin Lysell (J) 2:02.82; 2. Tony Lyerla (M) 2:04.75; 3. Rudy McClellan (ND) 2:07.91; 4. Isaiah Williams (PB) 2:08.85.

200 -- 1. James Willis (K) 21.93; 2. Zach Harrison (S) 22.61; 3. Jordan Barber (ND) 23.13; 4. Jean-Carlo Cherry (K) 23.42.

3,200 -- 1. Gabe Underwood (J) 10:18.56; 2. Charles Hooks (K) 10:20.57; 3. Bailey Davidson (PB) 10:21.90; 4. Evan Reeves (Fa) 10:38.30.

1,600 relay relay -- 1. Sikeston 3:30.38; 2. Jackson 3:31.64; 3. Kirkwood 3:36.70; 4. Poplar Bluff 3:40.71.

GIRLS

Team Scores -- 1. Jackson 145; 2. Poplar Bluff 113; 3. Kirkwood 77.5; 4. Notre Dame 73; 5. Farmington 54; 6. (tie) Cape Central 52.5, Sikeston 52.5; 8. Fox 52; 9. Murphysboro (Ill.) 49.5; 10. North County 21; 11. Fredericktown 9; 12. Saxony Lutheran 2.

High jump -- 1. (tie) Kierra Nolan (M) 5-4; Lexi Hafford (PB) 5-4; 3. Cassidy Harris (PB) 5-2; 4. Sydney Neiter (Fa) 5-0.

Pole vault -- 1. Sierra Maddox (J) 12-6; 2. Ashley Dickey (NC) 10-6; 3. Shannon Davis (J) 10-0; 4. Kylee Stevenson (CC) 8-6.

Long jump -- 1. Cassidy Harris (PB) 17-5; 2. Makayla McCauley (PB) 15-9; 3. Mattie Bradley (Fa) 15-2; 4. Nia Johnson (CC) 14-5.

Triple jump -- 1. Cassidy Harris (PB) 33-5; 2. Makayla McCauley (PB) 33-4.25; 3. Mattie Bradley (Fa) 33-4; 4. Grace Noonan (K) 33-1 1/4.

Discus -- 1. Marissa New (ND) 125-2 1/2; 2. Jessenia Ellis (PB) 122-6 1/4; 3. Nicole Humphries (J) 109-1 1/2; 4. Olivia Brown (J) 103-3 1/2.

Shot put -- 1. Nicole Humphries (J) 34-3 1/2; 2. Marissa New (ND) 33-8 1/2; 3. Kaitlyn Slaughter (PB) 33-6; 4. Quetaja Martin (CC) 31-4 1/2.

3,200 relay -- 1. Jackson (Ana Compton, Chelsea Drum, Carli Knott, Tayler Winick) 10:02.61; 2. Notre Dame 10:37.17; 3. Farmington 10:43.09; 4. Kirkwood 11:00.73.

100 hurdles -- 1. Lexi Hafford (PB) 15.39; 2. Soley Webb (PB) 16.60; 3. Andi Kiehnlein (K) 16.77; 4. Grace Noonan (K) 16.84.

100 -- 1. Morgan Stone (J) 12.59; 2. Alyssa Kimmich (J) 13.16; 3. Morgan Duschell (CC) 13.33; 4. Tyra Bonner (S) 13.37.

800 relay -- 1. Kirkwood 1:50.63; 2. Sikeston 1:50.85; 3. Fox 1:52.20; 4. Cape Central 1:54.81.

1,600 -- 1. Brandy DeDecker (M) 5:34.80; 2. Tayler Winick (J) 5:41.07; 3. Ana Compton (J) 5:42.34; 4. Carson Keeling (K) 5:43.23.

400 relay -- 1. Sikeston 52.14; 2. Farmington 52.42; 3. Kirkwood 52.82; 4. Cape Central 53.25.

400 -- 1. Carly Bloethner (Fox) 1:01.24; 2. Alexis Boyd (S) 1:01.90; 3. Madison Little (ND) 1:02.15; 4. Meagan Lindsey (M) 1:02.33.

300 hurdles -- 1. Soley Webb (PB) 47.74; 2. Brittany Pisoni (Fox) 48.63; 3. Jocelyn Payne (K) 49.76; 4. Kassidy Adams (J) 50.13.

800 -- 1. Chelsea Drum (J) 2:22.96; 2. Tabitha Griffith (Fa) 2:26.68; 3. Sohi Thurman (Fa) 2:32.44; 4. Carson Keeling (K) 2:37.93.

200 -- 1. Morgan Stone (J) 26.32; 2. Brandy Peet (S) 27.02; 3. Madison Little (ND) 27.23; 4. Meagan Lindsey (M) 27.64.

3,200 -- 1. Tayler Winick (J) 12:46.37; 2. Courtney Hahs (J) 12:48.42; 3. Adilyn Mueller (ND) 12:51.57; 4. Elsie Anderson (ND) 13:04.00.

1,600 relay -- 1. Fox 4:16.40; 2. Jackson 4:18.88; 3. Kirkwood 4:21.20; 4. Poplar Bluff 4:23.39.

Outstanding athletes

Girls field -- Sierra Maddox (Jackson); Cassidy Harris (Poplar Bluff)

Girls track -- Morgan Stone (Jackson)

Boys field -- Dylan Rush (Jackson); Bryant Boyd (Kirkwood)

Boys track -- Calvin Lysell (Jackson); Aaron Mason (Kirkwood)