SCOTT CITY FROSH EARNS ALL-STATE IN THREE EVENTS

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Scott City's Loren Groves is a three-time all-state performer.

Three down and many more to go.

Groves took second place in a photo finish of the 100 hurdles and took fifth place in the 300 hurdles Saturday at the Missouri Class 1A-2A Track and Field Championships.

Groves was beat in a photo finish in the 2A 100 hurdles, just .01 seconds behind the senior state champ. Groves finished in 16.07.

"She lost a heart-breaker today," Scott City coach Randall White said. "The other girl nosed her out by maybe two inches. I asked to see it and her shoulder hit the line and it looked like Loren's torso was two inches behind. It wasn't her best time, but it was a heck of a race."

In the preliminaries, Groves ran the race in 15.73, but Golda Sherman -- who beat Groves -- had a faster time in the preliminaries, too.

Groves finished the 300 hurdles in 48.1. Senior Laura Stegeman from Blair Oaks won that event in 46.9.

With the top eight athletes in each event considered all-staters, Groves ended up an all-stater in three events after taking second in the discus Friday.

"We're just tickled to death with her performance," White said. "At the beginning of the year, she just wanted to make finals in all the events and she did a lot more than that."

Groves accounted for 20 team points which was good enough to lift Scott City's girls team to 11th in the state.

Kelly's Adam Daughhetee, who took first place in the mile run Friday and was expected to compete for the title in the 3,200 Saturday, did not complete the race. About halfway through the race he ran off the track and was finished. Further details were not available.

In the 400, Russ Hatfield of Oran earned all-state for the second straight year, placing fifth in 52.75.