Mexico is sending a good quality of boys to the state meet this weekend.

Head coach Bucky Green said as much Saturday after the Class 4 Sectional 2 meet at Ron Whittaker Track in Mexico after Mexico secured five berths in the Class 4 state track and field meet this Friday and Saturday at Adkins Stadium in Jefferson City. 

Early in the day, the 4x100 relay team of Anthony Shivers, Alex Rowan, Morgan Grubb and Tyler Grimes broke a school record time with a 43.29 to earn third within the top four qualifying spots. Grimes later brought the 4x400 relay team of him, Charlie Fisher, Davontae Frame and Shivers to state, qualifying the Bulldogs in the event a year after they secured a seventh-place state medal a year ago. The sophomore, who also finished fourth in the 800 to qualify, took the baton when the Bulldogs were in sixth and managed to have them finish in third place.

Shivers has a chance to earn his first career individual medal as well as he qualified in the 100 for the second straight year, finishing second at sectionals. Grubb will compete as an individual as well as he finished third to qualify in the pole vault.

Leading Centralia’s qualifiers on the girls side at the Class 3 meet this Friday and Saturday was Ellie Berendzen’s sectional-winning discus throw of 37.55 meters as the senior goes for her first state medal after qualifying in the discus the previous two years. The 4x400 relay team of Olivia Adams, Harper Sontheimer, Becca Erisman and Shelby Lewis finished first with a time of 4:10.32, and the 4x800 relay team of Kenedee Moss, Erisman, Annie Robinson and Jozelynn Bostick finished first with a time of 10:09.08 — more than 10 seconds ahead of the competition.

One year after missing state completely amidst her Type I diabetes diagnosis, the track and cross country state medalist Bostick is back in three other events as she finished second in the 800 and fourth place in the 1600 and 3200. Lewis broke a couple of school records when she finished second in the 400 with a time of 58.31— an event where she is a two-time state medalist — and third in the 200 with a time of 26.05. Autumn Hawkins was second in the long jump to try for a second straight state medal, and Kaylie Ensor was third in the pole vault to qualify for the first time for a Lady Panther team that finished with a meet-high 102 points at sectionals. 

The Centralia boys were led by Cayden Dunn in sectionals as he won the 300 hurdles with a time of 39.71 and finished fourth to qualify in the 110 hurdles, trying for a medal a year after missing the podium in the 300 hurdles. JR Lesher qualifies for the state meet for the first time as he finished second in the 1600 and third in the 3200, Jacob Beard was third in the pole vault and Rohan Holiman finished second in the 800 to each qualify for the first time, and the 4x800 relay team of Holiman, Lesher, Landon Moss and Dryst Bostick are going after taking second. 

For North Callaway, none of its three athletes qualified for state as Isiah Craighead finished fifth in the boys javelin to miss by one place, Tristan Young didn’t register a height in the boys pole vault and Pressley Schmuach was sixth in the girls 3200.