Class 5 state track and field: Collin Havill takes third in pole vault to lead Jackson

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The competition was a little bit tougher this year for Collin Havill.

The Jackson senior had a better height than he did in last year’s MSHSAA State Track and Field Championships but finished lower in the standing this year.

Havill took third place during the Class 5 meet held on Friday and Saturday at the Licklider Track Complex at Jefferson City High School.

He jumped 4.46 meters – 14 feet, 7 ½ inches – to take third behind Columbia Hickman’s Charles Garino (4.60) and Fort Zumwalt North’s Sullivan Gleason (4.74). Gleason repeated as the champion after beating Havill by a slim margin last year – 4.49 to 4.42 meters.

Havill's jump of 14 feet, 6 inches last year would’ve only been fourth place this year.

The Indians’ standout football recruit, Tony Terry Jr., had a throw of 16.50 meters (54-1 3/4) to take fourth place in the shot put on Saturday.

Terry registered only two throws – his first being the longest. He scratched his next two but still made the finals. In the finals, he had fouls on his first two attempts but threw 16.11 on his final attempt.

Last year, he took ninth place – making the finals but being the only one to not secure a medal. He threw 15.01 meters then – a throw this year would’ve been 12th place.

The Jackson girls had one medalist and a couple of close calls.

Sophomore Felicity Pingkian took seventh in the pole vault with a height of 3.35 meters (10-11 3/4) to earn three points.

Junior Lillian Gibbs placed ninth in the discus, making the finals with a throw of 36.07. She was unable to improve her mark and missed a medal. The junior had three recorded marks and three fouls.

Jackson senior Layla Fliege had a busy weekend with three events but came up short of a medal again. Last year she placed eighth in the 800 and this year, she took eighth again. She also competed in the 1,600 (10th) and 3,200 (11th).

Click here for the full list of results from the MSHSAA Class 5 State Championships.