Big Throws
Class 1 Knox County senior and University of Missouri signee Jennifer Hinkle made the trip from Edina and Northeast Missouri. The javelin star beat a spectacular field of competitors to set a meet record and got a top-10 U.S. mark. On her 4th attempt, Hinkle launched a 46.27m/151-09'' bomb, to win by 2.01m/6-7'', and put her 7th on the national performance list.
Defending Class 5 champion and Mizzou signee Morgan Cannon of Liberty was 2nd with a toss of 44.26m/145-02. Mele Taula of host William Chrisman was 3rd with a toss of 43.82m/143-09''. Seven ladies went over the 133 feet.
Central (St. Joseph) senior Makenzie Garr earned one of the five meet records on the girls' side. Garr won the shot put with a 4th round 13.58-meters/44-05.75''. The mark was a new MO#1 performance on the season and a top-25 national mark. Garr was 4th in Class 5 in both the shot and discus at last year's state meet.
Garr is following in her big brother's footsteps. Jordan Garr was the Class 5 state champion in the shot put for Central in 2017 with a 61-5'' toss. Garr went on to compete collegiately at Missouri Western and Missouri Southern. He finished his college career in March with an NCAA Division II Indoor Nationals finish of 4th in the shot put for Missouri Southern. It was his second straight 4th-place indoor national finish in the event.
Along with the shot put title, Makenzie Garr also took 2nd in the discus with a state top-7 toss of 38.91m/127-08''. After her 3rd-place javelin finish, William Chrisman's Mele Taula was 2nd in the shot with the 3rd best mark in the state at the time of 12.97m/42-6.75''. Incarnate Word's Kamari Brown made it 3 over the 40' mark with 12.46m/4-10.5'' for 3rd.
After a 3rd-place javelin finish, William Chrisman's Mele Taula gets some tips from head coach and meet director Tyler Rathke before going on to take 2nd in the shot put.
With her success, it seems like she's been around longer but Rock Bridge's Tamyra Nevills is finally an upperclassman. The throws star captured the discus crown with a MO#3 39.66m/130-01'' toss. Nevills is 4 for 4 in All-State finishes in the shot put and discus, including the Class 5 discus state title in 2022 as a sophomore with a personal record of 42.04m/137-11''. Like Jennifer Hinkle of Knox County, Kaitlyn Hatfield of Schuyler County made the long trip from Northeast Missouri. The senior from Queen City took 3rd in the discus with a MO#8 38.7m/126-1'' which put her atop the Class 2 performance list.