JEFFERSON CITY • Nataliyah Friar may be just scratching the surface.
The Holt sophomore earned her first state championship Friday afternoon in the long jump with a mark of 18 feet 11.5 inches in one of the area highlights for Class 4 girls competition at Dwight T. Reed Stadium.
"It feels really good because I wasn't expecting it at all," said Friar, who as a freshman took sixth in the event with a jump of 17-01.25. "My normal jump is (around) 18-3 and I was seeded fifth, so I was kind of nervous. I'm really excited because I wasn't expecting to get it this year."
Friar set a new school record, something she's done many times over in multiple events.
After receiving her gold medal, Friar turned around for her first crack at a state sprint event in the 100-meter dash. She finished fourth in her heat in 12.29, which was good enough to qualify for the finals Saturday. She will also be competing in the triple jump, in which she placed second in in 38-4.25 last season.
Former standout Jasmine Boyer may have given Fort Zumwalt West its reputation for being strong in throwing events, but Dahlia Dyson validated that reputation even further.
A senior, Dyson won the discus title with a toss of 145-10, beating Gateway Athletic Conference South rival Deanna Price of Troy for first place.
"I'm ecstatic," Dyson said. "I came in wanting a 150 (feet performance) because that's a school record, but I'm fine with a (personal record)."
Boyer, now at the University of Wisconsin, was a two-time shot put champion for the Jaguars. She holds school records in both throwing events but never won a state title in the discus, an accomplishment to which Dyson can now lay claim.
"It makes me proud," Dyson said. "(Boyer) taught me so much about the sport, and I don't know if I'd be here if it wasn't for her. We have a lot of competitive, talented people at my school, and Jasmine was like a super-mom role model for us."
Dyson, who will throw for Missouri-Kansas City next season, had never made the final round in the discus before this year. She fouled out of the competition as a junior, making her gold medal that much more gratifying.
"I'm really happy making it to the finals and setting an example for my teammates," Dyson said. "If one person does good, it's contagious. I want the whole team to do good, so I went out there and gave it my all."
In perhaps the meet's premier event this season because of amazing depth, there nevertheless will be no doubt who is the runner to beat in the 800.
Ladue senior Samantha Levin obliterated the field and in the process set a new event record with a preliminary time of 2:08.55. The previous record was 2:09.78, set by Ann Heffner of Hazelwood Central in 1992.
"It means a lot to me," said Levin, an LSU recruit. "That was my goal this year."
Levin will try to follow it up with a state title in the event Saturday.
In the 3,200 relay, it was a three-team race until Colleen Riley began her final leg for Lindbergh.
Kirkwood and Eureka had taken turns holding the lead, but Riley made it happen with a strong final two laps, and the Flyers won in 9:14.19.
Sophomore Sarah McCaughey, junior Marina White and senior Grace Watt ran the first three legs.
"We were just trying to execute the plan, and if everything went as planned, we should have won," Riley said. "We didn't go as fast as we were hoping for today, but we were happy with it."
Lindbergh was the event's top seed, something Riley described as a double-edged sword.
"It's nerve-wracking because now everyone's out to get you and you're the one everyone's gunning for," she said. "But it also gives us a lot of confidence. We wanted to go out and show them what we're made of."
The 3,200 had a weird ending, when Chelsey Phoebus of Lee's Summit West approached what she thought to be the finish line well ahead of Nerinx Hall senior Colleen Quigley.
Only Phoebus, a senior, unknowingly had one whole lap to go and was gassed from finishing the lap in a full-on sprint.
Quigley seized the opportunity and overtook Phoebus almost immediately at the start of the final lap and captured the state title in 10:27.62.
"It feels amazing," Quigley said. "It hasn't quite sunk in yet."
It was a crowning achievement for Quigley, who had placed third at the Class 4 cross country championships each of the last two years.
"It was nice to beat two girls (Blue Springs South's Samantha Nightingale and Neosho's Jessica Jackson) who beat me at cross country," Quigley said.
In the pole vault, Fort Zumwalt North senior Shelby Markum couldn't quite clear her target mark but had a respectable third-place finish with a height of 11-3.
"I tied my (personal record), but I had a dream of winning state but couldn't accomplish it," said Markum, a Naval Academy signee who will continue pole vaulting in Annapolis, Md. "I could have vaulted better, but at least I have my school record and it's almost two feet higher than it was. I can't complain much. I'm excited about going to a Division I school, which is another dream of mine."
