Grandview’s Anglerne Annelus wins three events at Missouri state track

As the team bus approached Dwight T. Reed Stadium early Saturday morning, Grandview senior Anglerne Annelus peered out the window toward the track. Almost instantly, she says, years of fond memories came rushing back.

Over the next several hours, she added a few more to her collection.

Annelus won three Missouri Class 4 state championships, capturing gold in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and anchoring a victory in the 800 relay. Annelus, a UCLA signee, concluded her high school career with nine state titles.

“I definitely wanted to leave my mark here and do something that would be remembered,” Annelus said. “I wanted to have a legacy.”

A day earlier, Annelus set the state-meet record in the 100 dash (11.64 seconds) and the 200 dash (23.47 seconds) in preliminaries.

Family record

On May 21, Central Missouri athlete Brittany Kallenberger won the NCAA Division II pole vault national championship. Only nine days later, she had a front-row seat to watch her Missouri high school state-meet record fall.

At least it’s staying in the family.

Lee’s Summit West junior Nicole Kallenberger’s vault of 12 feet, 10 1/2 inches broke her sister’s mark and won the Class 5 state title. Brittany set her record of 12-10 in 2012.

“I don’t know if she wanted her record to be broken, but she said if it was, she hoped it would be me,” Nicole said. “She’s really happy for me.”

Sprinter’s delight

A back injury prevented Lee’s Summit North junior Cameron Dawkins from finding much success early this season. But as the pain started to subside, the victories began to trickle in.

None of them were bigger than Saturday.

Dawkins ran his season-best time in the 100 and claimed the Class 5 title. He finished in 10.77 seconds, edging Raymore-Peculiar junior Micah Beaver, who finished in 10.79 seconds.

“I don’t think anyone expected me to win because nobody has ever heard of me because of my injury,” Dawkins said.

Beaver didn’t leave empty-handed. He came back and won the 200 later in the afternoon in a personal-best time of 21.78 seconds.

“I told myself I was leaving with a gold medal today,” Beaver said. “So if it wasn’t in (the 100), I was getting it in (the 200).”

Madison adds two

Liberty North junior Andrew Madison set his sights Saturday on matching the accomplishments of his junior season, when he won three state titles.

The first false start of his career negated that chance. But a pair of gold medals made for a nice consolation prize.

Madison won the Class 5 110-meter hurdles, finishing in 14.11 seconds, and later anchored the Eagles’ win in the 800 relay.

He was disqualified in the 300-meter hurdles after he was whistled for a false start.

“In all honesty, I took it as a lesson,” Madison said. “I was a little too excited. I’ve been doing the right thing for so long, and to try to change anything, it can mess with you. I won’t make that mistake again.”

Kendall wins twice

As his brother climbed to the top of the medal stand at the Missouri state track meet last spring, Grandview junior Maliek Kendall said he envisioned what that moment would be like.

He knows now. A year later, Kendall won the Class 4 110- and 300-meter hurdles races.

Those wins helped propel Grandview to its fifth straight team state title.

“It was unreal being on the first-place stage,” said Kendall, whose brother Harvey won the triple jump last season. “I didn’t know if it was going to happen today, but I wanted to push hard for my team because we had to keep the streak going.”

A double for Clay

In an effort to combat prerace anxiety, Blue Springs South junior Jahliah Clay says she focuses only on her own time, and she waits until the finish line to glance toward her opponents.

When she took those glances Saturday, she quickly noticed she was all alone in front. Clay won the Class 5 100- and 200-meter dashes.

“I just closed my eyes and thought about my routine and trying to cross that finish line,” Clay said. “I think I was happy when I got there, but it was even more of a relief.”

Davis does it again

For the second straight day, Blue Springs senior Carlos Davis saved his best for last. And for the second straight day, that equated to a state title.

On his final shot put attempt, Davis landed a throw of 60 feet, 5 3/4 inches to take first place from his twin brother, Khalil, and won the Class 5 event.

Blue Springs also ran away with the Class 5 team title.

“I didn’t care as much about who won as long as we went (first and second),” Carlos said. “The win was just like a bonus.”

Carlos Davis also won the discus Friday.

Busy day for Hall

Raytown South junior Quincy Hall won the Class 4 400, though it may have cost him a chance to win a few more.

Hall competed in four races in less than a three-hour span. He placed fifth in the 200 and eighth in the 300 hurdles before helping Raytown South to a second-place finish in the 1,600 relay.

“I went too hard in the 400,” Hall said. “My legs were dead after that.”

More winners

▪ Lee’s Summit West freshman Makayla Kelby won the Class 5 girls discus with a throw of 145 feet, 8 inches, her second-best toss of the season.

▪ Notre Dame de Sion senior Meghan Kearney won the Class 4 800 meters, finishing in 2:15.34 seconds. She was eighth last season.

Relay winners

▪ In Class 5 boys, Rockhurst won the 400 relay for the third straight season, Liberty North won the 800 and Lee’s Summit North won the 1,600.

▪ In Class 5 girls, Blue Springs won the 400, and Lee’s Summit North won the 1,600.

▪ In Class 4 girls, Grandview won the 800, and Raytown South claimed the 400.

This story was originally published May 30, 2015 at 9:06 PM with the headline "Grandview’s Anglerne Annelus wins three events at Missouri state track."