Missouri girls rout Kansas at all-star track meet

For Fort Osage senior Asia Cole, her first-place finishes in the shot put and discus at the Missouri Kansas All-Star Track Meet were more than just another pair of titles.

They also served as a fitting goodbye to the school where she has risen to the top of the state in both events during her decorated career.

Cole, who is headed to the University of Nebraska, won the shot put with a mark of 46 feet, 3 inches and discus with a throw of 141 1/2 . Earlier this month, she won her third consecutive Class 4 title in the shot put and placed second in discus at the state meet in Jefferson City.

“It’s really nice to end it on my home turf,” Cole said. “With my shot I am very happy and with my discus I am happy that it won, but I am really excited to see what I can do in college.”

She also helped Missouri to a 49-10 victory on the girls’ side while the boys narrowly edged Kansas 55-50 on Wednesday night at Fort Osage High School.

“It’s really relaxed and fun, but it is still the same amount of competitiveness because you are getting the best of the best,” Cole said. “I think it is a really great competition.”

On the boys side, Bonner Spring’s Kyle Dumler won the discus as the only competitor with a throw of 144-3, but it was his second place finish in the shot put that he was most proud of.

Dumler threw a career-best 51-11 1/2, placing second behind John Berry of Pleasant Hill, who was the Missouri Class 3 champion this season.

“It’s not disappointing, but if I had thrown that at state I would have gotten third place instead of fourth, and then I come out to this meet which is just supposed to be fun and throw my best shot put ever,” Dumler said. “It’s cool, though. At least I threw well.”

Olathe North’s Nate Wickoren finished his high school career with a bang, winning his first ever meet title when he crossed the finish line in 4:11.50 in the 1,500-meter run.

“My calves are killing me from that one,” Wickoren said. “I haven’t been preparing like the regular season, so to go out and just randomly do it is a little hard on you, but I am really happy with the way I ran.”

Wickoren said this race helped make up for the Kansas Class 6A state meet, where he finished 16th in the 1,600 with a time of 4:44.59.

“State did not go my way, so that was one of the main reasons I wanted to do this,” Wickoren said. “I wanted to finish strong.”

This story was originally published June 18, 2014 at 11:42 PM with the headline "Missouri girls rout Kansas at all-star track meet."