Five things to watch at the Missouri state track meets

The Missouri Class 5, Class 4 and Class 3 state track meets will take place Friday and Saturday at Jefferson City High School. Here are five things to watch at the events:

1. The record-breakers

Park Hill senior pole vaulter Christopher Nilsen warrants the price of admission.

Nilsen put on a show at the Missouri Class 5, Sectional 4 meet last weekend, when he cleared 18 feet, 4  3/4 inches. That’s the top mark in the nation.

Ever.

A year ago, Nilsen capped his junior year by breaking the Missouri all-class state-meet record. But as he proved last weekend, he has a knack for topping himself. He will try to break his own state-meet record when he competes in the pole vault at 3:30 p.m. Friday.

In the girls event, Lee’s Summit West senior Nicole Kallenberger set the Missouri state-meet girls pole vault record last spring and won her Class 5 sectional last weekend.

2. One last chance

The 2015 season was a year of second-place finishes for Blue Springs jumper Justin Hall.

Fortunately, he has one final opportunity to capture a gold medal. And it’s a pretty good opportunity, too.

Hall, a Texas Tech signee, owns the top long jump (24 feet, 1 inch) and triple jump (49 feet, 11 inches) in the state this season. He was the runner-up in both events at the Class 5 state meet last spring.

3. Another elite jumper

Truman senior Alexis Hart is best known as one of the nation’s top volleyball recruits, but she’s making an impression in the jumping pits, too.

Hart won Class 5, Sectional 4 titles in the long jump and triple jump over the weekend — both of them by wide margins.

She was third in the triple jump and fourth in the long jump at the state meet last season. She won the long jump as a sophomore.

4. The Grandview dynasty

The Grandview Bulldogs have put their stamp on the boys state track meet, winning five consecutive championships.

They’re set up to compete for another in Missouri Class 4.

The Bulldogs won seven events at the Missouri Class 4, Sectional 4 meet last weekend, including two each from sprinter Caulin Graves and hurdler Maliek Kendall.

Graves has recorded the best 200-meter time in the state this season (21.30 seconds). Kendall has run the fastest 110-meter hurdles race in the state (14.00 seconds).

5. Collecting medals

After winning the Missouri Class 4 state title in the discus last spring, Pleasant Hill thrower Logan Blomquist expressed some surprise.

He expects it this year.

Blomquist has established himself as the top thrower in the state in both the discus and shot put. At different meets, he recorded the top shot put (60 feet, 7 inches) and discus throw (186 feet, 8 inches) in Missouri.

This story was originally published May 25, 2016 at 5:30 PM with the headline "Five things to watch at the Missouri state track meets."