Jacob Crump was confident, but realistic.

The Warrenton senior sprinter entered the track season with high expectations, but as he glanced at results across the state he knew a trip to the state meet would be well-earned.

Two months later, Crump is headed to Jefferson City in the 200-meter and 300 hurdles.

“Toward the beginning of the year, I was pretty confident I would be going,” he said. “But as the year kept going, more people started getting better times and I was a little nervous. But I still had confidence in myself.”

Crump qualified for the Class 4, Sectional 2 meet in the 400, as well, but skipped the race to focus on the hurdles.

“We wanted to just focus on the 300 hurdles because there was only a 20-minute time difference between the events,” Warrenton Head Coach Steve McDowell said.

Crump needed the extra energy, too.

He finished third in the 300 hurdles in 40.62 seconds, 0.7 seconds ahead of the fifth-place finisher, Nehemiah Colyer of Parkway West.

“I’ve been working on my hurdles more this year and trying to run through the hurdles instead of slowing down to get over them,” he said.

Crump has also focused on finishing races strong, no matter the competition.

According to himself and McDowell, he has had a tendency to coast in the races in which he was the clear favorite.

It comes as no surprise, then, that his personal-best in the 300 hurdles came in last month’s Fort Zumwalt North Invitational where he raced against numerous Class 5 runners.

Crump is ready for better competition in Jefferson City.

“There will be a lot of fast guys next to me,” he said. “So it will push me even harder.”

There was no less drama in Saturday’s 200 final, as Crump beat out McCluer’s Kyren Martin by .08 seconds to finish fourth.

“I’m more confident in the hurdles than the 200,” Crump admitted. “In the hurdles, everyone is right there next to each other, and in the 200 there is a little bit more of a gap.”

Crump said he hopes to make it out of the preliminary round of the 200 Friday and, “see what we can do from there.”

His hurdle goals are simple.

He wants a medal.

His personal-best of 39.96 seconds puts him 12th in Class 4, but McDowell hopes racing with his peers will drop his time.

“I told him today that everyone is the same speed now,” McDowell said Monday. “Everyone is Jacob Crump on Friday and Saturday.”

With college track on the horizon, Crump doesn’t expect nerves to be a factor this weekend.

“It’s going to be heartbreaking, but I have college to look forward to,” he said. “It definitely helps with the nerves knowing it won’t be my final track meet.”