Saturday’s trip to Mexico turned into one of the most successful postseason outings in recent history for the Warrenton boys track team. The Warriors advanced to the sectional round in eight events during the Class 3 District 4 competition and are hopeful a return visit to Mexico will yield the same results this Saturday. Warrenton placed fourth out of 17 teams with 67 points. Hannibal claimed top honors with 132 points. “It’s been a while since we’ve had a good showing on the boys’ side, and it was a tremendous effort on their part,” said coach Steve McDowell. “We barely missed out on qualifying in a ninth event in the 4x400.” Senior Bryan Groeper was a center of success, as he advanced in multiple events. Groeper won the 800-meter race, clocking a 2:01 to beat his nearest competitor by over two seconds. “He had such a great day,” said McDowell. “It was unbelievable to watch him run. It was probably the best and most consistent we’ve seen him run at a meet all year.” He also anchored the 3200-meter relay team, which advanced by placing second behind Moberly. The crew, consisting of seniors Adam Smith, Justin Greene, sophomore Cloud Wharton and Groeper, ran an 8:24. Senior Reece Berry placed among the top four in both of his throwing events and was the district champion in the shot put. “Reece had one of the best days in the state,” said McDowell. “It was a tough day to throw on Saturday too.” His toss of 52 feet, 11 inches was six feet better than the nearest competitor. Berry advanced in the discus by recording a throw of 134 feet, seven inches to finish fourth. “He kind of smashed the competition in the shot put,” said McDowell. “He was able to eke out fourth place when a lot of guys were throwing 30 to 40 feet short of what they usually do.” “Reece has a very good opportunity on Saturday,” said McDowell. “By hitting 50 feet, that’s kind of been the magic mark of where you have to be at consistently.” Greene also qualified by placing third in the high jump by clearing six feet, two inches. “Justin was able to match his (personal best) and has a good opportunity on Saturday,” said McDowell. “If he performs well, he can make a trip to Jeff City.” Sophomore Nick Wallace locked in first trip to sectionals with a third-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles. “Nick ran really well, and his strongest of the two events is probably the 300,” said McDowell. “He came out and competed really well in the 110 hurdles. We’re very excited for Nick to come through as a sophomore and proud of what he was able to accomplish.” Sophomore Devin Ray qualified in both sprinting events, reaching sectionals during his first season of varsity track. He claimed fourth place in the 100-meter dash, finishing in 11.88 seconds. Ray took fourth in the 200-meter race with a time of 23.55 seconds. “He had a long day of running,” said McDowell. “By the end of it he was pretty tired, but he managed to fight through and make to the sectional races. He’s done very well for us all year.” Warrenton was represented in several other events that didn’t qualify for sectionals. The 800 relay team barely missed the cut, placing fifth with a time of 1:39. Senior Brandon Wade placed seventh in the pole vault. Smith took ninth in the 400-meter race with a time of 57.97 seconds. “That was kind of what our goal was,” said McDowell. “Getting fourth overall was fantastic. I’m real proud of what the boys were able to accomplish.”