This past weekend, Chance McPike took a trip to Jefferson City for the Class 4 track and field state championship. McPike is a freshman and was the only track athlete from Warrenton to qualify for state.

On day one, McPike placed 11th overall in the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.62 seconds. Unfortunately, McPike did not qualify out of preliminaries to move on to the next day. 

Despite McPike not advancing to the finals, he felt good about his race and was grateful for the experience. 

Out of both Class 4 and Class 5, McPike was one of 14 freshmen to make it to the state level for individual events. In addition, not only was he the only freshmen in his heat, McPike was the only underclassmen, racing among juniors and seniors. 

“I think being there my freshman year was a good experience. It showed me what it’s like [to be at state] and placing is my goal next year,” McPike said.

McPike noted that watching other races was exciting to see and he had a fun time with his coaches after enduring an excruciating week of practice to prepare for state. The freshman also stated that he was nervous before the race and it started to rain when he began his event. 

“I feel pretty good about how I ran, but I wish I ran a little bit better,” McPike said. “Next year, I want to bring my times down.”

With a goal of placing at state later on in his high school career, McPike also said he wants to qualify for two events instead of one, with the possibility of running the 200-meter in addition to the 400-meter. 

When asked about the rest of his experience, McPike stated that “there were too many cicadas.” 

With more experience and one year of high school track under his belt, McPike plans on coming back as an even better track athlete and accomplishing more for the Warriors.