The Warrenton track teams are hoping momentum is real as they prepare for the Class 4, District 4 meet Saturday at Westminster.

Both teams put up impressive performances in the Gateway Athletic Conference North meet Friday, as the girls won the conference title while the boys finished second.

Heading into the weekend, the Warriors have qualifying marks in eight events.

The top four finishers in each event qualify for sectionals the following Saturday at Mexico.

Jacob Crump leads the Warrenton boys team into the district meet.

Crump has top-four times in the 200-meter (22.47 seconds) and 300 hurdles (39.96).

And after being thrown into the 400 Friday in the GAC North meet for the first time this season, he finished in 50.84 seconds, good enough for third in the district.

“So now we’ve got some decision-making to do about districts,” Head Coach Steve McDowell said. “We’re going to sit down and talk about it and see what events he’ll feel comfortable with. A lot of it comes down to your time schedule. With the 400 and 300 hurdles going back-to-back, it’s going to be tough already.”

Ruben Varnado is coming off a personal-best toss of 137 feet, 1 inch in the discus that placed him third in the district.

“We’re looking at his results and hoping he can keep that number climbing and make him competitive in the next round,” McDowell said.

Hannibal’s Dylan Powell leads the district with a season-best toss of 152 feet, 6 inches.

In the shot put, Varnado is ranked fifth but sits two inches from Mexico’s Aaron Terrese, whose throw of 45 feet, 1 inch has him fourth overall.

“They’ve both got some opportunities,” McDowell said of Crump and Varnado. “Jacob has realistic expectations to advance in three or four events, depending on where I place him.”

McDowell was also excited about Nathan Nordwald, who set two personal records at the GAC North meet.

He currently sits 10th in the 1,600 and 11th in the 3,200.

Friday he knocked 20 seconds off his previous best in the 3,200, finishing in 10 minutes, 22.26 seconds.

“His time really came down in the 2-mile,” McDowell said. “He could certainly sneak up on people Saturday.”

Lalita Andrews is the heavy favorite in the girls’ high jump.

She broke the school record of 5 feet, 2 inches Friday, winning the event with a final jump of 5-feet-4 and setting the top mark in the district.

Rylie Cox set a personal record in the triple jump while winning the GAC North title.

She jumped 33 feet, 1 3/4 inches, and is currently ninth in the district.

“That puts her in a spot to possibly get to sectional,” Head Coach Steve Wurtzel said. “If she’s able to pull off another 33 or even add something to it, then we could be talking top four at districts. We need to listen to her body, too. She has been aching a little bit lately, so we’ll have to talk to her about what she wants to do.”

Kayla Nelson sits third in the district with a distance of 35 feet, 3 inches.

She will compete in the discus Saturday, as well, but will focus more on advancing to sectionals in the shot put.

“I still want her to focus on discus because you never know what is going to happen,” Wurtzel said. “But shot is definitely the focus.”

Wurtzel said the biggest point of emphasis as Saturday draws closer is refining techniques, especially in the relays.

“We’ve got another week ahead of us,” he said. “Our job is to show up and see who can compete on Saturday.”