The Warrenton track and field team will be represented by three athletes at the Class 4 Track and Field State Championships this weekend at Adkins Stadium in Jefferson City: Avery Shaw, Marcus Greene and Isham Keeper.

“They’ve definitely worked really hard and they’re really putting in the extra effort,” coach John Jeskey said.  

Shaw qualified for the state meet after placing second in the discus throw (36.87 meters) and fourth in the shot put (11.49 meters) at the Class 4, Sectional 2 meet on May 24 at Rock Bridge High School in Columbia. Greene finished third in the shot put (14.78 meters) and Keeper placed second in the high jump (1.91 meters). 

Jeskey noted before the sectional meet, he could tell his throwers had some nerves but they quickly dissipated.

“It was strictly business for (Shaw and Greene). It’s either qualify and go to state or you’re going home early,” Jeskey said. “As soon as we got into actual competition, those nerves seemed to go away and we just had to go out and get our marks.” 

At the state meet, Shaw will compete in the shot put at 10 a.m. on Friday and the discus at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. Greene will compete in the shot put at 2 p.m. and Keeper will jump at 9:30 a.m., both on Friday. 

For Shaw, this marks her second appearance at state, having previously qualified as a sophomore. That year, she finished 15th in discus and 16th in shot put. 

“She’s been dedicating herself to try and get back to state ever since her sophomore year, which she barely missed last year, but that just made her work 10 times harder,” Jeskey said. 

Shaw adjusted her class schedule this year to get additional weight room sessions during the school day. 

The results have shown as she set a personal best in the discus at sectionals. 

“She’s really hitting her stride in the season well,” Jeskey said. “She’s throwing really well at the end of the season which you always like because sometimes throwers taper off and you see them do well early, but start to lag behind at the end. She has developed really well and started to hit her peak at the right time.” 

Greene will compete at the state meet for the first time. He is only a sophomore. 

“With (Greene) being a sophomore, you don’t see many sophomore shot putters make it that far. Normally, their bodies need a couple extra years to develop,” Jeskey said. “But, he’s really excelling and he’s making some great strides for his age.” 

Greene’s offseason work in the weight room and honing in on mastering the spin technique has played a big role in his success. 

“He started to do the spin technique in shot put, which is a more advanced technique and you don’t really see underclassmen do it. He’s been developing that and been able to make some good strides and really get some monster throws in,” Jeskey said. 

Keeper, a senior, will be heading to the state meet for the first time as well. A few months ago, Keeper had no experience in track but now he’s headed to the big stage. 

“I’m really proud of him and happy with the progress he’s made,” coach Mark Thomas said. “His resilience and commitment to focusing on the form and getting better in such a fast period of time.” 

Keeper’s natural jumping ability has always stood out to Thomas. 

“His natural jumping ability has always been there. We could see it in basketball, so it was just putting the form with it and now, he’s taken off,” Thomas said. 

Keeper’s work with alum Deacon Forrest and extra practice on his own has allowed him to quickly translate his talent to the track. 

“His competitive nature takes over once he’s there and he’s really good with being able to calm himself. He’s a very religious young man and makes a sign of a cross or points to the heavens before each jump,” Thomas said. “He has a good way of getting himself in the right headspace and it helps ground him.” 

With just days before the state meet, practice routines have become laser-focused. Jeskey said Shaw and Greene will have some heavy practices early in the week and then they will simulate the state competition later in the week. 

“They’ll take their warm up throws and they’re going to take their competition throws. We’ll fix any form things we can and then it’s straight business from there,” Jeskey said. 

Jeskey’s goal for the duo is simple. 

“Our expectations are to get our first state medalist for our boys since 2019 and our first state medalist for our girls since 2016,” he said. 

Keeper will have a similar practice schedule and has been mirroring the timing of his state event during practice to get a good feel. 

“To get to state after never doing this before is a win in itself,” Thomas said about Keeper. “If we can get into the top eight, that would be amazing but I’m already pleased with him. Getting there is a huge accomplishment and to be one of the 16 (state qualifiers) is pretty awesome.” 

Additional sectional qualifiers and results are Morgan Marschel in the 200-meter dash (26.11 seconds; seventh place) and 400-meter dash (58.26 seconds; fifth place), Jonathan Sweitzer in the 400-meter dash (51.22 seconds; eighth place), Dylan Coleman in the 1600-meter dash (4:45.18; seventh place) and the 4x400 relay team consisting of Keeper, Coleman, Pierce and Sweitzer (3:36.38; eighth place).