McPike has punched his ticket to the Missouri Class 4 state meet which will take place on May 24-25 in Jefferson City. He is the only Warrior to qualify for state.
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Warrenton freshman Chance McPike walked into his first day of high school track practice with a mindset that he is always going to be the guy that wins.
This mindset has allowed McPike to punch his ticket to the Missouri Class 4 state meet which will take place on May 24-25 in Jefferson City. He is the only Warrior to qualify for state.
“He’s a fierce competitor, which is really good to see in a freshman,” track and field coach John Jeskey said. “We knew at the beginning of the year that he was going to have a chance.”
The Warrenton coaches saw the potential in McPike, so they prepared him by making practices harder than what the competition was going to be.
McPike has been running track since seventh grade. However, this was his first year running the 400-meter. At sectionals this past weekend held at Mexico High School, he placed fourth in the 400-meter run at 50.65 seconds.
This week, the Warriors will continue to strengthen McPike’s skills, putting all the focus and attention on him. Warrenton is bringing in other athletes from the team that McPike will be practicing against.
The coaches are giving these other athletes a slight head start and having McPike chase them down, hoping that McPike will be prepared for what it’s going to be like to race against other top level competitors.
“We have had a lot of hard practices,” McPike said. “Even when you feel tired, [the coaches] just keep pushing you and that really helps.”
McPike will also be preparing on his own time, making sure he works hard at practice, eats right, gets plenty of sleep and gets his mind right.
“Before every race or before anything I do, I just put my all into it,” McPike said. “I try to tell myself I got this.”
While McPike has expressed that he is nervous, he is also just as confident in himself.
“I always wanted to come to state and it’s just a blessing being there,” McPike said.
Two other Warriors also participated in sectionals this past weekend, but just missed their chance to compete at state. Junior Avery Shaw placed fifth in shot put, which was one spot away from qualifying for state. Her throw covered 11.42-meters.
“We happened to be put in a really tough district in sectionals for [Avery’s] individual events,” Jeskey said. “I believe if she would have made it through, she probably would have been on the podium.”
Shaw will have one final chance next season for her senior year and Jeskey has high expectations for her.
Senior Wyatt Claiborne competed in the 800- and 1,600-meter runs in sectionals, placing sixth and eighth, respectively, in his events. In the 800-meter, Claiborne set a personal record of 1:59.93.
