High School Sports
5 highlights from 1st day of Missouri Class 5 & 4 boys track and field state meet
Summit’s Hussein clears mind for shot put title
Omar Hussein admitted the bright lights got under his skin in the past.
The Summit senior recalled years past when if things weren’t perfect his mind would override his physical talents.
“My mental game was really weak,” Hussein said.
Those days are a distant memory for the Summit senior. His mind is now more akin to an impenetrable fortress, and he showed it Friday during the Missouri boys track and field state meet at Jefferson City High School.
It didn’t matter if the meet was in the middle of a raging storm or heavy death metal music was blaring in his ear — Hussein would not be distracted from his goal.
“I didn’t think a single thing,” Hussein said of his mindset while competing.
People are also reading…
Hussein won the Class 4 boys shot put title with a throw of 18.86 meters (61 feet, 10.5 inches).
He is the first individual state champion from Summit since Jacob Brunsman won the 400-meter run in 2019 and first Falcon shot put state champion since Bryce Edwards in 2017.
“It sounds great, and it feels ever greater,” said Hussein, who has signed to play football at Missouri Baptist.
Hussein pointed to the offseason as a reason for his rock-steady mindset while in the ring.
“It all started in November,” Hussein said. “This year was the first time I competed indoors. I started going to these big (indoor) meets and started throwing against bigger guys. I could still hit those big throws, throwing in front of a crowd of people. It helped me build my mental game.”
This was Hussein’s first state qualification in shot put. He made it in discus last season but scratched on all three throws.
He will compete again in discus on Saturday and won sectional titles in both events.
Hussein credited his coaches and teammates for keeping their faith in him.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Hussein said. “I appreciate my coach for always having faith in me and being there for me and getting me to this point.”
As pleased as Hussein was with his school-record throw, he doesn’t think it will last long.
“I threw pretty far, but look at this demon to my right,” Hussein said, talking about freshman Devin Walker. “I had to make it hard for him, but I just know he’ll break it.”
Walker also competed Friday, picking up a ninth-place finish with a throw of 16.14 meters (52 feet, 11.5 inches).
“I love being there for him, but he was there for me,” Hussein said.
Kirkwood’s Jacob Poole attempts to clear the bar during the first day of the Class 4 and 5 boys and girls track and field state championships on Friday, May 30, 2025 at Jefferson City High School in Jefferson City, Mo.
Poole saves best jump for last
Kirkwood senior Jacob Poole felt the pressure on him as he looked down the runway during the Class 5 boys pole vault competition.
He had scratched twice before, stopping his jumps while hanging in the air before sliding down the pole.
“I took a big, deep breath and was like ‘I have to clear this,’ ” Poole said.
With his mind clear, Poole blazed down the runaway, stuck his pole into the ground and let his body take over.
Poole cleared the bar and began to celebrate on his way down.
He was a state champion.
“It was kind of surreal,” Poole said. “I’ve put in a lot of work the past four years, and it feels really good to be a state champ.”
Poole’s jump of 4.78 meters (15 feet, 8.25 inches) on his third and final attempt made him the first pole vaulting state champion from Kirkwood since Bruce Horman in 1970, according to MSHSAA.
On some of Poole’s scratches, he knew mid-air that he had done something wrong.
“I have a big problem with taking off under my takeoff mark, but the issue coming into the state was jumping off on my mark,” Poole said. “I was standing back in the runway and reset to snap my last leg down and jump.”
After a sixth-place state finish as a junior, Poole had a good feeling that he could be a state champion with an offseason’s worth of work.
“It was me and Kent (Sheridan) and we were both returners,” Poole said. “I put a lot of offseason training in and jumped with a club and got a PR of 15 feet and 6 inches in the winter and started thinking that I had a shot.”
Festus’ Carson Driemeier during the first day of the Class 4 and 5 boys and girls track and field state championships on Friday, May 30, 2025 at Jefferson City High School in Jefferson City, Mo.
Driemeier is a ‘smooth operator’ for gold
As Carson Driemeier cruised around the track on Friday in the Class 4 1600-meter run, he had a tune singing in his head.
It’s a familiar tune for the Festus High junior.
“I tend to sing ‘Smooth Operator’ in my head,” Driemeier said. “I don’t know what it is about that song. I think it helps calm me down.”
With that song jamming internally, Driemeier led from start to finish and claimed the state championship with a time of 4 minutes and 11.77 seconds.
“I definitely felt the pressure leading up to the race,” Driemeier said. “Stepping up to the line, I knew I was one of the best out there and it would be tough to get it, but I knew I could get it done.”
Driemeier joins Ian Schram (2023), Jacob Meyers (2022) and Maxwell McDaniel (2019) as Festus state champions in the 1600.
After a fourth-place finish last year, Driemeier wasn’t going to let that happen again.
“It lit a fire underneath me,” Driemeier said. “Coaches lit a fire under me. A lot of people had a lot of faith in me, and I think that really fueled it.”
Webster Groves’ Colton Richardson holds up No. 1 on the podium during the first day of the Class 4 and 5 boys and girls track and field state championships on Friday, May 30, 2025 at Jefferson City High School in Jefferson City, Mo.
Richardson leads Statesmen attack in 800
As Colton Richardson fought through the last 100 meters of the 800 on Friday, he also knew there were teammates close behind.
The state championship was good enough, but seeing his teammates on the podium with him?
“It’s one of the best feelings I think I’ve ever had,” Richardson said. “I’m really proud of them.”
Richardson claimed the Class 4 state championship in the 800 with a time of 1 minute and 54.65 seconds.
His Statesmen teammates Joe Wetzel-Meehan (1:57.61) and Henry Boland (1:57.81) picked up fourth- and fifth-place finishes, respectively.
“I knew they were there,” Richardson said. “They’re always right behind me and they always make me push just a little bit harder. I really have to give thanks to my teammates.”
Richardson admitted that while he flew through the first 700 meters, the last stretch was a battle.
“That last 100 meters was just a dogfight for me,” Richardson said. “That wind was pushing on me, all I could think was get first, get first.”
As he stood on top of the podium, he just had to take it all in.
“Super proud of it,” Richardson said. “I’ve had my teammates pushing me all season. Really kept me on top of my game. Kept me at my best, I think.”
Fort Zumwalt West’s Eliot Hummer receives his first-place medal during the first day of the Class 4 and 5 boys and girls track and field state championships on Friday, May 30, 2025 at Jefferson City High School in Jefferson City, Mo.
Hummer throws his way to a title
Fort Zumwalt West senior Eliot Hummer thought he was in danger of advancing to the finals when he grabbed his javelin for his third and final preliminary throw.
“I thought, going into that, that I wasn’t even in the finals,” Hummer said. “My thoughts were, ‘If I don’t get a decent one, I’m out.’ “
With that desperation nipping at his heels, he unleashed a Class 5 state title throw, winning championship with a mark of 55.56 meters (182 feet, 3 inches).
“It’s awesome,” Hummer said.
According to MSHSAA, he is the first individual champion in the school’s history.
“Again, awesome,” Hummer said.
Hummer found out later he had made the final cut with his first throw, but that kind of desperation helped him uncork a dandy of a throw.
That and having an “absurd” amount of confidence.
“I thought the whole time I’d win,” Hummer said.
That kind of confidence helped keep him relaxed after he admitted to choking in sectionals last season.
This was a better ending.
“I was seeded high and I didn’t make it to state last year,” Hummer said. “This is a nice way to end out of track.”
Hummer has signed to play football for Northern Illinois University.
