Sulya and Klein Qualify For State Track Meet

Every inch, or in the case of Mehlville junior Carly Klein, every inch and three quarters matters in track.

That was the difference between Klein advancing to this weekend's state meet in Jefferson City and seeing her 2011 season end.

The top four finishers in each event at Saturday's Class 4 Sectional 1 Meet at Lafayette High School earn their ticket to the state meet in Jefferson City.

Klein, who was seeded second coming into sectionals, was down to her last jump and had yet to earn the elusive top four position.

Klein showed that she was a clutch performer as she jumped 34 feet, 3.75 inches. That was just enough to surpass Northwest's Taylor Hosna who finished fifth at 34 feet 2 inches. Hosna had won the long jump earlier in the meet.

Klein came into the triple jump after finishing the dreaded fifth place in the 300-meter hurdles. She ran a 48.78 but was almost two seconds out of the coveted fourth place.

"I really wasn't disappointed at all," Klein said of her finish in the hurdles. "This is my first year with the hurdles and I dropped three seconds here."

The start of the 300-meter hurdles was at the same time as the beginning of the triple jump so Klein had to rush to the triple jump pit with no down time.

"I am a very competitive person and this means everything to me," Klein said. "I really wanted this."

Two fifth place finishes when the top four advance to state would have been a heart-breaker for Klein.

"My dad said if I had two fifth place finishes that he was going to walk home because he didn't want to be in the same car as me," she said.

Instead, Klein will see her season extended and will be the only Panther girl headed to Lincoln University for the state meet Friday and Saturday.

"I like the pressure although it was too close today," Klein said. "I guess I will have the whole week of practice to myself. I can just go out there now and focus on the jumps. I am just going to go to state and try to get a PR (personal record). If I do that, I will be happy no matter where I finish."

Junior Mike Sulya is the only Panther boy to qualify for state. He finished third in the boys high jump as he cleared 6 feet, 2 inches. LaJuan Moye of Webster Groves won, clearing 6 feet 6 inches. Sulya just missed out in qualifying in the long jump. He was fifth, jumping 21 feet, 2 inches. Jeff Klein of Marquette was fourth at 21 feet 4.5 inches.

It was a heart-breaking day for Panther Patrick Partee. The sophomore failed to make state in the 300-meter hurdles by .03 of a second. He finished fifth with a time of 39.26. Cameron Williams of Kirkwood was fourth in 39.23.

The Panther boys 4x200-meter relay team of Chayse Brown, Remington Grigsby, Jeff Jackson and  Partee finished sixth.

Brown, Corey Dickerson, Jeff Jackson and Sulya were seventh in the 4x100-meter relay and Grigsby, Patree, Sulya and Brown were sixth in the 4x400-meter relay.

Jennifer Carter was seventh in the 800-meter run while Brown was eighth in the 200-meter dash.

Ladue won the boys sectional team meet with 60 points. Only six points separated the top four teams. Kirkwood was second with 58.5, Rockwood Summit was third with 56 and Lafayette was fourth with 54.

Lindbergh was dominant in winning the girls team meet with 99 points. Kirkwood also finished second in the girls with 86.5 points while Eureka was third with 78 points.