After taking 50th place overall at last year’s Class 4 boys’ track and field championships, Oakville Senior High School jumped to 23rd overall at this year’s state championships in Jefferson City.

“The good thing about state was that we went to the finals in all of the events that we really went down there for,” Oakville head coach Arlee Conners said. “We didn’t do our best, but had we done our best, we would have been in the top three in every event. But it was definitely a positive experience.”

Oakville senior Jourdan Riley took sixth place overall in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.22. Riley’s accomplishment in the 100-meter dash was a complete contrast to how his senior year had started.

“Right before the first game of the football season, Jourdan found out that football was done forever because of a head and neck injury in practice,” Conners said. “He had put a lot of work in over the summer and for him to stick with it and excel in the track season was really good to see.

“He’ll definitely catch on somewhere. A good track program could use his talents.”

Oakville’s best performance of the meet was in the 4×100-meter relay as sophomore Lavelle Boyd teamed up with junior Willie Ingram, senior Jeremy Booker and Riley for a fourth-place finish with a time of 42.67.

“We put that group together pretty much after districts,” Conners said. “They ran some outstanding times going into state, but unfortunately they didn’t run their best time in the finals. But I can understand that because some of the guys didn’t have any experience of being in a state final.”

Oakville’s 4×200-meter relay of Booker, Boyd, Ingram and Riley took sixth place overall with a time of 1:28.57.

“This team didn’t lose all year long until they got to state,” Conners said. “It’s not as good as we could have done, but we did all right.”

Conners expects the Tigers to continue to improve at state next season after the junior varsity squad won the recent Suburban West Conference JV meet.

“We should look really good next year,” Conners said. “The JV team took first at conference so we’re definitely looking forward to being better next year.”