It was a memorable day for the Mt. Vernon Township High School Rams at the IHSA Class 2A Mascoutah Sectional as Mt. Vernon punched its ticket to the state finals in an impressive 10 events while finishing third in the team standings.
The Rams showcased their depth throughout the meet, qualifying athletes in both individual and relay events against one of the toughest sectional fields in the state.
Individually, Keaton Koch advanced to state in the 110-meter high hurdles, Karter Oliver qualified in the high jump, and Spencer Sledge earned a trip to Charleston in the pole vault.
Mt. Vernon also turned in a dominant performance in the relays, capturing sectional championships in both the 800-meter relay and the 3200-meter relay. The Rams’ 800 relay team made history in the process, setting a new Mt. Vernon High School record with a blazing time of 1:28.15.
In addition to those sectional titles, the Rams also qualified for state in the 200-meter dash, 800-meter run, 1600-meter run, 3200-meter run, and the 1600-meter relay, highlighting the team’s balance of sprint speed, middle-distance strength, and relay excellence.
Cahokia High School captured the sectional team title with 122 points, followed by Carbondale Community High School with 85.5 points. Mt. Vernon finished a strong third with 80 points.
Meanwhile, Centralia High School narrowly missed adding a state qualifier of its own. Jaedyn Smith turned in an outstanding effort in the 300-meter hurdles, finishing in 41.67 seconds, just .13 seconds shy of the state qualifying standard.
