Paul Halfacre | Post-Dispatch Zumwalt East's Foster repeats as Class 4 pole vault champ
As Fort Zumwalt East junior Avery Foster sat waiting in the tent at Jefferson City High School, her nerves began to build.
The she saw competitors jump and drop out, Foster just had to quell the raging storm inside of her.
"I get very nervous, but I've trained myself to turn it into excitement," Foster said. "They're pushing me to do better. I know the girls are getting knocked out now, but they pushed me to do better because I need to clear that height, too."
The defending state champion in the pole vault refined those nerves into something she could use.
And when it was her turn, she didn't disappoint in the 2025 edition of the Missouri girls track and field state championships.
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Foster defended her state title and secured the Class 4 pole vault state championship with a leap of 3.66 meters (12 feet).
"I'm so happy," Foster said. "This season has been hard for me because I've been sick several times this season."
She's the first repeat champion for Fort Zumwalt East and admitted she felt that target on her back throughout the season.
It didn't help that as she battled illness throughout the year, her heights weren't what she was used to clearing.
"I felt the target throughout the season," Foster said. "I was very close to some girls, but I finally felt like I got into my groove and felt confident again."
When the postseason hit, she felt like her state champion self. She remembers vividly the moment she was back.
"There's a picture my parents have in video where mid jump, where my mouth is wide open at sectionals, and I was so excited," Foster said.
Now that she's claimed her second state title in the pole vault, Foster is already thinking about next season.
"That's definitely a goal of mine (three-peat)," Foster said.
Pacific's Lay changes things at right time
Pacific junior McKenna Lay was fighting herself in the shot put ring.
Lay didn't feel right, so she made a last-minute shift.
"I normally glide, but I did a three-step today because I've had some technical issues," Lay said.
That change paid off in the most significant way as Lay threw her way to the Class 4 shot put state championship with a throw of 13.40 meters (43 feet, 11.5 inches).
"It's crazy, to be honest -- I did not expect that," Lay said. "There are some great throwers here. I'm just in ecstasy."
She's the first Pacific individual state champion since Dena Moore won the high jump in 1998.
Her throw of 13.4 meters is nearly a meter farther than her previous personal best. It was something she made up her mind to change in an attempt to quench her competitive nature.
"I think I'm just so competitive that I knew a medal was possible, but I wanted to get the gold," Lay said. "I really thought this was the only way to do that."
When she tossed it, she couldn't believe it when the shot landed near the 14-meter mark.
"I saw it close to the 14-meter line and I was thinking 'That can't be right,' " Lay said.
Metz reaches her goal and then some
It was written in her bedroom all season.
"I just wanted to be top five," Francis Howell sophomore Adelle Metz said. "I've had it written down in my bedroom forever."
After missing out on a state appearance as a freshman, Metz would not be denied this season.
Then, when she got to state, she wasn't going to settle for a top-five finish.
"At districts, whenever I was getting over 40 meters, I thought I can improve that and just work past it," Metz said.
On her second throw Friday, she launched the javelin 44.21 meters (145 feet) and claimed the Class 5 championship.
"It feels great," Metz said. "I've worked so hard this season. I've been banged up, have bumps and bruises, but I've been able to fight through it. I had a goal and I met my goal."
Metz is the first individual state champion from Francis Howell since Madison Leigh won the 1600-meter run in 2017.
After Metz climbed down off the podium, she beamed with pride.
"I'm going to celebrate this one for sure with my teammates and celebrate their accomplishments," Metz said.
While she's celebrating this title, her eyes are already set on the next two seasons.
"I want to go for a three-peat," Metz said.
Incarnate Word's Hensgens leaps for gold
Her legs were sore from her jumps into the pit earlier in the day.
But Bailey Hensgens had just enough in the tank for the high jump.
The Incarnate Word sophomore won the Class 4 high jump championship with a leap of 1.74 meters (5 feet, 8.5 inches).
"It feels really good," said Hensgens, who was the Class 3 high jump title last season. "I was really hoping to do my best. I didn't get my PR today, but I was happy with how I did today because I had the long jump today and my legs were a little tired."
Hensgens tied with Pacific sophomore Aaliyah Willary, who also posted a jump of 1.74 meters, but won due to the tiebreaker of misses at previous heights.
Earlier in the day, Hensgens narrowly missed out on a long jump title. She finished as runner-up with a leap of 5.76 meters, just behind Grandview-KC's Jordin McGee (5.79). After that event, she just had to reset her mind as she prepared for high jump.
"I really just had to think about the motion, envision what I was going to do and not think about what could possibly happen that would be bad," Hensgens said.
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