Sheldon's Colbert competes at Class 1 track championship

Sheldon High School’s Kim Colbert got her first experience of state track Saturday in Jefferson City.

After placing second at the Class 1 Sectional 5 meet in Sarcoxie the week before, the sophomore speedster was one of 16 qualifiers for the MSHSAA Class 1 girls 300-meter hurdle race, an event for which she repeatedly set the new school record during the season — most recently at sectionals with a time of 50.50 seconds.

Colbert was on that same pace, or perhaps even better, on the big state Saturday at Adkins Stadium. But she caught her foot on a hurdle coming out of the final turn, causing her to stumble and allowing her competitors to pull away.

Nonetheless, Colbert got up and sprinted toward the finish, leaping over the final hurdles in her way to cross the finish line in 54.87 seconds. She finished 16th.

“I’m very proud of this young girl and can’t wait to see what she does next year,” Sheldon head coach Josh Short stated afterward of the team’s lone state qualifier.

St. Joseph Christian’s Brooklyn Miller won the event with a time of 48.42 seconds, just beating Pattonsburg's Kelsey Crabtree by .44 seconds. Santa Fe's Nevaeh Ballenger rounded out the top-three with a time of 49.08 seconds.