Chapman, McDaniel, Koper and Sharpe shine in distance races

Published 12:34 am Saturday, May 23, 2026

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The first day of the MSHSAA Track and Field State Championships are in the books and it was the finals of the distance races that held the most excitement for our local schools.

Northeast Missouri saw athletes win All-State honors in the boys 4×800, girls 800 and 1,600, and boys 3,200.

The racing started with the boys 4×800. South Shelby got off to a strong start and was in third place after the first hand off. They would move up and stay in second place through the second and third runners. Clark County would hang right in there with the Cardinals as the Indians were in fourth place after the second runner and fifth place after the third runner was done.

The drama came with the fourth and final runners of the races. In a relay, teams put their fastest runner last to catch up and make up spots. Paris High School did just that. The Coyotes had the reigning state champion in the 800, Landen Chapman running the last leg and he did not disappoint. Paris was in ninth place when Chapman got the baton. They were nine seconds behind South Shelby and five seconds behind Clark County.

No worries. Chapman ran an unofficial blistering split of 1:51.65 for his final leg to take Paris from ninth to finish in second place. South Shelby would finish in fourth and Clark County in fifth. The state meet record in Class 2 for the 800 is 1:54.78, which Chapman will look to break on Saturday.

Anchoring the Clark County Indians in that race was Mason McDaniel who would come back later in the race, alongside Chapman, and run the boys 3,200.

McDaniel, the reigning 3,200 champion, bid his time and hung with the lead pack throughout the race. Running near even splits throughout the race, McDaniel ended up running 9:31.57 to take third place. Chapman finished fifth in 9:37.65.

The local girls had their own stars in the distance races. Highland senior Chevie Sharpe came into the the state meet looking to finish off a strong career with more All-State accolades. She got that started in the 1,600.

Sharpe was the reigning champion in the event, but a stronger field this year was too much to overcome. Sharpe ran 5:08.55 to take third place. For perspective, the time was a personal best, a new school record, and beat her state winning time of last year by seven seconds. A loaded group of Lexington runners, they took first, second, and fourth, was too much to overcome.

Sharpe turned around later in the meet and ran the 800 to All-State honors as well. Sharpe ran 2:19.54 to finish in fourth place. Again, she set a personal best, and school record. This time she was accompanied on the podium by Clarence Cannon Conference foe Samentha Koper of South Shelby who ran a personal best time of 2:21.85 to take sixth place.

Full results can be found at https://live.pttiming.com/?mid=9010&en=211-1.