JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Taylor Woodruff had nowhere to go but up.

During her last trip to Dwight T. Reed Stadium, the Benton runner struggled to a last-place finish in the two-mile run and wasn’t eager to repeat the feat.

“Nothing can get worse than that,” she said.

Although she finished short of an all-state medal, Woodruff placed 10th this time around at the Missouri State Track and Field Championships and broke the 12-minute mark for the first time of her career.

Her showing of 11 minutes, 48.92 seconds shattered her previous best by 14 seconds.

“Considering I took last last year, it’s a lot better feeling,” Woodruff said. “I was shooting for all-state, but I’m still happy with beating my own time.”

A unusually fast field helped Woodruff set her pace ahead of normal.

By the end of the first two laps, the lead runners — led by Festus’ Alyssa Allison — had already separated themselves from the rest of the pack. At the end of the line, trying to hold on to eighth place, was Woodruff.

She maintained her medal-worthy position until the fifth lap, when a pair of other runners passed her up.

“Our hope and our plan was that she would be able to stay with the tail end of that pack,” Benton coach Duane Kimble said. “If she could do that, she would end up having an outstanding race, which is exactly what she did.”

When Olivia McCormick of West Plains threatened to drop her another spot with a lap to go, Woodruff picked up the pace and held her position.

Even with her personal best, she finished more than a minute behind Allison, who established the new Class 3 record at 10:48.

Kimble said he expects Woodruff’s showing to give her the necessary confidence to earn her a spot on the medal stand a year from now.

“She couldn’t have run any better than she did,” he said. “She ran a picture perfect race for her. She really did.”

Going for speed

Count Brandon Tunks among those surprised by his state showing.

Although he believed the 100-meter dash gave him the poorest chance at a medal, the Cameron senior turned in the best showing in the shortest event. A sixth-place finish in the event gave him a solid start, which soon faded after taking eighth in the 200.

“That’s what I was going for,” Tunks said of his two-medal day. “I wish it could have been a little bit higher, but I’m pretty happy.”

Following a delayed start, wet track conditions didn’t slow his 100 time. Instead, he shaved off .04 seconds thanks to his trademark better-as-he-goes finish.

His time in the 200 slipped by the same margin, however, to conclude his successful first trip to state.

The rest of the Dragons’ qualifiers kept busy, as well.

On his second state showing in the event, Jordan Tharp finished 13th in the long jump (20-2.75), while Mitch Hatten (T-9th in the long jump) and Matt Poehler (12th in the shot put with his best toss of the year) also came up short of the finals.

Their Midland Empire Conference counterparts didn’t fare quite so well.

Chillicothe’s Joseph Stull (13th in the shot) couldn’t attain his second medal after a third-place showing in Friday’s discus. Smithville’s C.J. Keeney (shot) and Kyle Williams (long jump) of Lafayette each struggled to capture their solid sectional form and finished 15th, respectively.

Medaling Menk

In the 300-meter hurdles, Platte County’s Dustin Menk was happy to set his pace off of Kennett’s Demetrius Chidress.

Until Childress wiped out down the stretch.

“I noticed it. It registered,” Menk said. “But I just thought, 'It’s one less guy to worry about,’ and kept going.”

The Pirates’ junior chugged across the finish line in fourth place, pleased with his performance after missing out on the finals as a sophomore. His 39.89 came up just shy of his season best and gave Platte County’s only boys qualifier an all-state distinction.

“This year, I think I proved a lot, and I hope I can get that first place spot next year after some of those seniors are gone,” he said.