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EXCELSIOR SPRINGS — With each passing track meet, Ben Barrows feels a little more secure in his quest to race at state.

The latest confidence builder came Friday, April 24, when the Smithville High junior proved yet again why he’s considered arguably the top 3,200-meter specialist in the Northland, using a dominant final lap to win gold at the Mineral Water Classic.

"This meet’s as close to districts as you can get during regular-season competition," said Barrows, who completed the eight circuits in a time of 10 minutes, 7.8 seconds. "This is a great win."

After getting out to his customary slow start, Barrows soon settled into second place behind Platte County’s Alex Cooper, content to follow the Pirates junior around the track for the bulk of the race. However, soon after crossing the start/finish line for the final 400 meters, Smithville’s lanky junior turned it on, opening a wide lead down the back stretch that eventually grew into a seven-second margin of victory.

"That’s what I’ve been working on is my last lap. The last lap can really help you a lot in racing," Barrows said. "I’m just working on drafting behind people and finishing strong for the win."

The victories are piling up, as Barrows set a PR just three days earlier at the Warrior Relays, making the most of ideal conditions to cross the line in 9:57.91. The two strong consecutive efforts leave plenty of room for optimism that there is still more time to be cut with the Class 3 District 8 meet just a little more than two weeks away.

"I know Ben well, and he’s not going to rest," said Smithville head coach Greg Smith. "His mind-set is right. He’s going to have a strong finish to the year."

And he will need it. While Barrows has to be the district favorite, the same can’t be said for the final meet that will determine whether he gets to state. The Class 3 Section 4 meet will include O’Hara’s Max Storms and Harrisonville’s Maxsim Korolev, who each finished in the top six at state last year.

Should they be on their game again this spring, that leaves just two state spots for the taking.

"Outside of them in that district, there’s not anybody else," Barrows said. "If I can beat everybody in our district, I should be able to make it to state."

Smithville sixth in boys field

The Warriors finished tied for sixth among 13 teams at the Mineral Water meet, joining St. Pius X with 44 team points.

In addition to Barrows, senior Dakota Stinson enjoyed a strong performance, tossing a PR in both the discus (145 feet, 3 inches; third place) and the shot put (46-1, sixth).

Junior Zach Sebo also came back from a lingering foot injury to take fourth in the long jump with a best of 19 1 ¾.

"Overall we just had a solid group effort," Smith said. "We had a lot of kids perform very well."

Sports Editor Scott Tittrington can be reached at 389-6632 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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