Samantha Turner turned in a memorable two-day weekend at Jefferson City.

First, the Montgomery County sophomore came within a whisker of becoming the school’s first athlete in over 80 years to win a state title in the discus. Then, she became the school’s first athlete in 20 years to earn back-to-back all-state medals in the shot put.

Turner finished second in the discus with a personal-best throw of 127 feet, 9 inches and third in the shot put in 36-11 at the two-day meet on May 23-24 at Adkins Stadium at the Jefferson City High School campus. She now has three all-state medals in her high school track career.

Turner joined a group of MCHS athletes such as Anna Ash, Chris Harrison, Renee Finke, Lyric Ford and Tyler Erwin to make multiple trips to the awards podium within the last 10 years. She said she enjoys receiving her medals in front of a large crowd.

“It’s awesome,” Turner said. “I love being able to come out in front of all of these people, make the podium and get to show out for my town.”

The two-day performance in Jefferson City put an end to an outstanding season for Turner. She broke school records in both shot put and discus and finished with a combined six wins in the throwing events.

“Going from barely hitting 27-28 (meters in the discus) to being able to come into the state meet and hit 38 was huge,” Turner said. “It was absolutely incredible. The shot was just as good. Barely hitting 10 last year and then coming in and being able to hit 11 at the state meet was just awesome.”

Turner credits new assistant coach Nick Gray for her efforts. Gray replaced Joe Klekamp as the Wildcats’ throwing coach this season.

“He’s been one of my biggest helpers,” Turner said. “Technique wise, he’s getting me where I need to be and doing things to help me and my other teammates get better. So he’s been a huge part of everything I’ve been able to accomplish this year.”

Turner qualified for state by placing first in both shot put and discus at the Class 3, Sectional 2 championship meet on May 17 at Jim Blacklock Field.
Turner was in first place in the discus at the state meet after throwing a 127-9 in her fourth attempt.

But her hold to first place didn’t last long as Oak Grove’s Eva Alexander took over the top spot with a 130-10 in her fifth throw and stayed there the rest of the way.

Turner came up three feet short from becoming the first MCHS athlete since Orville May in 1941 to win the discus state title. May was the first athlete to win a state championship in program history.

“The best person won,” Turner said. “I put out my best effort and hit a new PR and that’s all that matters. You always want to come out here and beat yourself.”

Turner was in fourth place going into finals of the discus. Her 127-9 broke her previous best mark of 119-5 she set at the Eastern Missouri Conference and district meets.

“I was thinking that I already made finals, so just go ahead and throw it and go from there,” Turner said. “That’s what I did. I was able to go out there and throw it. There was nothing going on in my head or anything, just being able to go out there and throw it. It was awesome.”

Before this season began in March, Turner’s best throw in the discus was 90 feet. By late April, her throws surpassed the 100 feet mark. In her victory at the EMO meet, Turner broke Jennifer Kroger’s old mark of 117-7 that was set in 1997.

Turner said she was told by Gray that she had the potential of breaking 100 feet in the discus.

“He helped me with some technique stuff and some different hand placements for the discus,” Turner said. “Everything that he taught me sort of clicked and it’s been going good ever since.”

In the state shot put, Turner was in eighth place before throwing 36-11 in her sixth and final attempt. She came within two inches from breaking her previous best 37-0.5 that was set at districts.

“To be honest, I was really thinking that I needed to calm my nerves,” Turner said. “I was overly nervous. I was having some issues. I couldn’t get my head right. Going into that last throw, just being able to calm myself down to get the throws right is the biggest thing. Mentally, it’s hard to overcome that stuff. Being able to step away from it for a second and take a break and clear my head was a big portion of that.”

Turner became the first MCHS athlete since Matt Tocco in 2004-2005 to earn all-state honors in the shot put in back-to-back years.