Bethany Slovensky came very close to winning her first state track championship at Jefferson City over the weekend.

Not once, but twice.

The Wellsville-Middletown junior finished second by 2½ inches in the long jump and placed second by .03 seconds in 100-meter hurdles at the Class 1 state track meet at Adkins Stadium. Still, she was happy to leave the Missouri capital with second-place medals in both events.

“I wished I could have jumped 2½ inches farther and ran .03 seconds faster,” Slovensky said. “But it is what it is. I did my best.”

Slovensky finished with three all-state medals, giving her a total of seven for her high school track career. She also placed fourth in the 300-meter hurdles.

Slovensky has a special place at her house where she hangs her medals.

“I have a broken hurdle that my dad (W-M coach John Slovensky) broke in high school,” Slovensky said. “He put little pegs on it. So I have all of my medals hung up. I have separate ones from basketball and I have another one from cross country.”

Slovensky wasn’t the only Tiger who earned all-state honors. Senior Logan Pursifull came in fifth in the shot put in 47-4.25 and sophomore Gage Marshall finished in a tie for eighth in the high jump in 5-10.75.

Pursifull earned his first all-state medal. After starting off in 10th place, he threw a 47-4.25 in his second attempt to climb to fifth place, where he stayed for good. Pursifull won district and sectional championships in the shot put.

Marshall also received all-state notice for the first time. He finished in a tie with Osborn’s Braxton Gibson.

W-M competed in state in four other events, but didn’t receive an all-state medal in either of them. Sophomore Hunter Bickell finished 16th in the 1,600 with a 4:57, the 400-meter relay team of sophomore Jonah Slovensky and seniors Dylan Alsop, Lucas Moore and Kaleb Peak was 16th in 49.09 seconds and the 1,600-meter relay team of Alsop, Moore, Bickell and Marshall placed 16th with a 3:53.92.

Senior Jacob Mandrell – who will continue his track career at William Woods University next year – competed in the 110-meter hurdles, but didn’t start.

Slovensky set personal-best and school records in all three of her events at the state meet. She finished with a 16-10.75 in the long jump, 16.06 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles and 47.84 seconds in the 300-meter hurdles.

Slovensky competed in the long jump on the first day on May 19. She jumped a 16-10.75 in her sixth and final attempt to take over first place with two athletes remaining.

“I was ranked 11th, so I was hoping to make the finals, which is the top nine,” Slovensky said. “In my last preliminary jump, I jumped a 4.91 (meters). That already surpassed everything that I have done in my life because I jumped a 4.6 the week before. My first jump beat the record. Then, I kept going, kept getting better and kept getting farther. When they said 5.15 (meters), I was looking at my dad. He had the biggest smile on his face. He couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe it.”

Breah Morris of Richland ended Slovensky’s title hopes by jumping a 17-1.25 in her last attempt to take over first place for good.

“She beat me in districts and sectionals, so she had the upper hand on me,” Slovensky said.

Later in the day, Slovensky finished first in her heat and second overall in the 100-meter hurdles preliminaries in 16.06 seconds. She placed third in her heat and fifth overall in the 300-meter hurdles preliminaries in 48.91 seconds.

The next day, Slovensky placed second to Drexel’s Emily Wheeler in the 100-meter hurdles finals. Wheeler ran 16.03 seconds.

“I was ahead almost the whole time,” said Slovensky, who earned her third all-state medal in the 100-meter hurdles. “I hit the second to last hurdle and I really think that’s what made the difference.”

Slovensky picked up her second all-state medal in the 300-meter hurdles with her fourth-place finish. After she found out her time, she pumped her arms in excitement while looking towards her family members in the stands.

“My dad wanted me in the 47s this whole season and I finally got a 47,” Slovensky said. “That’s what I’m happy about.”

Last year, Slovensky finished fifth in the 100-meter hurdles and eighth in the 300-meter hurdles at state. The year before, she placed third in the 100-meter hurdles and eighth in the triple jump.