COLUMBIA — Earning a state medal in the 300-meter hurdles last year as a freshman, Dutchgirl sophomore Katie Candrl went into the 2019 Class 3 Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Track and Field Championships looking to add to her haul.

Competing in the Girls pole vault and the 100-meter hurdles in the span of two hours Saturday at Audrey J. Walton Stadium on the University of Missouri - Columbia campus, Candrl made the most of those two hours.

Starting the pole vault at 9 a.m., seven competitors were eliminated by the time Candrl even took an attempt at the opening height of nine feet even.

Clearing 9-0, 9-06, 10-0 and 10-03, Katie clinched her spot on the medal stand with two more athletes being eliminated after unable to clear 10-03.

In the middle of the pole vault, Candrl had to go compete in the preliminaries of the Class 3 Girls 100-meter hurdles.

Running in the second of two heats, her time of 15.50 was good enough to land her in the finals.

That time was .05 seconds shy of Tammy Wenkel’s school record in the event.

“For Katie to do what she did at state was awesome to see.” Coach Matt Candrl said. “She started out well in the pole vault and then had to go compete in the preliminaries of the 100m hurdles.”

Before competing in the finals of the 100m hurdles, she moved her way up the field in the pole vault before placing third after breaking her own school record of 11 feet even by clearing 11-03.

“It was an unbelievable feeling after I cleared 11-03 to break my own school record,” Katie Candrl said. “Now I’ll go after the record in the 100m hurdles next year after I almost broke it today.”

In spite of placing eighth in the 100m hurdles finals in a time of 16.02, she now stands as a three-time state medalist in track entering her junior year at OHS.

“I got off to a bad start in my finals race of the 100m hurdles,” Candrl said. “I’m still happy with earning a medal and I’ll work hard to do better next year.”

As it turned out, three of the top eight girl’s pole vaulters came out of the same sectional that Owensville was in.

Joining Candrl in the top eight was Mt. Vernon sophomore Sadie Heisner who placed fourth clearing 11-0 along with Eldon senior Rachel Hanks who placed eighth clearing 10-0.