CANTON — Megan Theriot missed her chance at a state meet medal in two of her best track and field events. Getting one in a third that’s not in her wheelhouse was a decent consolation prize.

The St. Aloysius junior earned a silver medal in the girls shot put Friday at the MAIS Class 3A state meet, with a throw of 29 feet, 3.5 inches that was good for a second-place finish. Central Hinds’ Maddie Shaw won the event with a mark of 31 feet, 5.5 inches.

“It feels really good,” Theriot said. “This is my first year throwing shot put so I wasn’t even expecting to qualify for state. But I’m really excited and really proud of myself.”

It’s the first year that Theriot has competed in the shot put. She’s primarily a sprinter, but did not qualify in either the 100 or 200 meters because a sudden gameday illness kept her from competing in those events at last week’s South State meet.

She will get to run both sprints Saturday as part of St. Al’s 4x100 and 4x200 meter relay teams. Field events for Class 3A and 2A were held Friday at Canton Academy, and running events in all classifications are Saturday at Jackson Prep beginning at 9:30 a.m.

“I was overheated (at South State). I’m still sick, kind of, and the rain is not helping. I’ll be back for tomorrow,” said Theriot, who reached the state meet in the 100 meters in 2023, 2024 and 2025. “I feel like we’ve got a really good shot in the relays. Our handoffs have been looking a lot better than they did, so I’m excited.”

Theriot’s medal was the only one for the six Warren County athletes from St. Al and Porter’s Chapel Academy who competed on the first day of the MAIS state meet.

St. Al’s Dru Gleese entered as the District 3-3A and South State champion in the boys triple jump, but struggled to a 37-4 mark that was good for only sixth place. He also was sixth in the long jump with a leap of 18 feet, 2.25 inches.

St. Al’s Madelyn Kavanaugh finished seventh in the girls long jump, with a mark of 13 feet, 11.75 inches. Winona Christian’s Hannah Ware won at 15-10.

“It was rainy today and slippery, but we’ve just got to push through it and keep fighting. All we can do is our best all the time,” Gleese said. “The next two years I prefer to be jumping about 42 or 43 feet and hopefully win every meet. Today I went below my average, but that’s OK. It’s not my best day today. Next year we’ll be way better.”

Porter’s Chapel had three athletes — Mia Abdo, Schaffer Bell and Lakelan Pecanty — spread across five events in the Class 2A meet, but none reached the podium.

Abdo finished sixth in the girls triple jump and eighth in the high jump, with marks of 29 feet, 2.5 inches and 4 feet, 2 inches, respectively.

Bell had his reign as Class 2A boys triple jump champion end with a fifth-place finish and a mark of 35 feet, 11.25 inches. Centreville Academy’s Preston Redmond won, with a distance of 38 feet, 7.25 inches.

Bell also finished seventh in the high jump with a height of 5-4.

Pecanty, like Gleese, came in as the South State champion in the boys long jump but couldn’t find his groove in a steady rain. After clearing 20 feet at South State, the sophomore only reached seventh this time and finished seventh with a mark of 17 feet, 11.5 inches.

Pecanty scratched on his sixth and final attempt when he took off an inch in front of the board. An unofficial measurement showed he hit 19-6, which would have put him on the podium if it had been a legal jump. Centreville Academy’s Brennan Fooshee won with a mark of 19-6.

“They measured it and I would have won, but I was just a little over,” Pecanty said.

All of the Warren County athletes said the weather conditions played a role in dampening their days. Steady rain fell throughout the meet, creating wet runways and puddles mixed with hard sand in the landing pits for the jumping events.

“The track was wet and your feet kind of stick, and then the hole at the start was a hole instead of a pit. It wasn’t smooth,” Pecanty said.

Theriot said it affected the throwers as well.

“It was mainly the feet,” she said. “My hands were fine, the ball was fine, it was just making sure I don’t slip in the circle, especially with that concrete.”

The MAIS cited schedule conflicts with other activities next week as the reason for pushing ahead with the meet rather than postponing it. The rain is forecast to clear out in time for the running events on Saturday.

St. Al will have 10 entries in the running events, while Porter’s Chapel has none.

The Mississippi High School Activities Association did postpone its state meet Friday at Pearl High School. The Class 2A and 4A meets were postponed until Tuesday, May 5.

The Class 5A, 6A and 7A meets, in which Vicksburg High and Warren Central will compete, are scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday and have not been affected.

The Class 1A and 3A meets were originally scheduled for Monday, and will also go on as scheduled.

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