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May 9, 2024MARYVILLE, Mo.

Northwest track & field signs Maryville's Garner

Wyatt Garner signed with Northwest Missouri State track & field.

Wyatt Garner, Maryville's high-point scorer for the 2024 season, signed with Northwest track & field this week.


The Northwest Missouri State track & field team bolstered its 2025 roster with local talent this week.

Maryville High School senior Wyatt Garner signed his letter of intent to join the Bearcats next season.

Garner was a state qualifier in the long jump as a junior at Maryville, which also happened to be his first year ever going out for track & field. He didn't anticipate a chance to perform at the collegiate level from it – he was just looking to compete.

"I really just wanted to try something new," Garner said. "I was supposed to do it in eighth grade, but I wasn't able to. I wanted to try something new instead of sitting at home doing nothing, and it obviously turned out pretty good."

Garner took his experience in 2023 and doubled down on it as a senior.

He set a school record with a long jump of 22 feet, 6 inches at the Joe Shy Relays in Chillicothe earlier this season. Within the last 2 weeks Garner stood atop the podium in the long jump at the Midland Empire Conference Championships and the Class 3, District 8 meet. He also also won a conference title in the 4x200 meter relay, and finished runner-up in the 200 meter dash.

Northwest Missouri State head track and field coach Brandon Masters sees an athlete with a high ceiling in Garner.

"He's very raw," Masters said. "I know that Coach Nikki (Segrest) will get him technically right, and the kid's fast. That's something that's very hard to teach – pure speed. We can make it better, but when you're already that fast, there's a big upside to him."

The individual performances have earned recognition for Garner, but his coaches know his ultimate goal is to win team titles.

"He understands his role in the relays, and he understands his role in the open events. That's another thing he's really enjoyed is winning championships as a track & field team. It takes everyone. He's our number one point scorer this year, so that just kind of shows that," Maryville head coach Rodney Bade added.

Garner and the Spoofhounds dominated the Class 3, District 8 meet nearly doubling the point total of second place Lawson on the way to winning the title.

The future Bearcat is now looking for a good showing at sectionals this weekend, so he can make one more trip to state as a Spoofhound.