Would Hindman's weekend at State been different if Dasal had successfully overtaken him and Nixa was crowned the Class 5 4x800 champ? Maybe. Maybe not.
Hindman is a special kind of competitor and he does not succumb readily - if at all. He ran a final leg of 1:53.1 and crossed the finish line .25 seconds ahead of Dasal to hand Lafayette their third consecutive 4x800 win and give Hindman his third gold medal in three tries.
Only the 3200-meter race scheduled for 2:45 PM remained.
Then Mother Nature stepped in and delivered what she had been promising for days - a late spring monsoon that washed out all the afternoon events.
Threatening skies dropped a lightning strike nearby about 12:30 PM and MSHSAA officials raced onto the track with arms waving to halt the Class 5 girls' 1600-meter race just as the sixteen milers were approaching the halfway point.
The skies opened and the rain and wind tore through Jefferson City for the next five hours. Teams huddled in buses, in the classrooms at JCHS and in restaurants all across town. Discussions ranged from what happens if they can't complete the meet to wondering if prelim times and Sectional times would have to be used in place of discontinued State competition.
The skies continued to rumble and burp lighting even after 5:00 PM but the track was reopened about 5:30 PM. the girls' 1600 was restarted around 6:15 PM. Hindman would get his run at his fourth gold medal after all.
The 3200-meter race is not a popular race for most in attendance at any track meet. It is even less popular at the State meet that requires the fans to sit through three consecutive classes running the eight-lap race. Many view it as the perfect opportunity for a bathroom break or a run to the concession stand.
The Class 3 3200-meter race was won easily by the tireless Stephen Kielhofner of Springfield Catholic in 9:28. The Class 4 race proved to be one of the most competitive 3200 finishes in State history with Webb City's Ryan Riddle (9:06.07) outlasting Kearney's sensational Clayton Adams (9:07.12).
The spectacularly low PRs from Riddle and Adams in the Class 4 3200 were proof that Mother Nature's weather tantrum earlier was a godsend to the boys who were scheduled to run the 3200 in the heat of the day. Instead of racing under a broiling sun and in high humidity, Hindman would get to run at sunset in a cooling breeze left over from the afternoon's storms.
The weather change meant Hindman had a chance to pursue one of the State meet's most respected all-time marks, former Olympian and Lee's Summit High's Matt Tegenkamp's state-record 3200-meter 8:57.23 set in 2000. While some may have entertained the thought, breaking nine minutes in the 3200 at State is next to impossible.
But once again, we are talking about Austin Hindman here - and that pretty much means the impossible is nothing more than something he has yet to accomplish.