Class 3 Girls Sprints/Hurdles
100 Meter Dash
Last year's runner up, Tiffeney Cannon of Beaumont, returns for her senior year. She sits behind Angelerne Annelus of Grandview in the rankings. The Grandview freshman broke 12 seconds in the 100m at conferences but has not come close since then. Two other girls to keep an eye on are Aiesha Irvin-Muhammad and Cheyenne Hoerr. Hoerr has competed in a number events for Affton throughout her years but the 100 is relatively new for her.
200 Meter Dash
Hoerr is the state leader in this event. Again, this is relatively new as she has done more of 400m and 300m Hurdles, but she has found success in the sprints. Her time of 24.49 is the state leading time for class 3. Tiffeney Cannon has experience running well at the state meet as she finished fifth last spring. Aiesha Irvin-Muhammed is also someone to watch out for in this event as her time from sectionals puts her second in the rankings.
400 Meter Dash
A freshman, Ja'ianna Williams comes in leading the event with her time of 57.11. The Cardinal Ritter track star was third this past weekend at her sectional meet. U.City's Chantel Bethune is running well at the right time as she has dipped under 58 both of the past two weekends. Williams' teammate, Chasity Franklin, also is running well as she was the sectional 1 champ in 58.32. These girls will likely receive a challenge from last year's runner up, Lexie Oak. Oak is a senior at St. Pius X (Kansas City) and won her sectional meet this past weekend with a time of 58.23.
100 Meter Hurdles
Affton's Hali Ford won this event last year, but another Affton girl leads the charge this year. Cheyenne Hoerr leads this event and there is a very real possibility that she will have a very successful weekend. Unfortunately, teammate Hali Ford was sixth at sectionals and will not be competing in this event at state. Gateway's Danyell Kates was less than a tenth of a second behind Hoerr at their sectional meet, showing that she can give the Affton senior a run for her money. Also in this years field is Breanne Borman, last year's runner up in this event.
300 Meter Hurdles
This is the third event in which Hoerr is the state leader. If she can pull off the triple it will go a long way to help Affton secure a team trophy. Someone who looks good in this event is Madison Mann. Mann is a senior from MICDS and finished third last year. Her time of 44.95 ranks her third, but is close behind Amani Borders of U. City who finished ahead of her at sectionals. Also someone who should be in the mix is Erin Gilliland of Chillicothe, last year's runner up as a freshman.
4x100 Meter Relay
Two teams that are fighting for a team trophy lead this event. University City, the team that is favored to win on the team side comes in with a 45.63, just ahead of MICDS' 45.79, both run at the district 3 meet.
4x200 Meter Relay
University City not only leads this event, but they hold a two second gap on the next team. Their time of 1:41.50 from sectionals is closer to the Class 3 record of 1:40.65 than the next team, Lincoln College Prep. LCP was the Sectional 4 champ and will likely do well as they return all four runners from their fifth place team from last year. MICDS was the champion team in this event last year and return three of their runners, except they lost Lauren Waterbury, one of the best sprinters in the state last year.
4x400 Meter Relay
MICDS did something amazing last year. They won the 4x400m relay without Lauren Waterbury, the state champ in the 400m, on the team. That squad that won by two and a half seconds last year returns all of their runners and won their sectional meet over top ranked University City. These two teams will likely be up front with the addition of Cardinal Ritter, a team that features two runners who have run 58 seconds or faster.