Class 3 Girls Distance
800 Meter Run
Two girls come in as the favorites - Saga Barzowski and Sarah Jacobsen. Living relatively close to one another, they race each other often. They have run the 800 against each other four times this season with each of them winning twice. Jacobsen has the faster PR with a time of 2:16.94, while Barzowski is at 2:18.63. Barzowski, the Arcadia Valley junior, won state last year while Jacobsen's time from sectionals would have put her atop the medal stand, but she faded to eighth in the final. Another girl from Sectional 1 who has run well this season is Emily Harris of Farmington. Her time of 2:18.32 puts her less than a second behind Jacobsen and .3 seconds ahead of Barzowski. These three are familiar with one another and should provide for an interesting race on Saturday.
1600 Meter Run
Barzowski is the defending champ in this event, as well, and enters with the fastest time of the season with a 5:06.67. Amanda Behnke, committed to run at Indiana University next year, stuck close to Barzowski and finished only .04 seconds behind her at the Sectional 1 meet. The Behnke family has had their fair share of close races with Potosi runners and this will be no exception. Jacobsen, the second place finisher from last year, has run 5:06 before but her season best is at 5:16.93. She finished third in a tough Sectional 1 race and has the potential to run a very fast 1600m time. On the other side of the state, Katie Tuck and Nicole Lee have both been running great times from the start of the season. Tuck, a Smithville junior, was the Sectional 4 champ in this mile with Lee finishing second. Lee finished third as only a freshman last year with a time of 5:09.91. Jenny McCarty has been running well as her PR of 5:12.76 comes from districts, and she ran 5:13 to claim the Sectional 2 title. One more name to look out for is Sammy Laurenzo. The Liberty North sophomore was only .03 seconds behind third place, finishing fourth with a time of 5:09.94 as a sophomore. She hasn't been able to run that time yet this year, but she has been one of the best runners in Class 3 for the past two years.
3200 Meter Run
Only .06 seconds separates the top two girls coming into this event. The current leader, Nicole Lee, comes in with a PR of 11:14.00. Saga Barzoski is at 11:14.06. Looking at last years results, Barzowski couldn't finish the distance triple as she was third in this event after finishing first in both the 800m and 1600m. Lee was fifth in her first year, eight seconds behind Saga. Some other runners that will likely be in the mix are Elizabeth Kiblinger, Amanda Behnke, Shelby Werner, and Jenny McCarty. Behnke moved up to the 3200m this year and has found great success. She won her district meet with a PR of 11:37.21 to win by nearly a minute and a half and finished second third at a tough Sectional 1 meet. Kiblinger was second and has run an 11:23 this season. She has run a low 11:20 time twice this season, showing she is the real deal. The last girl to make it out of a tough Sectional 1 is Shelby Werner. Her last name may sound familiar as her little sister has run 5:01 in eighth grade which received some attention in the forums. Shelby has had a great career in only two years. She was sixth in the fall at the state XC meet and has run an 11:36 for 3200. McCarty is running well in this event as of late, as well. She was the dreaded ninth place finisher last year, just missing out on All-State, and has rolled through the district and sectional series so far. This race should be close from top to bottom. Barzowski has the chance to win all three events, but many challengers will make it a difficult goal.
4x800 Meter Relay
A team who didn't make the state meet last year comes in as the leader this year. Duchesne has run 9:39, the only Class 3 school to run under 9:40. They have Abby Smegner, a 2:20 open runner, Anna Schmidt, a 2:23, and Ali Bader, a 5:31 1600m runner. They have proven they are the team to beat as they ran 9:43 to win Sectional 2. Another team to keep an eye on is Farmington. They might have the best 1-2 in Class 3 with Emily Harris and Katherine Sitzes. Harris has run 2:18 while Sitzes is a 5:13 1600m runner. The Sectional 1 champs will need to bring their best if they want to top Duchesne. A team from the KC side of the state is also in the mix. Notre Dame de Sion has an equally stellar 1-2 punch as Farmington in Mary Frances Donnely and Meghan Kearney. Donnelly is at 2:18.97 while Kearney is at 2:20.35, both of whom advanced to state in the 800m. Their season best time of 9:46.90 comes from Sectional 4 where they won by 6 seconds. My dark horse pick is Festus. The Tigers have run 9:52 which puts them sixth in the Class 3 rankings. They were second behind Farmington at their sectional meet. The factor to consider is that they have succeeded on a big stage before. They are last year's champs in this event and return two of their runners from that squad. Also, last year's runner up, Smithville, returns three of their runners including Katie Tuck, one of the better distance runners in the class. These two teams are ranked 5th and 6th headed into the weekend, but the experience factor could move them up a couple of places.