When Ste. Genevieve Freshman Mallory Koller crossed the finish line in the 1600m at Districts this past Saturday, she should have been overjoyed by her big PR of 5:13.30. This time, after all, would have won every other Class 3A District in the state and only six girls in Class 3A had run faster all year. There was only one problem: four of them happened to be in her District.
This is the competitive nature of Class 3A District 1, and subsequently Class 3A Sectional 1 when it comes to girl’s distance. Combine the “Fab Four” of Taylor Werner (Ste. Gen), Saga Barzowski (Arcadia Valley), Jamie Kempfer (Festus), and Mia Jerman (Ste. Gen) with Hannah Deines (Villa Duchesnse) and you have five of the top six Class 3A 1600m runners in the state…in one Sectional.
Inevitably, at least one of these top runners will be left behind when the race is over this Saturday at M.I.C.D.S. At Districts, Shelby Werner (Ste. Gen) and Kaitlin Elbl (Festus), who are ranked 5th and 7th for Class 3A in the 3200m failed to qualify in the event, placing 5th and 6th respectively (both ladies were able to qualify in the 4x800). The same four who made it in the 1600m also made it in the 3200m.
Senior Saga Barzowski, who earlier this spring signed with the University of Mississippi, is no stranger to the state track meet, having run in the meet from the time she was a freshman. With PR’s of 2:15.60, 5:04.97, and 11:14.06, Saga is a versatile runner who almost always peaks at the perfect time: the state meet. You can look for her to continue this trend as she finishes her high school career.
Festus Junior Jamie Kempfer’s road has been a bumpy one. Qualifying for state her freshman year in the open 800m and 4x800, Jamie narrowly missed out on the finals in the 800m, running 2:20.39, just 0.07 off the 8th place time. Her 4x800 team won state on a tremendous anchor by now SIUC runner, Sadie Darnell. After an injury plagued sophomore season, in which Kempfer missed all of cross country and the end of track, her junior campaign has been a breakout year. Following up her All-State cross country season, Kempfer has run 5:09.19 for the 1600m and 10:55.87 for the 3200m, which she says is her new favorite race, “you have time to think, analyze moves being made in the race, and create your strategy to respond accordingly.” Being part of the successful program at Festus, she says Alyssa Allison was her early inspiration. “While my goal is to qualify and then place in the top three at state, I really want to break her 3200m record in the process,” Jamie said. “Coach Wright has helped push me and motivate me to be where I’m at today; he is truly a great coach.”
Unless this is the first article you have read, the name Taylor Werner is one you should know. Just a freshman, the Ste. Gen star has already left her mark having run 16:59 at Forest Park, winning the Class 3A state cross country meet, running 4:57.94 for the 1600m, and a remarkable 10:25.88 in the 3200m. While there were rumors of her being slightly injured, she still is among the favorites the 800m, 1600m, and 3200m.
While you probably have heard of Taylor Werner from Ste. Genevieve, you may not have heard of the other 1600m/3200m qualifier from Ste. Genevieve, Freshman Mia Jerman. Mia, who is encouraging and courteous, began running in junior high, although she admits she was “not committed,” and wasn’t until this past summer that she started taking running seriously. When Mia was in Junior High, she looked up to Shelby Werner and her dedication. Mia is now part of a close track team who are competitive but encouraging, and a teammate of the one she looked up to. After qualifying for sectionals, Mia now has the chance to pursue her next goal: being All-State. In a couple weeks, the name Mia Jerman may be one everyone knows.
While these girls have some of the fastest times in the state, let’s not forget that races often don’t care about seed times, as anything can happen. Along with Hannah Deines (Villa Duchesne), CeCe Stock (Villa Duchense), Carley Chaney (JFK), and home crowd favorite Margaret Sliney (M.I.C.D.S) look to make a name for themselves in the 1600m, while qualifying for the state meet. Whoever the four girls who qualify for the state meet are in the distance events Class 3A, Sectional 1, the fact remains they could come away from the state meet with a medal.
What are your predictions?