ST. LOUIS – DeSoto junior Kendra Perren won the 300-meter hurdles twice on Saturday.
Perren claimed the Class 3 Sectional 1 race in a school record time at MICDS High School, but one flight of hurdles had not been lowered the proper height. There were also some timing issues as the gun did not sync with the timers and start the official clock.
That led the meet officials to rule that the race would be run again after a one-hour break following the 1,600-meter relay to allow the athletes to recover.
Perren won the do-over race in 45.34, officially breaking her school record of 45.75.
“It was definitely hard at the end but the two-hour rest made it a little better, but it was still kind of frustrating,” Perren said. “One time in the 100-meter hurdles we were through seven hurdles and none of us heard the second gun go off so they stopped us and we had to redo the whole thing -- but nothing like this.”
Dexter’s Mackayla Waldner was second again (46.71).
There was a delay as the officials had to study the video to sort out the last two qualifying spots as three runners crossed the line side-by-side.
Clayton’s Destiny Akannam reclaimed her third place (47.96). She was the only hurdler to run in the 1,600 relay, and she ran her entire leg with one shoe after she was stepped on in the exchange zone. Clayton coach Barry Ford grew increasingly more anxious as the video review stretched out, because he knew how much effort Ankannam had to expend in helping the Greyhounds to fourth place in the 1,600 relay.
The final state qualifying spot went to Villa Duchesne’s Annie Price who caught John Burroughs’ Gabrielle Ivy with a lean 47.97 to 48.04. Ivy had finished fourth and Price fifth in the initial running of the race.
For Perren, it was a successful day as she also won the 100-meter hurdles (14.83). And she qualified in all four of her events with third-place finishes in the long jump and the 800-meter relay.
“Awesome. Better than my freshman year when I choked,” Perren said. “It’s a good feeling. My freshman year at state I got way too nervous. I was seeded third or fourth and got ninth, so I didn’t make it to finals. It’s a lot easier to know not to get worried or scared or nervous.”