Class 1-2 State Track Day 2 Notes: Girls

Irvin-Muhammaed Compeltes the Double – Gains Second Record

Prelims, where Aiesha Irvin-Muhammad set both Class 2 sprint records, were just a warm-up act for the St. Elizabeth Academy senior.  She came out with guns blazing in the 100, storming away from the field and clocking in at 11.74, beating her Class 2 Record set yesterday by over a quarter second.  Her mark ranks fourth All-Time at the state meet behind great Muna Lee, Angela Thacker, Aliesha Usery, and Tianna Valentine.  This race, which had a 1.8 wind, also saw another girl go under the former Class 2 Record.  The defending state champ, Carly Spalding, gave a noble effort to defend her title running a 12.09 to place second.

The 200 was more of the same – quick times and wide margins.  She beat the field by over a full second, running 24.40 (.03 seconds slower than her prelims time).  Muhammad heads to Northern Illinois next year as the fastest girl to ever come through Class 2.

Lutheran (St. Peters) Adds Two More Wins, Team Title

Courtney Rogers turned some heads with a 2:14 split yesterday – but she might have saved the best for day two.  The 1600, her only event of the day, was her second chance at beating defending champ, Kaitlyn Fischer.  The Herculaneum senior hadn’t lost a 1600 or 3200 in all four years.  Both remained calm, letting the pace go out in 75 seconds as they remained a bit off the lead.  The pack begin to dwindle as Rogers stayed on the outside of lane one.  Going into the last lap, it was just the two left.  Rogers turned on another gear, leaving Fischer behind with 200 to go.  Rogers surged to victory, running a quick 71 last lap to finish in 5:05.57, the third best time in Class 2 history, to defeat Fischer.  Fischer walks away with seven gold medals in open events from track.  She had a solid weekend herself, just seconds off the Class 2 3200 record to go along with her silver medal (1600) and bronze medal (4x800).

The Cougars added another 10 points in the last event to secure the team title.  Anchor Sophie Angell, also anchor on the Lutheran squad that got edged at the line a year ago, held off a charging Emilyn Dearman, beating Stockton by a second and half.  Lutheran ended up with 64 total points to defeat Herculaneum (47) and Stockton (40). 

Comeback Success

Kathleen Yoakum missed Jefferson City last year.  With an injury sidelining the 2011 800 champ, Yoakum made the most of her last trip to Dwight T. Reed Stadium.  Not only did she defend her title – she added three more gold medals to her collection.   After four preliminaries yesterday, her day began with a 4x200 victory followed by her first open victory of the day – the 400 where she ran a 57.71.  She ran a smart race in the 800, coming through the quarter in sixth place before making a strong move the last lap.  She opened a two second gap, winning in 2:25.13 and adding her third first place finish for the trip. Her eighth race of the meet might have been her best.  Fourth leg, she took the baton in second, a copule of strides behind New Haven.  Once again, she opened a lead, running a new Class 1 record of 4:04.75 to defeat New Haven by two and a half seconds.  Not only was it a Class 1 Record, but it also would have won the Class 2 race.

Double Gold for Rivera, Record for Foley in Throws

Girls throws were at a premium today.  It began at 11 with Victoria Foley not only defending her state title from a year ago in the discus, but setting a new Class 1 Record.  Her throw of 128-9 beat the previous record by seven inches.

Freshman sensation, Sophia Rivera, added her second title of her young career with a put of 41 feet even.