CHESTERFIELD, Mo. – Since the runner-up finish at Forest Park to start the season, the Lafayette girls have been considered one of the top contenders in 2014.
The Lancers took another step forward with a victory at the Class 4 District 2 meet Saturday at Parkway Central. The Lancers put three girls in the top 10, including Anna West in fourth (18:47) and Sarah Nicholson in fifth (19:22), en route to 61 points.
“That was not the objective; the objective was to qualify (for sectionals),” Lafayette coach Scott Brandon said. “To win districts is really neat, especially with all the competition we’ve got. But honestly we just wanted to get through this week and live to go on to next week.”
Three of the top four teams from the 2013 state meet were lumped in the same district, including two-time defending state champ Francis Howell. Lafayette was third at state last year, and Eureka was fourth.
“I hope it’s something the kids can build on, and they should feel good about it. It’s always nice to win a meet,” Brandon said. “It was good to see the kids come into this meet, and some things went really well for us and some things didn’t, but as a team we were still able to qualify and be district champions.”
Eureka was the district runner-up with 73 points. Hannah Long ran her typical race, setting a personal course record with a winning time of 17:19. She had a gap on the field in the first 100 yards and just kept growing that lead over the next three miles.
“My plan was to go out controlled the first two miles and then really work on that last mile and my finish. I think I accomplished that, but I got out a little faster than I was supposed to,” Long said.
But the Wildcats are more than Long, and coach Kally Fischer said the team makes a point of not planning for her in the scoring.
“I know I can give (Long) a job and she’ll execute it. I don’t have to watch over her as much, but I still want to be there to support her as best as I can too because she’s my girl,” Fischer said. “We plan without her. It’s really important for the girls to know that she can’t carry the rest of the team. So they have to get their mindset ready to pick up the slack for the rest of the team.”
The Wildcats had a compact group behind Long to aid the team scoring with Andra Staicu in 12th (20:24), Grace Satterthwaite in 15th (20:38) and Adyson Delaney in 18th (20:52).
“Pack running is always great, but I feel we’re still a work in progress,” Fischer said. “We had some girls that were not where they need to be today and need to be moving up. But we have Grace Satterthwaite and Adyson Delaney, they had great pack running. Having them pick up the slack for one another is always great.”
Francis Howell advances to sectionals with a third-place finish with 103 points. Parkway West tallied 104 for fourth to secure the final sectional qualifying spot, just five points ahead of fifth-place Washington.
Howell’s Maddi Leigh was part of the cluster chasing Long, and she broke to the front of the pack on the long downhill before turning to come back up to the finish line in 18:46.
“I’m glad they were all there – they’re all really great runners – and I didn’t know how it was going to end because they all looked good and they all looked prepared, but my goal was to stay with them and do my best,” said Leigh, a sophomore who was All-State last year. “I wasn’t really going for time. I was going for the place because my team wanted to qualify, and to get higher up in the rankings would help my team.”
Marquette’s Hannah Pierson was also in the foursome racing for second place, and she targeted the 19-minute barrier as a personal challenge. Having a competitive group around her helped her run down the goal.
“Before going into the race, I chose different parts of the course to push myself and have a plan,” said Pierson, who was third in 18:46 on Leigh’s heels. “Just feeding off each other’s energy really helps and makes you become a better run and pushes you through the race.”
Coming Soon - Class 4 District 2 Boys Recap
