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Can Lafayette's girls break the state record in the 4x800?
It's an interesting question indeed as the Lady Lancers have the horses, but do they have the desire?
Lafayette's girls tore up the Class 5 field this fall, going 1-2-5-28-30 at the state championship. Grace Tyson and the sisters Barnard (Elissa and Natalie) are back to help defend the team's dominant victory from 2022's race. Avery Brown and Lauren Pauls are key non-cross country (softball and field hockey) runners that posted 2:23 splits on the state title team. Pauls actually returns with the second fastest open mark among the Lancers - 2:20.66 - in only her freshman year and Brown never ran the open 800. She did, however, run that 2:23 split and has run 26.49 in the 200 and 58.00 in the 400. Tyson ran 2:18.17 in 2021 and split 2:15.54 at last year's state meet. Elissa has run 2:25.34, but split 2:18.57. Natalie has the distance prowess and a 2:32.27 personal best, so that could and should come down.
It's depth depth depth and it reminds us very much of 2018's Lee's Summit West team that ran 8:58.74. They may not need to run for the overall state record, but Parkway Central's 13 year old state meet record of 9:06.89 could be in danger.