The day got off to a pretty exciting start with the Girls Class 4 4x800m race! Eureka's Alyssa Rebecca found the speed to pull away from Kirkwood in a close battle between the two friendly rivals
The excitement continued into the Boys Class 3 and 4 1600m race. In class 4, Kickapoo senior Danny Thater led wire to wire to end his high school career with a state title and a PR (4:12.95) in the event.
The race was just as heated in class 3 with the Everett brothers taking the race out at a quick pace. However, with a surge at the 800, Max Korolev broke away and earned his second state title of the meet.
Next up came the 800m races, and despite many having already run multiple events, the races proved to be just as competitive and fast! Sam Levin and Jessica Jackson ran a competitive race with Levin prevailing in the end in the Girls Class 4 800m race. As for class 3, it was Berkeley's Kianna Ruff that captured the title in a time of 2:16.19. On the boys' side, it became quite a battle with Dalen Fink coming from behind to win in the last 100 meters in Class 4.
The final distance event of the day came down to the Class 3 and 4 Girls 3200m run. The pace went out slow in Class 4 when no one wanted to take the lead. It wasn't until Diane Robison made her decisive move at the mile that the pace really picked up. Diane broke away and earned her state title in 10:48.42. Herculaneum freshman Kaitlyn Fischer triumphed again in Class 3 through battling her teammate and friend, Eileen Schweiss, to the finish line.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed watching my friends compete these past couple of days! It was fun to watch both my former and future teammates split the Class 4 distance races. I also found Sam Levin's range from the short speed events to the middle-distance races quite incredible. The 4x800's were exciting with the SLUH boys running away with the title and Eureka pulling away to capture their win. With only one senior graduating from Eureka's squad and all girls returning for Kirkwood, the state record could be in jeopardy next year! I would just like to thank Mr. Everett, Missouri Milesplit, and Big River Running for this opportunity. Though I missed competing at state this year, I have greatly enjoyed my time here in Missouri. Congrats to everyone; it was a great state meet!