Parkway Central's Skyye Lee hurdles into history: All-Metro girls track and field athlete of the year

"Skyye, because of her obscene talent, it's scary — it's intimidating when you have to toe the line against her," Parkway Central girls head coach Ryan Banta said.

She blazed her way to victory after victory to close out a memorable Colts career that was one of the best in area history.

For the second consecutive year, Lee is the Post-Dispatch All-Metro girls track and field athlete of the year.

Lee won three individual championships and was runner-up in another event at this season's Missouri Class 4 state meet in Jefferson City, an outstanding performance even if it was one place short of her remarkable four-championship effort as a junior.  

Signed with the University of Florida — the NCAA Division I team runner-up the last two seasons and champion in 2022 — Lee finished her high school career with 12 state championships. She won nine individual titles and ran on three state-winning relays.   

"She never showed any concerns," said Parkway Central boys head coach Steve Warren, who coaches Lee in the hurdles. "She knew the talent that she'd be facing and she never flinched."

Lee swept the 100-meter and 300-meter hurdles state titles from her sophomore to senior seasons. She won the 200 as a junior and senior, ran on winning 800 relays as a freshman and sophomore and on the 1600 relay as a sophomore. 

In the 100, Lee won state as a junior before running second this season to Capital City's Tyrica Sterrett — who set a new Class 4 state meet record of 11.61 seconds.

Lee's efforts helped the Colts win the Class 4 team championship in 2022. They were third in the team standings the last two seasons and second when Lee was a freshman in 2021.

"She's part of a streak of five team state trophies, which without her three of them would not be possible," Banta said. 

Lee was especially dominant in hurdles, going a perfect 12-0 in the 100s and 300s as a senior.

She set an overall state meet record of 13.34 seconds in winning this season's Class 4 100 hurdles championship, a performance that ranks as the fourth-fastest in the nation this season according to trackandfieldnews.com. The former record? A 13.36 by Lee to win last season's title.

Lee's personal best in the 300 hurdles was 42.41 seconds in the state preliminaries and ranked as the area's fastest.

"I'm glad Coach Banta and Warren talked me into hurdles because I feel like this is something I can see myself going far with," Lee said. "What clicked was when Warren kept pushing me. He saw the potential I had. The drills started to click, and I started to find that rhythm."

Focusing on the process helped Lee's results take care of themselves.

"It took a lot," Lee said. "With hurdles, I feel like technique is most important. Trying to learn all of that at once was hard, but I was trying to take it one change at a time. When it finally clicked for me and I could run low 13s, those drills really helped me prepare for it."

One of the drills that helped almost happened by accident. Despite everything they tried, Warren noticed Lee getting to the first hurdle too quickly. 

So the coach decided to scoot her back the length of a phone.

And it clicked. 

"Set up everything where your hands aren't on the starting line and she got to the first hurdle without the technique problem," Warren said. "She needed just a little extra space to get that top spot."

And to think, if not for Empower North County soccer coach Kyle Rainbolt, Lee may never have stepped foot on a track.

Rainbolt admitted he didn't want to lose Lee on the pitch but had a feeling her future was on the track.  

"He's the one who suggested I run track because of how fast I was able to get up and down the field," Lee said. "I was still playing soccer until I was 17. This is my first year not playing soccer."

Even with Lee's talent and preparation, there were mounting expectations for her senior season after becoming the area's first four-event individual champion in more than a decade last season.

Banta said he was overcome with emotion when he talked to Lee for the final time as her coach.

"She and I had been through a lot and it wasn't always easy," Banta said. "When the magic did take place, it's moments that you'll never get again. As a coach, I may never have anyone as close to her again because there hasn't been anyone like her in the state of Missouri. How blessed I was to have that experience with her. To share that with her, I'll forever be in her debt."

Warren said he'll miss the random texts he'd get from Lee asking for advice and the relationship they built in those four years. 

And Lee credits them to her success.

"They helped me a lot," Lee said. "I wouldn't be where I am without them."

Even weeks after capturing her 16th state medal and helping the team to another state trophy, Lee is still coming to terms with the legacy she has left at Parkway Central.

"I'm still trying to process that," Lee said. "It's crazy to think I'm going to college for track. I never thought I'd get this far with track. I'm still in shock; it's not fully processed yet."

Banta knows what the University of Florida is getting in Lee, and he also knows what she'll get from the Gators.

"I know how much potential is there," Banta said. "I expect, being in that environment where iron sharpens irons, she's going to reach levels that are Olympic-level worthy. Florida has almost an embarrassment of riches in terms of great coaches, great team culture and championship culture. How can you not flourish in that environment?