JEFFERSON CITY — Cardinal Ritter continues to be the class of girls track and field programs in Missouri.
The Lions won a fourth consecutive Class 5 team championship by rolling up 103 points during the MSHSAA State Track and Field Championship, which concluded Saturday at Adkins Stadium.
The 103 points are the third most ever scored in MSHSAA history for a girls team, trailing Trinity Catholic’s 118 points in 2019 and Lee’s Summit West’s 109 points in 2017.
“It is a lot of pressure, but if you stay true to who you are, it will happen,” Ritter coach Tiffany Spain said. “It is a team effort, and no one is bigger than another. It is a collective effort to make this happen.”
The drive win five in a row — and become the first program since Hamilton won five in a row in Class 2 from 2007-2012 — started after the trophy presentation.
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“Whatever God has planned for us, we will roll with it,” Spain said of the five-peat plans.
The Lions won the 400- and 800-meter relays with the same teams of Brooklyn Brady, Kayla Watkins, Takia Tiller and Mekenzie Rogers.
Rogers, Tiller, Kyndall Spain and Aniyah Brown were on the 1600 relay that finished as the runner-up behind Blue Springs, which broke a Class 5 record.
Kyndall Spain won the 100- and 300-meter hurdles in 13.64 and 42.53, respectively. She repeated as the 300 hurdles champion from last year. Spain added a fifth-place finish in the 200 — one of three Lions to place in the race.
Aniyah Brown (100-meter dash) and Hannah Wallace (triple jump) added the other state titles for the Lions
“I had to get out there and get a good start,” Brown said of the 100 win, where she beat A’laji Bradley of Pattonville by sixth-tenths of a second. “She was neck and neck with me, and I knew I had to keep the lead.”
Ladue's Delaney Brinker, left, awaits the baton from teammate Journee Williams during the last leg of the 1600-meter relay at the MSHSAA Class 4 State Track and Field Championships on Saturday.
Ladue wins title No. 3
After taking fourth place last year, the Rams brought home state title No. 3 this year by scoring 68 points to win the Class 4 crown.
The previous two championships — 2005 and 2009 — came in Class 3.
The Rams scored points in all four relays and won the 800 and 1600. Ravyn Thomas, Journee Williams, Laila Murray and Delaney Brinker ran 1:40.28 to win the 800 relay, while Murray, Aaliyah Rogers, Williams and Brinker ran a Class 5 record 3:45.91 in the 1600.
“One of our coaches held the last record,” Brinker said of assistant coach Samantha Levin, who was on the 2011 team that ran 3:48 to set the previous record. “We definitely knew first place was coming, but we wanted the record.”
Junior Bella Jones won the high jump title on Friday (1.64 meters), while Rogers was a runner-up in the 800 the same day. Brinker was a runner-up Saturday in the 400.
Parkway Central's Skyye Lee won three titles on Saturday, May 25, 2024, in the MSHSAA Class 4 Track and Field Championships at Adkins Stadium in Jefferson City.
Skyye takes off
In her final races at Parkway Central, Skyye Lee won three state championships Saturday.
The Florida signee won the 200 and both hurdles races — 100 and 300 — while adding a runner-up finish in the 100. Her only loss came at the feet of Capital City’s Tyrica Sterrett, who broke the Class 4 record in the event.
Lee accounted for 38 of the Colts’ 52 points, which gave them third place.
She also set a new state record in the 100-meter hurdles in 13.34, resetting the state record she set last year in 13.36. She ended her career with nine state titles and had three-peats in both hurdles. In the 100 hurdles, she ran a 13.9 in the prelims and admitted she didn’t know if she had a chance to break the record again.
“It feels good to end my senior season on a good note,” Lee said. “I was kind of nervous; I had more competition this year, so it feels good to bring home golds to show how hard I work and all the dedication I had to win gold.”
Another for the record books
Natalie Barnard not only won another state championship for Lafayette, she broke another state record in the process.
The senior won the 3200 on Saturday in 10:32.66, breaking the state record she set last year at 10:35.60. On Friday, she won the 1600 in 4:49.90.
Barnard, who signed with Indiana, becomes only the second female track and field athlete to win three titles in her career at Lafayette. Michelle Moran (1995-1997) was the first.
Barnard also ran the anchor leg of the 3200 relay that was second in the opening race Saturday with Avery Brown, Alexis Sandberg and Lauren Pauls.
Bradley leaves legacy
A'laji Bradley's final meet for Pattonville turned into four more all-state medals — including two titles.
The Kentucky signee won the 200 and 400 on Saturday, giving her the most individual titles in program history for any girls track and field athlete. Jada Moore previously had a high mark with two titles.
“This morning I came in ready to end high school with a bang,” said Bradley, who started her career at Trinity Catholic before running her final three years at Pattonville. “I came in with the mindset, no matter where I placed, just run my heart out and leave it all out on the track.”
Bradley won the 200 in 23.51 and the 400 in 54.51 — an event she won as a sophomore as well. She was a runner-up in the 100 and was part of a 1600 relay that placed eighth.
