It was a cold, rainy and abnormally windy Saturday on April 16, just in time for the annual Lady Lancer Invitational track meet at Lafayette.
The meet featured 10 different teams from around the St. Louis area, some of which have a good shot at qualifying for State.
Among these teams was Belleville East High School who jumped out to an early lead by clinching early wins and high point finishes in the sprinting events of the day.
East sophomore Asia Cochran ran a 12.30 second 100 meter to claim first place, while senior Hadiya Harris and junior Keanna McIntyre ran a 1:03.10 and a 1:04.00 respective 400 meter to take first and second as well.
East continued to dominate throughout the hurdle events and relays, taking first in the 4 x 100 meter relay, the 4 x 200 meter relay and the 100 meter hurdles.
Lafayette remained in contention for the title, however, late in the day by placing high in distance and field events and by steadily gaining points by placing in the top six.
In the distance events, the Lady Lancers placed repeatedly high, taking third and fourth in the 800 meter, fifth and sixth in the 1600 meter and second and third in the 3200 meter runs, finally culminating in the 4 x 800 run in which the Lady Lancers, comprised of juniors Kayla Hall and Hannah Thurauf and sophomores Brittany Boone and Jessy Maddox, took first place with a time of 10:03.90.
In the throwing events, Lafayette junior Christine Jackson managed to place second in shot put with a throw of 32 feet 1 inch and junior Emily Bush placed first in discus with a throw of 106 feet and 6 inches.
In the end, however, it was Belleville East’s day as they edged out second placed Lafayette by 13 points to take the title of Lady Lancer Invitational Champions with a final score of 144 points.
Jackson said, “Saturday’s meet went great. It was so bitterly cold, but Coach (Marty Margalski) Ski kept telling us that it was Lady Lancer weather and to just keep warm and do our best.”
She continued, “Our girls really stuck it out and did their best despite the fact that we were all pretty stiff and cold out there. I mean, varsity got second and JV got first by about 30 points, so I’d definitely call that a success.”
