Blue Springs girls exceed coach's expectations at state

The Blue Springs High School girls track and field team proved that quality is equally as important as quantity.
Coach Jennifer Reeder brought six girls to state and four medaled as Mauri Lane placed third in the Class 4 100 meters (12.74) and joined Bria Taylor, Brittany Thomas and Indicole Jordan on the fourth-place 400 (49.60) and 800 (1:44.71) relay teams.
“I’m thrilled for the girls,” Reeder said Saturday at the 35th annual Missouri State High School Track and Field Championship at Lincoln University’s Dwight T. Reed Stadium.
“We basically have four girls run and we get a third and two fourths. I think that shows how strong our kids are. We have two new girls on those relay teams and Mauri is the only senior so we should be strong again next year.”
Lane was pleased with her performance, although she showed little emotion as her standout track career came to an end.
“Is there emotion on a day like today?” she asked, repeating the question. “Sure, there’s some emotion. But I don’t think it’s really going to hit me until I get off the bus back at Blue Springs. Then, well, it could be very emotional.”
Lane was seeded fourth in the 100 and was right among the leaders of the pack the entire race.
“I was really happy with the 100,” she added. “And I’m so proud of my teammates in the two relays.”
The Wildcats tied Lee’s Summit West for 16th in the team standings with 16 points.
Fort Osage’s Tina Gaines placed eighth in the 200 (26.07) to bring home a medal and take away some of the sting following a false start in the finals of the 100.
“I didn’t even want to run in this event, I was so upset about the 100,” Gaines said. “But I knew I had to run and I’m glad I did. I don’t know what happened in the 100. I saw the girl in the lane next to me move a little bit and I reacted off her – instead of waiting for the gun. Boy, did I learn my lesson.”
CLASS 3: Oak Grove’s Carrie Dady placed eighth in the triple jump with a leap of 35 feet, 10 inches.
“I’m not at all happy with the way I jumped because I know I could have done so much better,” Dady said. “But I am happy with winning a medal. This is the second year in a row I finished eighth in the triple jump.”
Jefferson City won the Class 4 girls title with 60.1 points. Raytown South, led by individual titles from Racquell Powell (400) and Jade Nalls (long jump) was second with 56 points followed by Rockwood Summit (50.5) and Parkway Central (46). The top four teams win trophies.
Lee’s Summit and Lee’s Summit North placed in a three-way tie for 10th (21), and Fort Osage tied Raytown at 28th (6).