MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Their third Division II state track championship was already well in hand, but the Baylor girls’ 4×400 relay team made sure to put an exclamation on the night.
In the final event, that relay foursome finished two seconds faster than it had run all season, giving the Lady Red Raiders 140 total team points, while GPS finished second with 92.
“For the last three years we’ve had girls come over here and max out in just about every event,” Baylor coach Bill McMahan said. “We had so many girls finish as well or better than they have all year, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Baylor won six events, beginning with Sally Warm’s surprising victory in the triple jump with a personal-best 37 feet, 11 inches. Another surprise came when the Lady Raiders’ 4×800 relay, which hadn’t beaten GPS this season, held on with Paige Elliott’s gutsy fourth leg.
“When I got the baton I kind of realized we weren’t as far behind as I thought at first,” Elliott said. “So I just kept my eye on her and tried to gain ground. The fact that we hadn’t beaten GPS this year in that race, and they’re our rival, helped me run faster.”
Although Howard’s girls did not defend their state title in Class A/AA, sophomore sprinter LaQuisha Jackson became the talk of the night by breaking state records in the 100 (11.46) and 200 (23.86). She also anchored Howard’s first-place 4×100 and 4×200 teams.
Martin Luther King High School won the A/AA title, and Howard’s Lady Hustlin’ Tigers finished half a point behind second-place East Literature.
Red Bank’s Amber Dandy’s 20 1/4-inch leap in the A/AA long jump not only won that event but is the third longest by a high school athlete nationally this year. One night after winning the 3200-meter run, Red Bank’s Claire Turner also won the 1600 and finished third in the 800.
“I just wanted to get out and run my race and turn in a really fast time,” Turner said after the 1600. “I feel really good with the way my high school career ended here.”
GPS’s Simone Busby won the discus with a throw of 111-9, and the Bruisers’ 4×100 relay team also finished first.
