The KCI Conference and other northern Missouri high schools are going to have a tough time in the next three years as the West Platte and North Platte girls’ track and field teams already have multiple all-state runners in their freshman campaigns.
En route to leading North Platte to a Class 2 State Championship, the freshman Lady Panther duo of Lindsey Ramsey and Brianna DeBord combined for five trips to the podium on May 21. West Platte also had a pair of freshmen – Hailey Peters and Sam Baker – that made the trek to Jefferson City High School for state, following impressive regular season campaigns.
Ramsey was a force for the Lady Panthers’ state winning team as the freshman medaled in four events. Ramsey was the lead leg in the runner-up 4x400-meter relay team and the anchor in the state champion 4x200-meter relay team.
“It feels awesome to be here, I think my teammates are a huge part of my success,” North Platte freshman Lindsey Ramsey said after her first season ended with a state title. “I didn’t think I would really be here; it takes practice and hard work, you have to push through.”
Ramsey also took sixth place in the 200-meter dash in 26.70 seconds and was the runner-up in the 400-meter dash with a time of 59.13 seconds. The four-time medalist’s freshman counterpart DeBord was also a contributor, competing in two state events.
The long-distance runner was the second leg in the 4x800-meter relay that was just shy of medaling, finishing in 10:19.81 for ninth place. DeBord went into the 3,200-meter run ranked as the eighth-place runner but rose to the occasion to take a seventh-place medal with a time of 12:25.66.
“I felt good today, I felt calm, I wasn’t nervous at all,” North Platte freshman Brianna DeBord said after completing the 3,200-meter run. “I have that motivation to try and be that top runner and try my hardest and push myself.”
North Platte freshman Lindsey Ramsey, above, impressed this track season.
For West Platte, Peters was all-state in the 100-meter hurdles, 4x200 and 4x400-meter relays. The Lady Blue Jay was 0.22 seconds away from being in the top-8 in the 300-meter hurdles ending in ninth place in prelims – which is the first spot left out of the final races.
Peters collected an individual medal in the 100-meter hurdles when she earned fifth place in 16.90 seconds. The West Platte freshman brought home a bronze medal in the 4x200 with a time of 1:49.53 and the 4x400 ended in sixth place in 4:21.07.
Baker was the anchor in both of those relays, along with the 4x800-meter relay that took fifth place with a time of 10:16.39. The Lady Blue Jay freshman has been knocking on the door of the program record in the 400-meter dash all season long and collected an individual medal – fifth place – when she crossed the finish line in 1:00.79.
All four freshmen have bright futures in track and field and will look to use the experience they gained at the 2022 Class 2 State Meet to their advantage in the coming years. Ramsey, DeBord, Peters and Baker are also all multi-sport athletes.