Written By: Laney Lawson

We need to brag on our girls 4x800m teams for a bit! Present and Past! Now that state is over and I have had some time to sit back and really analyze/ reflect on the year I’m just in awe of not only this group of girls, but also the runners who were on this in the past! (Audrey Jacobs, Kilynn Banke, Karilee Kimrey)

I distinctly remember a time in the not so far past where we had to beg girls to try the 4x800m! Most years we could find 1-2 girls who were true mid distance runners and 2-3 who were not, but were willing to give it a try. The 800m by far is one of the hardest races physiologically to do, leaving you so taxed at the end you either get sick or feel like you will. The training isn’t fancy and most days is pretty brutal and time consuming. These girls trusted each other and the process and were able to do some really amazing things as far as school history goes! They also were SUPER coachable! As I learned more we tried more strategies even if it seemed like it wouldn’t work. (Shoutout to Korey Kimrey and Matt Logue for helping us!) This year we tried a lot of things. We switched the girls order around from time to time, we even switched up our pacing strategies the week of state! All the while they remained positive and present in the training. These girls nailed our strategy at state.. and when I say nailed it, I mean TO THE SECOND! Every split ran exactly how we practiced in such a short amount of time! And it paid off! We ran a 10:20.02 and just missed the podium by one place! In the last 3 years this time would have placed 3rd in 2022, 5th in 2023, and 6th in 2024!! It was an incredibly fast race! I couldn’t be more proud of them and so humbled by their trust in our process! Also did I mention that these groups of young ladies broke our school record 11 times in the last 3 years!!

Here’s a breakdown of those school records!

In 2023:

Regionals- 11:42

State- 11:37.73

Team: Audrey Jacobs (Sr), Eliz White (So), Kendyl Renn (Fr), Kilynn Banke (Fr)

2024:

PSU- 11:37.68

Pleasanton- 11:07

Girard- 11:02

Regionals- 10:56

State- 10:53

Team: Eliz White (Jr), Kendyl Renn (So), Journee Rimmer (Fr), Karilee Kimrey (Fr)

2025:

Riverton- 10:47

Girard- 10:42

Regional- 10:31

State: 10:20.02

Team: Eliz White (Sr), Kendyl Renn (Jr), Journee Rimmer (So), Elena White (Fr)

Wow what a ride! Great work and way to leave your legacy behind! The standard has been set! Thanks for all you have done to help us grow in this event!