Following is a recap of the seven events that Lexington Runners competed and medaled in at the State Track and Field Meet on May 22 and 23 in Jefferson City.

Girls 1600 Meter Run

This was the first event that Lexington Runners competed in on Friday, May 22, with Addison Smith, Phoebe Engelbrecht and Ellie Lichte all running for Lexington. Lichte got off to a quick start, grabbing an early lead, and she pretty well led wire to wire in this race. Smith and Engelbrecht were 5th and 6th respectively after the first lap, while Smith moved up into 3rd place, 5 seconds behind Lichte, with Engelbrecht 4th, 6 seconds off the pace after the second lap, which marked the halfway point of the race. The freshman Lichte expanded her lead to 11 seconds over second place runner Chevie Sharp of Highland after 3 laps, with Smith and Engelbrecht hanging close in third and fourth place, both also 11 seconds back. Lichte won the race with a time of 4:56, while Smith passed Sharp on the final lap to finish second at 5:06. Sharp was third (5:08) with Engelbrecht finishing fourth with a time of 5:13, giving the Minutewomen a first, second and fourth place finish, and a great start to the meet.

Girls 800 Meter Run

This was the second event on Friday for the Lexington Girls, which featured Ellie Lichte and Addison Smith. Many of the runners in this event were bunched closely together throughout the first 400 meters, as 9 different Girls were within 2 seconds of the leader at the end of the first lap halfway point, with Lichte in third place, only one second off the pace, while Smith was in ninth place, only 2 seconds behind the leader. The race remained neck and neck and neck to the finish as Farrah Williams of North Platte won the race with a time of 2:16, while Shelby Redd of Skyline was second at 2:17, with Lichte third, with a time of 2:18. Little did we know, at the time, that Lichte and Redd would have another classic battle with each other in a race the next day. Smith passed four runners, with another very strong kick, on the final lap, to finish seventh (2:22), and earn another medal.

Boys 3200 Meter Run

This was the final race of the day on Friday, and the first Lexington Boys race in the State Meet. Chael Lichte was the lone Minuteman in this one, in a field of 16 total runners. Nolan Kopp of Hermann jumped out to the early lead in this race, but the top 5 or 6 runners stayed close to each other throughout the entire race. After the first two laps, Lichte was in second place, only two seconds behind the leader. At the 4 lap halfway mark, Lichte remained in second place, only 1 second behind Kopp, with the third place runner, Drake Keraus of North Platte, right with Lichte also only 1 second behind the leader. Lichte continued to stay in second place for most of the next 3 laps, although he did lead for a brief time in the middle of lap 7.

When the final lap began, the first four runners, including Lichte, were all right there together, and the four stayed together until they reached the final straightaway on that last lap, Lichte then seemed to shift into another gear, as he out sprinted the other three to the finish line to win the race by 5 seconds in a time of 9:24. Keraus placed second (9:29), McDaniel third (9:31), and Kopp fourth (9:31).

Girls 4 x 800 Meter Relay

This was the first race of the day on Saturday morning, with the Minutewomen team of Phoebe Engelbrecht, Tessa Lovell, Addison Smith, and Ellie Lichte. Engelbrecht ran the first 800 Meter leg of the race (2:25), and Lexington led by 3 seconds, after the first two laps. Lovell ran the second leg of the Relay (2:33), and Lexington still led, but by only one second over Skyline and Higginsville who were tied for second, at the end of the fourth lap. Smith was the third Lexington runner in the relay, and she fell slightly behind the Skyline runner on her second lap, but Smith really kicked it in, and passed the Skyline runner, and the Minutewomen still led by one second, heading into the final 800 Meters of the race (2:21). Lichte was the final Lexington runner, and she was paired against Shelby Redd of Skyline, who had beaten her in the 800 Meter Run the day before. These two battled each other pretty much neck and neck for the entire race. However, Redd took the lead, after the two rounded the last curve on the final lap, and began the sprint down the final straightaway. Not to be denied, Lichte turned it on and caught Redd, and passed her in the final 15 yards to win the race (2:15), with a team time of 9:34. Skyline finished second, with North Platte finishing third, barely nosing out the Higginsville Girls, who placed fourth, and medaled.

Boys 1600 Meter Run

This was the second race for Lexington on Saturday, with Conner Soendker and Chael Lichte running for the Minutemen. This race was tight early on, as Landen Chapman of Paris led after two laps, with Soendker in second 2 seconds off the pace, Drake Keraus of North Platte third, three seconds back, while Lichte was in sixth place, 4 seconds off the pace. After the third lap, Chapman still led, and Soendker remained in second place, pretty well in a dead heat with Keraus, as both were 2 seconds back, with Mason McDaniel of Clark County fourth, three seconds back, while Lichte had climbed into fifth place, now six seconds behind the leader. On the final lap, Chapman was strong, as he widened his lead and won with a time of 4:15. The other runners in contention were all tightly bunched throughout the final lap, and Soendker blew around a couple of them in the final stretch, and finished second, with a time of 4:19, while McDaniel finished third (4:20), with Keraus fourth (4:20), and Lichte finishing sixth and medaling, with a time of 4:25.

Boys 800 Meter Run

This event was run in the middle of Saturday afternoon, and Conner Soendker was the lone Lexington entrant. This event has really evolved over the years where now it is almost an all out sprint, where it used to be more of a pace yourself run until the final lap.. Case in point, less than one second separated the top six runners after one lap at the halfway point, as all were running at top speed. After that initial lap, Soendker was in ninth place, still only 2 seconds behind the leader. As it was in the 1600 Meter Run, Landen Chapman of Paris was ahead pretty well wire to wire, but never by very much, and he won the race with a time of 1:53. Drake Keraus of North Platte was second at 1:55, while Braeden Caldwell of Jefferson of Festus wound up third at 1:56.

With as many runners as close as they were for the entire race, it was easy to get “boxed in” that was possibly the case with Soendker, However, he did have a good finishing kick down the stretch, winding up in seventh place and earning a medal with a time of 1:59.

Girls 3200 Meter Run

This race was run late Saturday afternoon, and was the final event for Lexington runners. It was also a very important event, as it appeared that the three Lexington Girls would need to perform very well in this race, if the Minutewomen were to have a good shot at winning the Team State Championship. At the end of the first two laps, Ellie Lichte, Addison Smith, and Phoebe Engelbrecht were all right together, and were leading the pack. After the fourth lap halfway point, Lichte and Smith were still tied for first place, with Engelbrecht in third, 7 seconds back. After 6 laps, Lichte was still in first place, with Smith second, only 3 seconds back, and Engelbrecht in third, 7 seconds off the pace. The three Lexington Girls continued their domination of the race, in the closing two laps, as Lichte won the race with a time of 11:01, while Smith was second at 11:05, with Engelbrecht finishing third at 11:29. After the Lexington Girls made a clean sweep in that final race, it appeared certain that the Lexington Girls were on their way to becoming the CLASS 2 STATE TEAM CHAMPIONS.

Many New Records Established

The Lexington Girls 4 x 800 Meter Relay team of Phoebe Engelbrecht, Tessa Lovell, Addison Smith, and Ellie Lichte broke the school record, and also established a new Class 2 State record (9:34), breaking the previous record set by Principia in 1992. Also, Lexington school records were established by: Ellie Lichte in the 800 Meter Run (2:18), the 1600 Meter Run (4:56) and, the 3200 Meter Run (11:01); Conner Soendker in the 1600 Meter Run (4:19); and Chael Lichte in the 3200 Meter Run (9:24).