Effingham girls 4x800 team has season to remember, culminating with eighth-place showing at state

May 24—EFFINGHAM — The Effingham girls 4x800-meter relay team had a season to remember.

Many events were won. Many personal bests were set.

The team of juniors Jessica Larsen and Morgan Springer, sophomore Baylee Summers and freshman Drew Weis exceeded expectations and ultimately finished eighth in the state in the event at last week's state final in Charleston.

"We were definitely really excited going into this season after coming off last season where they did make it to state in the 4x8," head coach Shayna Scott said. "We were just excited about bringing everyone back and giving them that second shot.

"Our goal all season long was to not just make it to state; our goal was to make it to finals."

That goal was met.

After finishing 19th one year ago, nearly the same team returned, though, a better version of themselves and it showed.

The team ran the relay in 10:14.44 in 2023. They ran it in 9:44.41 in 2024.

It was the fifth time the team had finished with a time under 10 minutes during the season, as well, with the other five instances coming in the preliminary round of the state meet (9:40.27, a personal record), the Class 2A Charleston Sectional (9:54.99), the Lady Knight Invitational (9:57.14) and the Apollo Conference Meet (9:49.98).

The Apollo Conference time was good for the best in conference history, too.

"That was huge, breaking the record and, really, starting out strong the entire season," Scott said. "We went to indoor state and they placed third but I think that really just set the tone for the rest of the year. We just went into the season with a lot more confidence."

Summers starts the race for EHS.

At the state meet, she ran her split in 2:23.37.

"Baylee, we want her to get a strong start for the team," Scott said. "She's really consistent at starting and getting out hard."

Springer then ran hers in 2:37.64.

"Morgan's just a constant for us, too," Scott said. "Her goal is to maintain and hold that position. She does a really great job of that and staying calm."

Weis finished in 2:27.36.

"Drew then is our third handoff and she just fires out of the start as soon as she gets it and that's a really cool leg to see her run," Scott said. "It was neat to see all of this untapped potential."

A freshman, Scott is eager to see how Weis does as her high school career carries on.

"Adding Drew to the mix was a blessing this year because it helped strengthen our team in numbers, as well," Scott said. "Drew faced some nerves going into the state meet; it's just a different ballpark. You go up there and you got the adrenaline going, the nerves, the pressure and so, at state, it was vital that her teammates pulled their weight to give her that grace period, if she didn't perform as much as we needed her to."

Following Weis was Larsen, who finished with a blistering time of 2:17.02.

"Whatever she's got, she'll do it for the team and will get us into that top place," Scott said. "Jess has this fire; she's not going to let someone else beat them. You can see that in Jess' face as she was finishing that last 200 of the 4x8. She's been in the position where she's placed 10th before and she was like, 'I'm not going to get 10th again' and she knew that."

It isn't just track season where these four find success, either.

All had a strong hand with the cross-country team in the fall.

Summers finished fifth in the fall at the Apollo Conference Meet. Larsen was seventh, Weis was 13th and Springer was 15th.

"It's really nice that they come in with that foundation," Scott said. "We don't have to spend a lot of time getting them into shape because they already come into the season in shape. It's also neat to see how they are already teammates and how they push each other. They really challenge each other for that top spot. It's a stress reliever in track season."