North Platte sophomore Farrah Williams became the Panthers’ newest state champion at the MSHSAA Track and Field Championships held May 23-24 in Jefferson City.
Williams became the 800-meter girls champion of Class 2 with a time of 2 minutes, 16.35 seconds to win the race on May 23. Williams, who entered as the top seed, finished the first 400 meters in second place at 1:06.71.
North Platte sophomore Farrah Williams was crowned the new state champion in the 800. Photo: Drake Ramsay
She then burned the best second half of the race, running the last 400 meters in 1:09.65 to set a new personal record in the 800 with 2:16.35. Her state championship required a new PR, with Skyline junior Shelby Redd trailing behind in 2:17.54.
The title completed a postseason sweep for Williams, who was the 800 champion of the KCI Conference as well the district, sectional and now state champion. She became North Platte’s second state champion in the 800, following the footsteps that Lindsay Ramsay first carved out last year.
“She is a model athlete, is incredibly coachable, and nobody ever doubts that she leaves everything on the track,” said Brendan Cary, North Platte co-coach. “She took on a change in her training this year, building mileage this year to prepare herself for this opportunity, and now has proven on the big stage that she can compete with the very best.”
The North Platte girls finished fourth overall to earn a team trophy for the sixth consecutive year. They scored 29 points to edge out Butler for the final team trophy while Lexington became the new Class 2 state champions (64 points) with Penney (54 points) and Fayette (41 points) also finishing above North Platte.
“The girls buy in,” North Platte co-coach Matt Keraus said. “We talk about ‘the standard’ that others have set and we all must work so hard to maintain ‘the standard.’ This was a very small group of girls that in the end rallied behind one another to bring home another trophy and ‘maintain the standard.’”
Williams played a critical role not only with her individual state championship in the 800, which scored 10 points, but also by anchoring all three of North Platte’s point-scoring relays. Williams helped North Platte add another 15 points from the 4x100, 4x400 and 4x800 relays.
North Platte added a point in the 4x100 with an eighth-place finish. After finishing the preliminary race fourth in 50.79 seconds, the team of Morgan Ball, Graci Williams, Megan Schuster and Farrah Williams finished in 51.45.
The Panthers’ best relay came was their last one in the 4x400, where they added eight points with a runner-up finish to secure the team trophy. The quartet of Graci Williams, Ball, Schuster and Farrah Williams qualified out of prelims with a fourth-place finish in 4:09.68 before posting a season-best time of 4:04.72 to finish second behind Adrian (4:03.16).
Chloe Heckman finished her Panther career with a fifth-place medal in the 3200 run. Photo: Drake Ramsay
The 4x800 relay of Graci Williams, Ball, Chloe Heckman and Farrah Williams placed third to contribute another seven points. They finished in a season-best 10:00.11 to edge out Lafayette County (10:00.59), finishing behind Skyline (9:49.41) and Lexington (9:34.32).
Heckman also scored four valuable points to round out her Panther career in the 3200. She finished fifth overall in 11:48.97, finishing first of a congested four-runner pack that finished between 11:48 and 11:56.
“We work very hard to give our athletes vision for what they can become, starting the very first day of junior high,” Cary said. “We have been blessed with tremendous athletes, not only in athletic ability, but in the ability to lead, compete, and trust the process.”
North Platte finished fourth in the Class 2 state championships, earning a team trophy for a sixth straight year. Photo: Drake Ramsay
The key to North Platte’s prolonged success has been consistency. Even with lower numbers than previous years, the Panthers leaned even harder into consistency in coaching, culture and training to carry them to yet another state trophy.
“We do hope to keep it going,” Keraus said. “This year’s seniors (Heckman, Ball and Graci Williams) will be missed. Between them, they have a lot of medals around their necks and rings on their fingers.”
West Platte was also represented on the podium in four events, scoring a total of 10 points.
The Blue Jays’ 4x100 relay of Nora Meyerkorth, Sophie Grier, Hana Hoover and Katherine Carletti contributed three points with a sixth-place finish. They narrowly made the finals cut, finishing eighth in 51.22 to edge out Salisbury (51.23), before finishing sixth in 50.78.
Addison Bailey provided West Platte’s other state medal on the track in 300 hurdles. The senior rounded out her time as a Blue Jay by taking sixth in the prelims and finals, finishing in 47.93 in the prelims before setting her final PR in the finals in 47.56.
Bailey also became a state medalist in the triple jump earlier in the day, where she placed seventh with a leap of 10.66 meters on her final try. West Platte’s final state medalist was Cambrie Swope, who also placed seventh in discus with a toss of 36.24 meters on her third try.
With Farrah Williams becoming North Platte’s newest state champion — the fifth in student-athlete in girls program history — she could not have learned from a better predecessor than Lindsey Ramsey, who won six individual state titles on the track.
“Linny Ramsey will never be replicated, but Farrah had some time to learn from her,” Keraus said. “Farrah absorbed so much from running ‘behind’ Linny last season and looking up to her in junior high.”
After learning the important characteristics that Ramsay displayed, which included leadership, work ethic, and character, Keraus saw Williams implement those same traits throughout this year. With a state title under her belt as a sophomore, Williams has two more years to add more accolades to her legacy as a Panther.
“Farrah is not even close to being finished,” Keraus said. “She is one of those that will never be satisfied.”
While the MSHSAA season is over, Williams will get back to work in preparation for the Nike Outdoor Nationals, set for June 18-22 in Eugene, Oregon. After taking a couple days off, she will join Drake Keraus in ramping up preparations in anticipation for the event.
“I am excited to see what more she can accomplish over the next two years, but just as excited to watch her continued growth as a leader of our team,” Cary said.