For the fourth straight year, the North Platte girls track and field team returned home from Jefferson City as state champions — and this one may have been the most thrilling of them all.
The Panthers captured their fourth consecutive title at the 50th MSHSAA Girls Track & Field Championships on May 23 and 24, becoming just the seventh girls program in state history to accomplish a four-peat. The championship wasn’t clinched until the very last event of the meet.
“The work of this team through the season and over the years is nothing short of incredible,” North Platte distance coach Brendan Cary said. “We knew this weekend would be tight, but for the second time in four years, our destiny has been in our own hands going into the 4x4, and the girls showed up again.”
State title No. 4 did not come easily for North Platte. Every point was a difference-maker, whether it was winning first or just qualifying for all-state. It came down to the wire in a high-pressure situation.
“We had thought for weeks it would come down to the 4x4,” North Platte sprinting coach Matt Keraus said. “We had a lot of moving pieces throughout the state series to put us in a position for us to win another title. We had a lot of ups and downs throughout the entire two-day meet.”
Sitting in second place, trailing first-place Penney by nine points, North Platte had to get first place in the final event of the meet: the 4x400-meter relay.
“Before the race, the girls knew what was at stake and knew exactly what each of them had to do,” Keraus said. “I told them and pointed up to our loyal fans and other teammates and said they all had your back and to go get it for them.”
With about 50 fans making the trek from Dearborn to the state’s capital, it was well worth it to cheer on the girls in the decisive relay. After some encouraging words, North Platte’s title-clinching 4x400 relay team consisted of freshman Megan Schuster and Farrah Williams as well as juniors Graci Williams and Morgan Ball, all of whom showed nerves of steel to deliver a gold medal finish in 4 minutes, 5.92 seconds to earn 10 points and surpass Penney by a single point, overtaking their KCI Conference foe 58-57.
“Stomachs were twisted and palms were sweating when the 4x4 started,” Keraus said. “But Williams, Williams, Ball and Schuster rose to the occasion. We could not have done it without help from every single person on the team, but I am even prouder of how those four girls handled that pressure.”
The rollercoaster of emotions throughout an exhaustive two days transformed into pure joy, excitement and relief. Even a day later, the girls celebrated at a graduation party without sleep.
Decorated senior Lindsay Ramsey led the way once again as North Platte was crowned state champion of five individual events. Ramsey became a three-peat state champion in the 400 — setting a Class 2 record of 54.86 in her preliminary race — and a back-to-back champion in the 800 while placing third in the 100.
“What Lindsay has done for our program is unbelievable,” Keraus said. “We all see what she does with all the awards she earns, but what people do not see is how selfless of a person she is, what an amazing leader she is, what a great teammate she is and what a great person she is. Those are the things that I will miss the most.”
Lindsay Ramsey in her 800-meter championship race on May 24 in Jefferson City. KESTON OLTMAN / Contributed Photo
Ramsey wraps up her historic career with six individual state titles, three relay titles, and 16 all-state designations in track. The University of Missouri softball commit was also all-state in basketball and softball for the Panthers.
North Platte dominated all three relays in which they competed. In addition to the 4x400, they took first in the 4x100 (Morgan Ball, Graci Williams, Megan Schuster, Lindsay Ramsey) and won their first 4x800 (Brianna DeBord, Chloe Heckman, Farrah Williams, Graci Williams) state title since 1986.
Senior Brianna DeBord elevated the team’s distance racing the past four years and contributed to the Panthers’ fourth straight title with a seventh-place finish in the 3200, running a season-best 11:39.73 to become a six-time all-state recipient.
Brianna DeBord after winning the Panthers’ first 4x800 state title since 1986. KESTON OLTMAN / Contributed Photo
With so many moving parts, every athlete’s contribution was crucial, and behind the scenes, the coaching staff worked tirelessly to track scoring projections and adjust strategies as the meet unfolded. The Panthers’ run began with a second-place finish in 2021 before running away with the program’s first state title in 2022, narrowly winning another in 2023 and taking a third straight last year.
“This title was probably the most stressful one,” Keraus said. “Coach Fedrezzi had worked weeks running the numbers. Many things changed at the meet. Some good, some bad, some great. There were lots of tears, both happy ones, sad ones and nervous ones. But it all worked out in the end with outstanding efforts from all the girls, lots of planning and a little bit of luck.”
Even though North Platte will say goodbye to seniors DeBord and Ramsey, the team has no plans of slowing down with plenty of talent set to return next year.
“While we bid them farewell, the girls that return know that this is definitely not the end and the future remains strong for our team,” Cary said.
North Platte 2025 MSHSAA Class 2 girls track and field state champions. KESTON OLTMAN / Contributed Photo