Rock Bridge freshman Lauren Borduin turned some heads two weeks ago at the District 5 meet at Rock Bridge when she beat Jefferson City’s Atilivia Spencer by .02 seconds in the 800-meter dash in 2 minutes, 20.4 seconds.
Then her times only decreased against more difficult competition.
At the Section 3 meet May 21, Borduin improved her time by more than a second and won the Section 3 championship.
Borduin felt confident knowing that she had the fourth-best time, at 2:19.12, going in to the state championship.
Saturday afternoon at the MSHSAA Track and Field championships, as most of the finished runners waited to hear the overall team placements, Borduin was preparing for her final and most important race of the year.
“I was really nervous; the atmosphere here is so different than any other event I have ever ran in,” Borduin said.
Borduin was lined up in the first alley furthest to the inside of the track as her coaches cheered her on from the sideline. When the race started, she looked to be crowded by an opponent but quickly broke away.
“I usually don’t make my move right away, but I knew I had to keep up to (Eureka junior Meredith Snow), she is fast,” Borduin said.
By the last 100 meters she was neck and neck with Snow for first, but eventually lost to her.
“My nerves and adrenaline kicked in and I think I improved by at least five seconds from sectionals,” Borduin said.
Borduin finished at 2:16, 3.21 seconds faster than her time at sectionals.
Borduin plans to continue to train throughout the summer and to try to improve every year.
“You never know when a freshman, someone like me,” Borduin said. “Might be coming up, I have to stay in shape.”