This year's Class 3A State Track Meet was an unusual one for Lovejoy.

While the Leopards had a contingent of six girls at Mike A. Myers Stadium on Friday and Saturday, this season's trip to Austin was the first in several years that Lovejoy wasn't threatening to win a team state title or at least take home some individual hardware.

With that in mind, the Lady Leopards still considered the trip a success.

"After evaluating and looking at the meet, I thought our girls were outstanding," said Greg Christensen, Lovejoy head coach. "They all met or ran their best performances of the season and that is all you can ask at state."

Multi-time state champion Katie Ruhala was the team's lone dual qualifier (1600, 3200 meters) and she got things started Friday in the longest race of the competition.

"Going into this meet, due to sickness or injury, Katie only had about four weeks of running under her belt, so just to have made the state meet was a huge accomplishment," Christensen said. "Katie had designs of racing a PR and winning her ninth state medal. That may have been a stretch, but I have learned to never doubt Katie when she has her mind set."

Looking to defend her 3200 title, Ruhala was among the leaders for the first mile, but fell back in the pack during the final mile and finished seventh (11:40.05).

"The girls in the race were keying off Katie and knew she was the girl to beat," Christensen said. "She was unable to respond in the second mile, mostly due to her illness and the fact she had no second gear to go to, but she still ran a PR for the season."

Ruhala was back on the track Saturday for the 1600.

"Katie was looking at this race as a chance to cut loose and go for broke," Christensen said.

Ruhala stayed with the lead pack for the first three-quarters of the race, but didn't have a final kick in the last 400, settling for fifth place (5:19.91). Both of Ruhala's races were won by Brookshire Royal's Diana Moreno.

"Again, there wasn't that final gear for Katie to go to," Christensen said. "We fell short of our goal, but Katie equaled her PR for the season, and the fact she raced knowing she was less than her best is a huge testament to the type of character she has and competitor she is."

Ruhala was one of two Lovejoy state entries to earn team points, alongside the 4x400 contingent of Shani Rainey, Kensey Berry, Sydney Prendergast and Cassie Conarty.

Rainey got the team out to an early lead with Berry maintaining first place for Lovejoy. Prendergast and Conarty also turned in times Lovejoy was hoping for, but that wasn't enough to get the team on the medal stand as the Lady Leopards placed fifth (4:00.75), less than six seconds off the winning pace turned in by Waco Connally.

Once more, Lovejoy equaled a PR.

"The teams ahead of us ran well and just had another gear," Christensen said. "But I'm proud of the girls who came out and made it to state on only one month of training."

Lovejoy had another medal stand hopeful in the form of Ashley Bassett, who had momentum heading into the 300 hurdles after having won that event at the Region II-3A Meet two weeks prior. As was the case for her teammates, Bassett was strong early, running in the top three before hitting the curve and falling back.

"Ashley's quad was limiting her work over the past week and I assume that was a factor in not letting her make that final push over the last four flights," Christensen said. "But even with that, she ran her second fastest time of the season and finished seventh in a very talented field."

Bassett's 46.13 trailed only her regional-winning time of 45.64 in Commerce.

With Bassett's seventh-place finish, Lovejoy accumulated six points and finished 32nd in the team competition, which was won by Connally.

"I was very proud of our girls," Christensen said.

Lovejoy wraps the season next week with its team banquet.

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