Jun. 24—Moscow has been well known in recent years for the strength of its girls track and field community — and though the majority of the attention has gone to the high school level, the pipeline does not start there.
Sarah Niehenke, Lila Beard, Palmer McLuen and Demi Frei — four recent eighth graders each headed for their freshman year at Moscow High — made that abundantly clear on Monday as they placed in the top 10 of the middle school girls division 400-meter relay at the Nike Outdoor Nationals USATF meet in Eugene, Ore.
The quartet, who competed under the team name “Motivated Sprinters Track Club,” clocked in at 53.33 seconds to finish eighth.
“My greatest pleasure as a coach has been having the opportunity to work with Lila Beard, Palmer McLuen, Demi Frei and Sarah Niehenke over the past two seasons,” Moscow Middle School sprints coach Euricka Hardy said. “They have bought into the process, trusted their training and consistently put in the work necessary to improve.”
McLuen’s grandfather Gary Thomas said that these four girls have been running together for four years in total, during which time he has “watched them just getting progressively faster and faster.”
With two of their members recovering from injuries as of Monday, the group clocked in slightly behind their school record time of 53.12, which won them a Bi-State championship to cap off their spring season and middle school careers last month.
“While I am proud of the results they achieved at this meet, I am even more proud of the dedication, perseverance and character they have displayed throughout the past two seasons,” Hardy said. “It has truly been a privilege to coach them and watch them grow into the athletes they are today.”
Judging by these results, the two-time defending high school state champion Bear girls might have high hopes of continued excellence for years to come.
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