The McCluer South Berkeley girls put on a stunning and scintillating display of speed and talent in winning the MSHSAA Class 3 state track and field championship last weekend in Jefferson City.
The Bulldogs ran away with the title by scoring 76 points. They literally ran away from the rest of the field while setting five state records in the process, including a historic performance in the 4×400-meter relay.
“I’m speechless,” said Berkeley coach Keith Rhodes, moments after receiving the state-championship plaque. “I’m very proud of my girls, especially the ones who have been here before because they knew how hard they had to work to get this done.”
Once again, Dwight T. Reed Stadium turned into the personal playground for junior star sprinter Alishea Usery, who added to her resume as the greatest prep girl’s sprinter in the history of the Show-Me State. For the third consecutive year, Usery was a triple-winner in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes. Usery also lowered her own state records in those three events.
Usery set a new Class 3 record in the 100 with a time of 11.69 seconds. She lowered her own 200-meter dash mark from 23.81 seconds to 23.78. In the 400, she took her own record down from 54.22 to 53.55. The only record to elude Usery is the overall 100-meter dash mark of 11.66, which is held by former Kansas City Central star Muna Lee.
“Alishea was pretty much healthy all year,” Rhodes said. “She’s a phenomenal runner. As long as she stays healthy, she is capable of breaking a lot of records.”
Usery saved her best record for last, which came in the 4×400-meter relay along with her twin sister Ashley Usery, sophomore Angel Williams and freshman Kianna Ruff. Much of the St. Louis track community expected something special in this race and they were not disappointed as the quartet set a new standard in the race of 3 minutes 45.78 seconds. It was the fastest 4×400 ever run by a high school girls team in the state of Missouri as well as one of the best times in the nation this season. It marked the fastest time by an area 4×400 team in state competition since 1984 when East St. Louis Lincoln’s group of Marcia Byrd, Roslyn Rucker, Nicolle Thompson and Melissa Gilbert turned in a 3:44.9 at the 1984 IHSA Class AA girls state championships.
The relay splits for the four girls were Ashley Usery in 58 seconds, Kianna Ruff (55 seconds), Angel Williams (56 seconds) and Alishea Usery (54 seconds). When Usery got the baton for the final exchange, their time was already 2:51.0 and she brought the record home as mouths dropped throughout the stadium.
Berkeley’s fifth state record came in the opening event of the day when the team of Ashley Usery, Williams, Ruff and Lashaye Dodd won the 4×800 in a time of 9:26.42.
“I was most proud of the 4×800 winning because it’s the first in the school’s history,” Rhodes said. “Berkeley has always been known for speed, but I was very proud to see our girls win this event.”
The Bulldogs’ sixth victory came in the 4×200 when Williams, Ruff, Angel Henderson and Bianca Stokes won the title in 1:41.7. The Bulldogs also picked up points when Stokes finished seventh in the 100, Ruff was fourth in the 200, Usery was eighth in the 800 and Williams and Stokes were fourth and sixth in the 200, respectively.