Kansas Relays Retro: A Deeply Competitive Girls 1,600m Field

Apr 14, 2020

From start to finish, it was an absolute battle in the 1,600m Championship at the Kansas Relays in April of last year.

While top seed Joslin Blair, of Eagle Valley High School in Colorado, looked to set the pace early -- along with teammate and sister Samantha -- Lee's Summit's Ginger Murnieks bided her time and waited for the perfect moment to strike.

That came right around the 1,000 meter mark. Murnieks made a pivotal move that forced Joslin Blair to respond as Samantha continued to hold on.

But Joslin knew she had more left in her reservoir, eventually challenging Murnieks with 250 meters remaining. It proved to be the winning move.

Watch the entire race above to see how it turned out.

2019 Kansas Relays Girls 1,600m Championship

VARSITY GIRLS 1600 METER RUN FINALS	
PLACE	ATHLETE		TEAM	RESULT	WIND	H#
1	Joslin Blair	11	Eagle Valley High School	4:57.49		3
2	Samantha Blair	9	Eagle Valley High School	4:58.18		3
3	Ginger Murnieks	12	Lee's Summit West High School	4:59.97		3
4	Clara Mayfield	12	Manhattan High School	5:02.35		3
5	Jaybe Shufelberger	12	Washburn Rural High School	5:04.78		3
6	Madelynn Hill	12	Liberty High School	5:05.06		3
7	Anna Jeffcoat	12	Rogers High School	5:05.89		3
8	Camille Jackson	11	Ames High School	5:10.72		3

Retrospective: The race proved to be building blocks for both Joslin and Samatha, who would go on to reach the Colorado State Championships. Joslin finished fourth in the Class 4A 1,600m in 5:01.18 and was third in the 3,200m in 11:00.09. Her younger sister, meanwhile, was third in the 800m, eighth in the 1,600m and fifth in the 300mH. Murnieks would go on to accomplish much more. The current University of Missouri runner would win the Class 5 Championship in the 3,200m at the MSHSAA State Track and Field Championships before claiming a runner-up finish in the 1,600m.