Harrison freshman Chelsea McKay's athletic performance at Tuesday night's City/County Track and Field Meet only displayed part of her versatility.
After winning the 400, which followed an earlier victory in the high jump, McKay left the meet to sing in a school choir function. She didn't return in time to compete in the meet-ending 1,600 relay, but she and a pack of Raiders swarmed Rachel Krauss after her victorious anchor leg.
"I have to be here for my team; track is my thing, and my team is my life," McKay said. "If I had missed that (celebration), I would have been devastated."
That celebration was a long time coming. The relay victory secured Harrison's City/County team championship and broke West Lafayette's four-year hold on the title.
"We've just been waiting to build the program up, and this is the year; we finally took it," said Harrison senior Jorden Traver, who edged Lafayette Jeff's Courtney Rishel by one inch to win the discus with an effort of 102 feet, 2 inches.
Harrison's other wins came from Katie Vierk in the pole vault, Jacklyn Williams in the shot put and Laura Bess in the 1,600. The Raiders held a 51-18 points edge over West Lafayette in the field events.
Ellen MacDonald won the 100 and 200 and ran on a victorious 400 relay squad for the Red Devils, who finished second by 10 points.
"We did everything we could to win the meet, and we just were not good enough to beat them," WL coach Lane Custer said. "And that's no shame whatsoever. That's a good team."
The evening's biggest surprise came in the 1,600. West Lafayette senior Linsey Daluga and sophomore Kaisa Goodman owned the top two seeds by a comfortable margin.
Third-seeded Bess lopped 21 seconds off her seed time, and her effort of 5:22.64 won by almost six seconds.
McKay defended her top seed in the high jump by edging Williams. She and classmate Taylor VanArsdel were seeded third and fourth in the 400 but were the first two to finish.
"Laura Bess, we told her she really set the tone for this meet when she went out and had an amazing race in the 1,600," Harrison coach Faith Turnpaugh Warner said.
"And then Chelsea and Taylor came out and (finished 1-2) in the 400. ... We had some great performances from kids that we hadn't necessarily thought we would get."
Lafayette Jeff senior Queennetta Reese capped four years of City/County dominance in the hurdles. Victories in the 100 (15.67) and 300 (47.44) gave her a four-year sweep of both events.
"I worked really hard to get here, and I'm proud of what I've done today," Reese said. "This is the first step. Sectionals, regionals, state ... I'm coming. It's only the beginning."
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