Gaines earns all-state honors in 1600 at Class 4 state meet

Liv Paggiarino/News Tribune

Kayanna Gaines of Fulton runs in the girls’ 1600m event during the MSHSAA Class 4 Track and Field State Championships on Friday at Adkins Stadium. Gaines placed in seventh, with a final time of five minutes and 18.61 seconds.
Liv Paggiarino/News Tribune Kayanna Gaines of Fulton runs in the girls’ 1600m event during the MSHSAA Class 4 Track and Field State Championships on Friday at Adkins Stadium. Gaines placed in seventh, with a final time of five minutes and 18.61 seconds.

Fulton senior Kayanna Gaines ran to an all-state finish Friday in the Class 4 track and field meet at Adkins Stadium in Jefferson City.

Gaines posted the seventh-best time, of 5.18.61, out of 16 runners in the 1,600-meter-run to earn a place on the podium. She also finished 12th out of 16 runners in the 800-meter-run, with a time of 2:30.95.

In her second and final appearance at the state meet, Gaines went into the day the No. 7 seed in the 1,600 and the No. 14 seed in the 800 after qualifying for both events at the Class 4 sectional meet. She had a first-place 1600 finish and a second-place 800 finish at sectionals.

Gaines qualified for the state meet as a sophomore in 2019. She bested her mark from two years ago in the 1,600, when she finished 12th at a time of 5:30.34.