Inductees

To say the Crystal City High School girls track & field teams from 1984-89 were pretty good is a vast understatement.

They were simply dominant, winning six consecutive Class 2 state championships, the longest such streak for a girls track & field program in the state.

With legendary head coach and fellow Class of 2023 inductee Dick Cook leading the way, the Hornets wracked up not only team championships, but individual titles as well. Relays, hurdles, sprints. It didn’t matter for the Hornets as they simply blew away the competition. For those reasons, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted the 1984 to 1989 Crystal City Girls Track & Field Era as members of the Class of 2023.

It all started in 1984, when the Hornets ran away from the competition. Crystal City captured its first title with a 20-point win over second-place Maysville.

In 1985, Kathy Meyer won the first of her three career state championships, finishing first in the 100m hurdles. The Hornets also earned top honors in the 4×100 meter relay to finish with 63 points, 23 points better than Smithville, the runner-up.

The 1986 team reached the podium with 80 points, doubling the runner-up, Brentwood, as Angie Lalumondier won the first of her six career individual state championships. In ’86, she was the champion in the high hurdles and the 200m. But she wasn’t alone as Kathy Meyer also won a pair of individual championships (100M & 300M hurdles), the 4×100 and 4×200 relay teams each won gold.

Crystal City was at it again in 1987, winning another four individual and/or relay titles on its way to a a runaway team victory. Lalumondier won her second 200m title while Amy Jo Cook was the 300 hurdles state champion. For the second straight year, the 4×100 and 4×200 relay teams finished first.

Lalumondier made it three-in-a-row in 1988 as she won again in the 200 meters, leading Crystal City to a nail-biting five-point team victory over Louisiana (41-36).

With Lalumondier graduated and onto Mizzou, the 1989 squad squeaked out another title, edging Dixon by four points (40-36), Amy Jo Cook won her second individual title, this time in the 100m hurdles as she stood out as Crystal City’s only champion.

What made those teams so good?

“The people, the girls, Coach Cook,” said Lalumondier. “We had a very special group. We had all been together since we were very young, running with the Jefferson County Jets. There was camaraderie amongst the girls and Coach Cook. It was our goal every year to get another state championship.”

Cook wasn’t your typical fiery coach. He was just the opposite.

“He was so encouraging and not the type of coach who was yelling,” Lalumondier said. “He was always very calm and collected. He had a plan and he let us know what that plan was.”

The impact of those teams is still felt in Crystal City today.

“When you think of Crystal City you think of Bill Bradley, Dick Cook and those girls that won six straight state championships,” said former assistant coach Vincent Bingham. “That’s what we’re known for, and Dick Cook’s hands are in all of it.”