*Addison Rainey winning the MHSAA 6A Girls Championship
Photo credits: Chris Bell, MileSplit Mississippi
Related Links:
MHSAA 6A Girls XC Way Too Early Rankings
2022 Mississippi All-State XC Girls Results
2022 MHSAA 6A Track and Field Championship Results
If there is one thing we have learned in the championship season, it is that we can count on Ocean Springs High School to show up when it really matters.
Addison Rainey, a junior at Ocean Springs, was playing chess while the rest of the field was playing checkers. Stopping the clock in a new lifetime best of 19:10.3, the sophomore claimed her first-ever individual MHSAA 6A title.
Through the last half mile of the race, Rainey wanted to leave no doubt about whom would take the win as she bravely made one final push to pull away from the last of her competition. She broke the tape 18 seconds before the next runner came in.
At the beginning of the race, hypothesizing who would win was not so clear-cut.
As the starting gun went off, no less than seven girls were in the lead pack, all vying for the best possible positioning. They all came through in a blazing 5:40 first mile - Keep in mind, that is almost 18:00 5k speed, and the fastest girl's PR was 19:00.
*The lead pack of the Rainey sisters, Morgan, Blanchard, and Hernando's Kaitlyn Burge
Photo credits: Chris Bell, MileSplit Mississippi
With that being said, there would be some payback happening, and the runners who stayed the calmest through that were the ones who remained in the front pack. The first checkpoint at the 2K mark is where some front runners began to fall off. By the time the front pack reached the halfway mark, only three were left: Brookelyn Morgan of Tupelo, the 2 x 3200m MHSAA 6A Champion, Ashton Rainey of Ocean Springs HS, the early race leader, and Addison Rainey.
All three of these girls are some of the fastest in the state, and so was everyone in that pack through the first mile.
From the halfway point on, it seemed Morgan would pull away... But then Addison defied the odds and closed the gap leading up the 'the hill' - a 400-meter climb that leads to one kilometer to go once you reach the top.
It was at the hill where Addison made the final, decisive push for a chance of victory. Many races have been won or lost up that hill. Rainey used it to do precisely that.
The race ended in Addison's victory, a solid runner-up finish from Morgan, and an exceptional finish from Kaydi Blanchard of Lewisburg HS to round out the top three. Fourth place was Kaitlyn Burge of Hernando.
All four of the competitors mentioned above will be returning next year.
It was meant to be an Ocean Springs day as they took home the trophy as the 2022 MHSAA 6A State Champions. They had five runners in the top 25, and three in the top 10.
MHSAA 6A Boys recap on next page >>>