The state track and field meet concluded this past Memorial Day weekend and unfortunately for two Northampton track members, things didn’t turn out as hoped.

Lyndsey Gallagher qualified after taking second in the 1600 at districts and Lexi Barrall advanced after capturing gold in the pole vault. However, Gallagher didn’t qualify for the finals and Barrall no-heighted on her first attempt as both saw their trips to Shippensburg quickly end.

Barrall is just a junior and will aim to get back next season, but for Gallagher, a senior, it’s the end of her high school career. However, she can look back on the fall and spring seasons and feel pretty good about what she accomplished this school year.

“Unfortunately the race did not go as I had hoped, but there are always races like that,” Gallagher said of her state trip. “I was just excited to have the chance to compete there one last time in my high school career.”

Gallagher made it to states as a freshman, but it was because the top-two girls from districts dropped out. This year, it was a different story.

“[Last year] I was overwhelmed by the amount of people at states,” Gallagher said. “Coming to Shippensburg this year after hitting the qualifying time, I knew I deserved to be there and while I was excited by the atmosphere, I did not allow it to intimidate me. After competing in track for four years it was the perfect end to my senior year. It was humbling to qualify for states this year because just one year ago I did not even qualify for districts in the mile.”

Gallagher also had a standout season in cross-country last fall. She finished eighth at the EPC meet and earned first team honors. She took 11th at districts and qualified for the state meet. It was the first year with the new course at Hershey, but Gallagher was happy with her performance despite the difficultly of the course.

After some time off, it was time to train for the track season starting in December, one that would turn out to be record-setting.

“After cross-country was over I took time off for my body to recover,” Gallagher said. “Coach [Dan] Benner and I really started training after the Christmas break in January. We discussed my goals of trying to qualify for the state meet in outdoor track, but the qualifying time was 5:10. At the time, running a 5:10 felt like a hard goal to reach since the closest I had come to that time was a 5:16 four years earlier in my freshman year.”

Despite the challenges, Gallagher trained in order to reach her goal, often coming in extra days to lift and run on top of the scheduled three days a week for indoor track. Gallagher competed in several indoor meets and was part of the 3200 relay team and the distance medley relay team that broke the indoor school record. Individually, Gallagher broke the indoor school record in the 1600 with a time of 5:26 and the 800 with a time of 2:31.

Gallagher hit a bit of a snag in her training with the big snowstorm that hit the second week of the outdoor track season, but she continued to run on a treadmill and on the streets once they were plowed.

At the first meet of the outdoor season, Gallagher broke the Al Erdosy Stadium record in the 3200 with a time of 11:39, which was previously held by Gallagher’s former teammate, Joelle Perelli. At the Allen Invitational, Gallagher placed second in the 1600 meter, running a personal record of 5:08.

“I was overjoyed with this result, hitting the state qualifying time in the middle of the season and breaking the school record in the mile which I had previously held with a 5:16,” Gallagher said. “This race boosted my confidence at my ability to qualify for states.”

During the regular season, Gallagher also broke the Al Erdosy Stadium record in the 1600 meter with a time of 5:15. She was third at the EPC meet in the 1600 and second at districts.

“I was nervous at the district meet, with the temperature being very hot for distance runners,” Gallagher said. “I knew I had the ability to hit qualifying time for states, but unsure if I could execute it in the heat. The heat actually worked to my advantage, since other girls were already tired from running the 3200 meter the night before and I was fresh.”

Despite not making it out of the prelims, Gallagher is happy with her seasons.

“Qualifying and racing at states in Shippensburg was the perfect end to my high school career in cross-country and track,” she said. “I have been successful over the past four years because coach Benner’s training. He has always believed in me, even when I haven’t believed in myself at times. I have also been successful due to the support of my family and the community.”

As for Barrall, things certainly didn’t go as she hoped, but she remains upbeat about her future.

“States definitely did not go as I had planned, however it was an amazing experience to say the least,” Barrall said. “The competition there was a lot tougher than I had initially expected, and every jumper was motivating each other.”

The good news is Barrall gained valuable experience, although she said nerves were a factor this time around.

“I was not as nervous or as stressed as I was previously at EPC’s and districts and that’s mainly because all season I was jumping to win in order to get to Shippensburg, but on Friday I was just jumping to jump and enjoy the experience.”

Barrall also had to start at a tough opening height, which seemed to be a topic of conversation at states on both the boys and girls events.

“I was not used to opening at such a high bar, and the weather was not cooperating with us,” said Barrall. “Even though I no-heighted I still enjoyed being there.

“I plan on being back next season clearing higher bars and making the most out of my senior season as I can. I definitely plan on returning to Shippensburg, this time, hopefully, coming home with a medal.”