Their coaches say they run faster against the best.

If that is true, the Wright City girls 400-meter relay team could be in for a historic weekend at the Class 3 state meet in Jefferson City.

The Wildcat quartet of Kia Campbell, Danielle Dyer, Emajahnai Hunter and Mercedes Wray broke the school record last week at the Montgomery County Sectional, finishing third in 50.45 seconds.

It was the fourth time this spring the group had broken the record.

“They probably had the best handoffs they’ve had all year,” Wright City Head Coach Fred Ross said. “They were just perfect. We’re going to work on gaps and distances and splitting up the exchange zones this week. We might tinker with those things a little bit and we’ll work on some blocks stuff. But technique-wise, they just run well against good teams.”

The Wildcats maneuvered through fast district and sectional meets, led by McCluer South-Berkely and Lutheran North.

Berkely is ranked first in Class 3 at 48.29 while North comes in at third (48.90).

Wright City is ranked sixth.

“They’re in medal contention, but you’re looking at tenths of a second,” Ross said. “We ran in one of the best sectionals in the state and four of our times were top 10 in the state. So they just have to perform, and we know they are capable of that. They might be able to go a little faster, too, if they get even better in handoff situations.”

Three months ago the Wright City coaches weren’t sure how the team would look.

“We were looking for that fourth runner,” Ross said. “We had the other three girls kind of set, so it was down to Mercedes and Morgan (Rohan). Mercedes just has a little more speed and she has fit in really well. The pressure hasn’t gotten to her at all and she has really excelled.”

Wray joined the team and has run the first leg of the relay most of the season, including the last four meets.

She is followed by Hunter, Campbell and Dyer.

“They’ve been pretty consistent the last three meets at conference, districts and sectionals, so we’ve seen some quality handoffs lately,” Ross said. “They’ve been practicing really well and bonding really well in practice, and that helps out.”

The 400-relay prelims are set for Friday at 1:30 p.m. at Jefferson City High School.

The finals are scheduled for Saturday at 12:35 p.m.

“They’re going to be in one of the fast lanes next to somebody who is really fast in the prelims, so we think that’s going to help them,” Ross said. “That competition keeps pushing us and pushing us, and hopefully they are peaking at the right time.”