National High School Records Through the Years

Girls Outdoor Record – 80-Yard Hurdles

Kay Garnett (John F. Kennedy High, Seattle, Washington)

Performance – 10.22 seconds

Date – May 26, 1979

Place – Renton, Wash.

Meet – WIAA Class AAA Championships 

Previous Record – 10.31 by Kathy Bergoon (Hastings, Alief, Texas) April 22, 1978 in Houston, Texas

Kay Garnett, a senior at Kennedy, equaled Kathy Bergoon’s HSR of 10.31 in the prelims of her state meet on Friday, May 25, then broke it in the final the next day, 46 years ago today, winning the race by more than half a second. She went on to both nationals the following month, making the final of the AAU Seniors at Mt. SAC, then finishing 3rd at AAU Juniors in Bloomington, Indiana. The winner of that race was a prep from Virginia, Benita Fitzgerald, who five years later won the Olympic gold medal in Los Angeles. Garnett finished her high school career with PRs of 13.70 (30” hurdles) and 13.77, putting her No. 2 on the state of Washington all-time high school list behind only Ginnie Powell (Rainier Beach, Seattle), who ran 13.39 in 2001. On a national level, the 80-yard hurdles was on its way out as a high school event, to be replaced by today’s standardized 100-meter event. As a result, Garnett’s 10.22 remains the all-time prep auto-timed best; the best hand times were 9.9 by Debby Lansky (Taylor Center, Michigan) in 1970 and LaVonne Neal (Girls, Philadelphia) in 1972. Garnett went on to run for two college teams, USC and Oregon. 

National High School Records Through the Years appears once a week, compiled and written by a track historian, Jack Pfeifer (Lake Oswego, Oregon). Inquiries may be directed to him by email (jack.pfeifer@gmail.com).