Rylan Roberts is emerging as one of the top athletes in the history of Clark Middle School. The eighth grader has smashed records in the sprints and the field, and is setting new standards at nearly every meet.

Roberts now holds the best time in the 400 meters across the entire state, finishing under the one-minute mark with a time of 59.85 seconds. She posted the record-setting finish at the RMS War-Tribe Relays on April 22 in Hallsville.

She set a new top CMS time in the 100-meter dash with a personal best of 12.47 seconds at the Hallsville Gold Invite on April 9. It is currently the fifth fastest time in the state. The former school record of 13.1 seconds was set by Ann Falls nearly four decades prior in 1986.

Roberts holds the fourth-best time in the state in the 200-meter dash set on April 12 at the CMS Relays. Her time of 26.82 is less than a half-second behind the top time in Missouri. The old CMS record of 27.22 was set in 2006 by Tae’ Ross.

If that wasn’t enough, Roberts also smashed the school record in the triple jump, previously set by Cody Varner in 1999. The new record of 10.62 meters is also the second-best in the state, behind the first-place leap of 10.67 meters set by Nikyah Chappell from Congress Middle School.

And while Roberts’ performances have been spectacular with regard to the middle school athletes across the state, she is nipping on the heels of some of the best high school times as well. Her 100-meter time is less than a second off the best Class 2 time in Missouri and .27 of a second behind outstanding Fayette High School sophomore sprinter Browyn Eubanks. The two are neck-and-neck in the 200-meter dash as well, separated by less than half a second.

With Roberts a freshman and Eubanks a junior next year, anticipation is high for the girls’ relay teams.

Roberts and the CMS Falcons have only two meets remaining on the season. The first is tomorrow (Thursday) at the Glasgow Middle School Relays. The Lewis & Clark Conference meet will close out the season on Tuesday, May 7, in Salisbury. It will mark not only the final meet of the season, but the final competition with Fayette as a member of the L&C.