Smithville girls win Div. III state track championship
Smithville’s girls track team and coaches pose on the podium after capturing the program’s first state title at the OHSAA Division III State Championships.
Following one of the toughest meets of her career, Smithville’s Kaitlyn Carr was still able to remember why she enjoys the sport.
After having a hand in a pair of event wins — her anchor-leg deciding the 4x800 relay’s victory on day one of the OHSAA State Track and Field Championships and then gutting out an individual triumph in the 1,600-meter run — and then picking up a pair of spots in the final lap of the 3,200 to finish second, the sophomore was able to smile and take it all in.
“My legs felt great, which was a blessing,” Carr said. “It was just great to be out here. I love this track, and there’s a bunch of super-amazing girls to compete with. I just had to stay mentally focused and do what I know that I can do.”
That steely resolve, along with a handful of other impressive performances, helped the Smithies capture the Division III championship in front of a packed crowd at Welcome Stadium in Dayton. It was the program’s best finish since 1994, when it shared Class A runner-up honors.
And it was more than just Carr and the 4x800 team doing damage as freshman Maryn Erdman won the 800 and senior Maddy Lengacher placed third in the 400, along with the 4x400 relay of Lengacher, Claire Haas, Hayden Steiner and Erdman putting the finishing touches on the team win with a third-place finish.
As she watched her team celebrate on the infield, just before receiving the team trophy, longtime Smithville coach Kirstie Mahas was able to put it all in perspective.
“I say this a lot, but track gets a bad rap a lot of times about it being just an individual sport, and while there is so much room for individual accomplishment, it is also a team sport,” she said. “The fact that we came down and represented our team and Smithville, it’s awesome to be able to put it together like this because it doesn’t happen a lot. And when it does, you just live up the moment as much as you can.”
The Smithies wasted little time setting the tone for a weekend to remember as the 4x800 group of Erdman, Haas, Cadence Amstutz and Carr put together an impressive race.
And after finding the team in fourth place when she got the baton — and still in third with less than 100 meters to go — Carr turned on the jets as she raced past a pair of runners to seal not only the win, but also a school-record time of 9:20.23.
Even for Haas, a sprinter who was added to give a jolt of speed to the relay for the postseason, the junior admits she’s still learning what the distance relay is all about.
“It’s kind of weird because I felt unfit for this and not experienced, because I don’t know what I’m doing yet and pace it at all,” she said. “It’s a different mindset knowing that you have a lot of time in the race to think about moves versus in sprints. I enjoy that freedom.”
For Erdman, the lead leg, it was an emotional weekend.
The lead leg in the relay nervously watched as the team worked its way through each 400-meter loop, to running her own personal 800 the next day and breaking the school record again this spring with a 2:13.17 — after shedding tears as she walked to the awards podium.
“I was so glad it was over,” the freshman said after her 800 win. “It was happy tears.”
Then there are girls like Amstutz and Lengacher, the only two seniors competing for the Green and White at the state meet, who would end their respective prep careers each standing next to each other atop the highest step on the podium, both holding on to the state championship trophy.
“My teammates have really pushed me throughout the season to do my best, and my coaches have been amazing all four years helping me,” said Lengacher, who also broke the program mark in the open 400, an event she made four state appearances in and picked up two All-Ohio medals. “My parents and family too have helped me to be the best that I can.
“Every day in practice and in and out of meets, we have some very talented ladies, and it’s awesome to see everyone here being able to do what they can do best.”