INDIANAPOLIS — A Columbus North quartet went into Saturday’s Girls Track and Field State Finals chasing a state championship in the 4×800-meter relay.
The Bull Dogs broke their own school record, but came up a little short of a title. Senior Mackenzie Barnett and sophomores Julie Klaus, Brianna Newell and Lily Baker finished third in 9 minutes, 16.73 seconds.
“I think we each could have given a little bit more effort, and we would have gotten second,” Baker said. “I think we did pretty good, but I also think that we could have done better. But it was exciting.”
Carmel won the race in 9:11.77. Warsaw, which ran in the first and slower of the two heats, took second in 9:16.59, just 14-hundreths of a second ahead of North.
“Our goal was to win, but we did our best,” Barnett said. “It’s kind of a bummer to lose to the first heat, but we’re still happy with third place. It was a solid season.”
Meanwhile, Bull Dog senior Emily Herndon came in seeded second in the shot put and was hoping for at least a state runner-up finish. She ended up placing fourth with a throw of 42 feet, 10 1/4 inches.
“I wasn’t very happy with how I did today, but for the first time coming to state, I was fine with the outcome,” Herndon said. “I was hoping to hit at least 43 today. It didn’t really go how I wanted, but that’s how it goes. I still placed.”
Herndon had tweaked her hip while warming up for the discus, which took place prior to the shot. She finished 22nd in the discus at 109-3.
“It bothered me a little bit near the end (of the shot), but it mostly just hurt during the discus,” Herndon said.
Barnett had qualified for state in three events, but scratched out of the 1,600 after winning the regional.
She took 12th in the 3,200 in 11:01.16, three spots away from earning a medal with a top-nine finish.
“My goal was definitely to medal,” Barnett said. “I thought I put myself in a good position, but it just wasn’t my race. It was a good track season still. It’s not the way I had hoped to finish off my four years, but I’m still happy I had the opportunity and that God blessed me with a great team for four years.”
Newell finished 19th in the 1,600 in 5:18.63. Baker was 20th in the 800 in 2:21.68.
Senior Helena Ho capped her track career with a 20th-place finish in the 100 in 12.89. She moved up from her 25th seed.
“That was kind of my only goal for today,” Ho said. “I just wanted to outperform my seed. I knew I probably wasn’t going to make the finals, but it there was a chance, I’d take it. This is what I’ve been working toward, and I just gave it my all.”
Also for North, junior Katherine Rumsey finished 22nd in the 3,200 in 11:44.08. Sophomores Emma Long, Jessica Meza, Olivia Johnson and Helen Alderfer were 27th in the 4×400 relay in 4:13.47.
The Bull Dogs finished in a tie for 22nd overall as a team with 13 points.
“As far as that (4×800) race went, we took on the state’s best in that section and took on everybody’s stars and came in second,” Sluder said. “Emily threw well. For not having a season last year, she made huge strides from last year. After that, I think we just got caught with some tiredness in the heat with some girls doubling back. But I was really happy with the way they all competed.”
Cathedral edged Warren Central 39-38 for the team title.
