COLUMBUS — Clair Erlsten couldn’t see her competition and Laura McElligott couldn’t bear to watch.
The building roar of the standing room only crowd at Ohio State’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium told both Galion sprinters everything they needed to know during the final day of competition at the state track and field tournament.
A junior and the anchor of Galion’s 4×100 relay team, Erlsten held off Youngstown Ursuline’s Alexandra Carnathan and the Tigers stunned everyone but themselves by winning a Division II state title Saturday afternoon.
“Our goal was to win,” said McElligott, the leadoff runner and the quartet’s lone senior. “We thought it was kind of unreachable, but obviously it wasn’t.
“I can’t watch (after handing off the baton). I watch Clair at the finish line, but that’s all I can watch. I get so scared.”
It turns out the diminutive Erlsten had everything under control. She kept the hard-charging Carnathan at bay all the way to the finishing line as Galion broke the tape — and its own school record — in 48.71 seconds. Ursuline finished in 48.79.
“I couldn’t (see Carnathan), but I knew she had to be close,” Erlsten said. “I knew I had to finish strong and not let up or she could pass me.
“I heard my coach screaming at me and I knew I had to run it in. I tried not to think about it.”
McElligott and Erlsten met near the finish line after the race. When their time was finally posted, the two embraced on the infield and eventually sought out teammates Michaela Slone and Sydney Hunt.
Galion’s state title was every bit as unlikely at the manner in which the team came together this spring. Hunt, a sophomore who runs the third leg, is an accomplished gymnast who came out for track on a whim.
“She had to beg her gymnastics coach to join,” McElligott said.
“I think my coach is OK with it now,” Hunt added.
Galion’s state crown was one of several highlights on a successful day for north central Ohio athletes. Mansfield Senior’s Symphony Cooke, Madison’s Frank Douglas and Ontario’s Lenell Shelby each placed in two events in Columbus. Douglas and Shelby both finished on the podium in in the 110 meter hurdles and the 300 hurdles, while Cooke reached the podium in the 100 dash and 200 dash.
Douglas was eighth in the 110s with a time of 15.03 and fifth in the 300s in 37.03, while Shelby was eighth in the 110s in 14.92 and seventh in the 300s in 39.12. Cooke raced to fifth in the girls 100 dash in 12.26 seconds and fourth in the 200 in 24.65 while nursing a foot injury.
Shelby was disappointed after his eighth-place showing in the 110s.
“I wasn’t focused on myself. I was focused on everybody else,” he said. “I noticed they were creeping up and I started worrying about what everyone around me was doing.”
Lexington’s Dominique Clairmonte didn’t win the 1,600 run but the sophomore achieved her season-long goal. She broke the five-minute mark with her fifth-place effort of 4:55.32. Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy junior Sammy Bockoven a new meet record in 4:49.53.
“I had to be careful not to go out too fast because I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold it,” Clairmonte said. “I was trying so hard not to match what the other girls were doing because I knew it would be too fast for me.”
As she did at last week’s regional meet, Clairmonte hung back and made her move on the third of four laps.
[See all area competitors in this photo gallery]
“I know that is where people are the most tired,” she said, “so that is when I wait to really attack.”
Clairmonte has been aiming to break the five minute mark since running a 5:03.65 at the Lexington Invitational early in the season.
“It’s definitely what I was going for,” Clairmonte said. “I couldn’t be happier.”
Ontario’s Cameron Mack finished eighth in the 200 in 22.73, while teammate Brett Cortelletti was fourth in the 3,200 in 9:43.61. Lexington’s Nick Stricklen was third in the 3,200 in 9:42.46.
Lexington’s Lillian Freundlich was eighth in the 3,200 in 11:31.82.
Shelby’s Cody Stine jump-started the day with a third place finish in the high jump. The junior had a leap of 6-feet, 7-inches.
“I didn’t really jump too well at first. I was really nervous,” Stine said. “After the 6-5 jump I started to get my confidence back. I felt good after that.”
Columbus Linden McKinley sophomore Jeffery Floyd won the event at 6-10.
“Hopefully next year I’ll get back,” Stine said, “and maybe win it.”
Follow Curt Conrad on Twitter @curtjconrad.
“I know that is where people are the most tired,” Clairmonte said, “so that is when I wait to really attack.”
