COLUMBUS, Ohio — Dominique Clairmonte completed a triple crown of her own Saturday at Ohio State’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
Lexington’s distance ace put an exclamation point on a remarkable junior year, winning both the Division II 1,600 meter and 3,200 meter titles during the final day of the Ohio High School Athletic Association state track and field tournament.
Clairmonte’s double-gold performance, coupled with the 4×800 relay team’s runner-up finish Friday — Clairmonte ran the anchor leg in a sizzling 2:12 — lifted Lady Lex to a third-place finish in the team standings with 28 points.
“It feels amazing,” said Clarimonte, who won the first leg of her triple crown when she captured the Division II cross country championship last fall. “To get second in the four-by-eight and be a champion in both the mile and the two mile … is really awesome.
“It’s so amazing. I couldn’t be more thankful. I just feel so blessed.”
After placing fifth in the 1,600 last spring, Clairmonte moved to the top of the podium with a gritty performance against a star-studded field that included 2014 state champ and Division II state meet record holder Sammy Bockoven of Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy and Coldwater’s Sarah Kanney, who won back-to-back state titles in the mile in 2012 and 2013. Neither Bockoven nor Kanney was a factor as Clairmonte led wire-to-wire, edging Kettering Alter’s Abby Nichols and breaking her own school record in 4:53.08. Nichols finished in 4:53.29.
Slightly more than an hour later, Clairmonte returned to the starting line for the 3,200. She chased Kanney, a two-time Division III cross country champ, for the first three laps before overtaking the senior on the fourth of eight laps and pulling away for a comfortable 11-second victory over Wauseon’s Taylor Vernot. Clairmonte finished in 10:50.09 while Vernot crossed in 11:01.98.
“I felt pretty good. My legs were a little tired but it was my last event of the day,” Clairmonte said. “When (Kanney) got ahead I was kind of nervous. Finally I was able to catch her, but she definitely had me scared.
“Coming down the home stretch, there’s no better feeling than hearing the crowd so loud.”
In addition to the three OHSAA state titles she now owns, Clairmonte also won a pair of Ohio Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches indoor state titles in the 1,600 and 3,200 in early March.
“I try not to think about the other (state championships) because it’s overwhelming,” Clairmonte said. “It’s really cool to have five state championships.”
“When (Kanney) got ahead I was kind of nervous. Finally I was able to catch her, but she definitely had me scared. Coming down the home stretch, there’s no better feeling than hearing the crowd so loud.”–Dominique Clairmonte.
