Huron's 4x800 relay wins first event of state meet

COLUMBUS — The Huron girls 4x800 relay team had to flip the script. At last week's regional, Coldwater won the final by just over one second over the Tigers. Huron got the best of the Cavs on Thursday, winning the Division IV state championship in a time of 9:13.92 at Jesse Owens Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University. Coldwater finished runner-up in 9:15.18. Huron's mark was a season-best and school record-setting run. "We knew we've trained so much that our coaches told us we really deserved it," junior Claire Putman said. "We've been prepping a long time for this." Things didn't come easy for the Tigers. Junior Rylie Towns took the baton on the final leg in first place. Coldwater's Ava Schmitmeyer passed Towns on the first of two laps. Towns dug deep and recovered on the second lap to secure the win in the very first event of the state meet. "I've been telling my whole team to stay confident," Towns said. "I needed to listen to myself. She passed me, but that was OK because I knew I could stay by her. By the time the last lap came around, I knew it was my chance. I knew I could do it." Freshman Andrea Lesnak had a big third leg to put Huron in a position to win. The Tigers were trailing Coldwater when she took the baton. "I needed to make sure I stayed confident and stayed motivated," Lesnak said. "I kept my eyes on the girl's head and made sure I handed the baton to Riley in first and not second." Laney Schlessman got Huron into second with a strong second leg. It was a bit of a different approach for the Tigers that paid off in the long run. "We were trying to work going out slower," Schlessman said. "I tried to pace behind the girl ahead of me. I tried to stay with her the whole time." Putman's start put Huron in a position to win the eight-lap race. She was able to achieve a goal a couple years in the making. "The 4x800 is definitely important because I've been running this only since my freshman year," Putman said. "The last two years I didn't make it on the 4x8. This year, it was super important to me. It means a lot."