'So proud of us': Port Clinton girls 4x100 sprints to state championship

DAYTON — Consider it the greatest moment in Port Clinton girls track history. Camille Robbins, to Jade Mitchell, to Shianne Lieske, to Alexis Shelton. Each with 100 meters to cover, each seeking a place PC girls had never been. And when Shelton crossed the finish line, both arms raised, the unprecedented moment was official. This 4x100-meter quartet had just become Division II state champions – the first Port Clinton girls to ever reach the top spot of the OHSAA podium. "I'm so proud of us," Shelton said. "I just can't believe it happened. A lot of emotions." Port Clinton's girls absolutely shattered their school record in the process, running four-tenths of a second faster than they ever had to finish in 48.24 seconds. "They've been pretty laser-focused in the 4x1," PC coach Seth Benner said. "... They decided early in the season they were gonna try to get on that podium and try to win." PC had built toward this moment, from a disqualification at state two seasons ago, to two fifth-place relays last spring, to this (and a seventh-place medal in the 4x200 Saturday, as well). "For Alexis and Shianne, it's been a couple years in the making, and for Jade being a senior, it's been three years in the making," Benner said. Robbins turned out to be the brilliant surprise. She had never run track before this season, but her current relay-mates knew she was fast. They urged her to join. "It's really exciting," Robbins said. "I wasn't even thinking about this, and now I'm here, and it's really awesome." Robbins may not have known it right away, but her coaches saw very quickly what she could add to the sprint group. "A leadoff leg, they've got to wait for the gun, they've got a lot of responsibility," Benner said. "... She's just continued to get more confident and more confident. At the beginning of the season, I don't think she knew what we knew about her potential." On Saturday, Robbins got off to a speedy start. She handed off to Mitchell, the only senior of the group. Mitchell, a standout soccer player in addition to her sprint prowess, had 100 meters left in her PC career. She made the most of them. "This is the best way to end it, with a state title and a sign in Port Clinton," Mitchell said. Lieske, also an experienced state swimming relay member, took the baton around the curve. That left Shelton, who had qualified for state in the open 100 but just missed the final. She was born for this final sprint. She's made a habit in her career of ensuring Port Clinton's relays wouldn't be caught. And on this day, on the biggest and fastest of stages, she still wasn't caught. "I was telling myself, this is our race, and we were gonna run it as good as we could," Shelton said. "I was fighting for it, because I really wanted it." Mitchell watched the closing stage of the race from about 200 meters away, cheering as loud as anyone. "I felt like a crazy lady, because I was standing over there like, 'Woo!'," Mitchell said. "... I was so nervous, scared and happy at the same time." As soon as Shelton reached the final stretch, Mitchell took off on one more sprint. She and her teammates all raced toward the finish area and mobbed their teammate. They had believed in themselves, but it wasn't a given. At different points in the season, the relay group had been at less than full strength. But they got their best four together in time for the postseason, and they haven't lost. First it was the SBC Bay title, then districts. They ran a new school record in regional prelims, then won the regional title. Port Clinton brought the fastest time in the state to Dayton, then put up the quickest finish in Friday's state preliminary round. And on the final day of the Ohio high school track season, PC's Robbins, Mitchell, Lieske and Shelton ran faster than they ever had, faster than anyone in Port Clinton ever had, all the way to a state championship. "To have this as their culminating experience and culminating accomplishment, what do you say?" Benner said. "What do you do? It's unreal."