Quite simply, Sara Lin was not going to be denied the top spot on the awards podium for herself and teammates on Gallatin’s 4×800-meter relay team.
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Lin brought home the winning 800-meter leg of the race in roughly 2:18 to give Gallatin it’s first state championship in track since 1996. The team — Lin, Kailey Elbert, Bailey Morrison and Kailey Salmon, combined for a time of 9:48.45 to shave nearly 10 seconds off their school record, and beat their sectional winning time by over 24 seconds.
Expectations were high for the Lady Bulldogs after they had already turned in the third best time in Class 2 this season. They didn’t disappoint.
Give GHS coaches a lot of credit, too, for their training regimen in the week leading up to state, and for shuffling the lineup to take advantage of the team’s strengths.
Salmon slipped from her customary anchor spot to lead off the race in an attempt to give the Lady Bulldogs a quick start.
"I knew it was the right thing to do," she said of starting instead of finishing a race. "I was totally fine with it."
Salmon ran a solid third place after the first lap and though she dropped to fourth by the handoff to Morrison, she was still within ten meters of the leader.
Morrison quickly gained second place on the first corner, lost one spot on the backside of the second lap but was only 20 meters off the lead.
Elbert battled for second place in her first lap and held the gap on the leader despite a move by competitors that slipped her back to fifth heading into the third turn of her final lap.
Lin, consistently the fastest of the four, got out fast and had the lead on the back straightaway. Courtney Rogers of St. Charles Lutheran tried to snatch the lead on the first corner of the race’s last lap but Lin was having none of that.
"I was trying so hard to not let the girls down," Lin said after the race. "We worked too hard to settle for second," she added.
Lin held off the challenge. Lutheran, which ran an amazing 9:28 earlier this season, faded to third down the last straight. Lin, with her teammates screaming just beyond the finish line, clipped Stockton by roughly five meters to win the gold.
With the air temperatures climbing toward 90 degrees, Lin and Salmon came back three hours later to vie for more medals in the open 800-meter race. Both, who vowed to give their best efforts for the relay, found spots on the podium. Lin finished third in 2:21.97 and Salmon placed seventh in 2:28.35.
McNeely nails PR
Lady Bulldog sophomore Kaitlyn McNeely stepped up her pole vault game. McNeely came into the state championships with a personal record height of 9’. She quickly cleared 8’6", the same height she made finishing third in sectional.
The second-year high school vaulter needed all three tries to get over the bar at both 8’9" and 9’. Though she bowed out at the next height, she had equaled her best overall meet effort with the thought of two more years of competition ahead of her.
McNeely was among three competitors tied in 10th at the 9’ height. Lathrop’s Sam Williams claimed the final spot on the awards stand, eighth place, with a height of 9’6".
County athletes
Pattonsburg’s Kelly Warford came in 14th in the Class 1 girls high jump after clearing the bar at 4’8". Gilman City’s Saige Johnson ran sixth in her heat on Friday in 27.79 and did not qualify for the finals in the 200-meter dash.
Gilman City’s Brennon Carey finished 10th in the Class 1 discus (121-5). The Gilman City 4×800-meter relay team placed 16th on Saturday.