Hillsboro 4x4 relay finishes 13th at state
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
COLUMBUS — The Hillsboro girls 4x400-meter relay team did all they could in the 2013 Division II OHSAA State Track and Field Championships, at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, but they were a few seconds short of qualifying for the finals of the race.
Friday's race, held on the campus of The Ohio State University, was one of gaining experience for some and one final dash around of the track for two seniors.
The groups of sophomore Allison Goolsby, senior Taylor Stanforth, senior Brittany Ferrell and junior Megan Overberg finished with a time of 4:09.37 for an overall finish of 13th out of 16 teams racing.
Hillsboro raced in heat two, and though their time was faster than the group from a year earlier, the '13 relay team's time at regionals was nearly six seconds faster.
At the regionals one week ago, HHS ran a time of 4:03.49.
The race began with Goolsby racing out of the gate of lane No. 3, handing off to Stanforth after she completed the first lap.
After two laps, HHS was in eighth place, but the speed of Ferrell kicked in, bringing the Lady Indians a spot closer, up to the seventh-place spot in the second heat. Overberg kept HHS in seventh place in the second heat, keeping the Lady Indians out of the final spot.
"There was a lot more experience from our opponents in the race this year," Hillsboro girls varsity head coach Sarah Horsley said. "The competition was a lot tougher, and there were some nerves before the race.
"The girls were walking around, and you could tell there were some nerves, but that is to be expected."
The relay team knew they had an opportunity to reach the second day, but even though they didn't, reaching the state championships was something to be proud of.
"The possibility of making the finals was on their mind," Horsley said. "We talked about it during the week, but again, there were the jitters of racing at this stage of the year.
"I spoke to others who have been in the relays this year for us, just to see how things were going. They know we need them back next year to replace our seniors. Coaching the girls … they become your own kids, in a sense. I still feel we made the right decisions with this group, and it was the best decision for the program this year."
[[In-content Ad]]
Horsley spoke about how chemistry was a key to this group.
"I think the girls have to have the chemistry to be competitive, and this group had that," she said. "The girls had the right chemistry, and it all came together.
"When Taylor joined the relay, she wasn't sure how to run the 400, but Megan helped her and used her expertise to teach her how to race the event. As a coach, that can only help the program."
Overberg also raced in the individual 400m dash, finishing in 15th place with a time of 60.68 as she raced in the first heat, lane one.
"Megan thought about not running the race and saving everything for the relay, but she decided to race it, and I fully supported her decision," Horsley said. "She wanted to run it and earned the opportunity to race. She put in the work to qualify for the individual event, and you don't get many opportunities to race at this level.
"I got the feeling during her race she was saving something for the relay."
Going back to the 4x400m relay, two seniors raced for the final time with "Hillsboro" written across their jersey. Horsley spoke about her experience with both seniors, as she has coached both of them since they were in middle school.
"Brittany and I have become close through the years," Horsley said. "When she gave me her graduation invitation at school, I couldn't even open it, and I put it in my desk.
"Taylor and I have had our ups and downs, but she's a great kid, and I'm going to miss both of them a lot. It will be hard to coach next year without either one of them being there. Losing Brittany and Taylor is a big loss."
The experience at the state meet Friday and the success of the '13 season does nothing but help the Lady Indians' program.
"When we were leaving the stadium, I told Alli, 'Now you know what it is like (to race at state), and you can tell the underclassmen what it is about.'
"Megan and Alli are now the veterans of the team, and we have the same expectations of getting back here again with the girls program."
Friday's race, held on the campus of The Ohio State University, was one of gaining experience for some and one final dash around of the track for two seniors.
The groups of sophomore Allison Goolsby, senior Taylor Stanforth, senior Brittany Ferrell and junior Megan Overberg finished with a time of 4:09.37 for an overall finish of 13th out of 16 teams racing.
Hillsboro raced in heat two, and though their time was faster than the group from a year earlier, the '13 relay team's time at regionals was nearly six seconds faster.
At the regionals one week ago, HHS ran a time of 4:03.49.
The race began with Goolsby racing out of the gate of lane No. 3, handing off to Stanforth after she completed the first lap.
After two laps, HHS was in eighth place, but the speed of Ferrell kicked in, bringing the Lady Indians a spot closer, up to the seventh-place spot in the second heat. Overberg kept HHS in seventh place in the second heat, keeping the Lady Indians out of the final spot.
"There was a lot more experience from our opponents in the race this year," Hillsboro girls varsity head coach Sarah Horsley said. "The competition was a lot tougher, and there were some nerves before the race.
"The girls were walking around, and you could tell there were some nerves, but that is to be expected."
The relay team knew they had an opportunity to reach the second day, but even though they didn't, reaching the state championships was something to be proud of.
"The possibility of making the finals was on their mind," Horsley said. "We talked about it during the week, but again, there were the jitters of racing at this stage of the year.
"I spoke to others who have been in the relays this year for us, just to see how things were going. They know we need them back next year to replace our seniors. Coaching the girls … they become your own kids, in a sense. I still feel we made the right decisions with this group, and it was the best decision for the program this year."
[[In-content Ad]]
Horsley spoke about how chemistry was a key to this group.
"I think the girls have to have the chemistry to be competitive, and this group had that," she said. "The girls had the right chemistry, and it all came together.
"When Taylor joined the relay, she wasn't sure how to run the 400, but Megan helped her and used her expertise to teach her how to race the event. As a coach, that can only help the program."
Overberg also raced in the individual 400m dash, finishing in 15th place with a time of 60.68 as she raced in the first heat, lane one.
"Megan thought about not running the race and saving everything for the relay, but she decided to race it, and I fully supported her decision," Horsley said. "She wanted to run it and earned the opportunity to race. She put in the work to qualify for the individual event, and you don't get many opportunities to race at this level.
"I got the feeling during her race she was saving something for the relay."
Going back to the 4x400m relay, two seniors raced for the final time with "Hillsboro" written across their jersey. Horsley spoke about her experience with both seniors, as she has coached both of them since they were in middle school.
"Brittany and I have become close through the years," Horsley said. "When she gave me her graduation invitation at school, I couldn't even open it, and I put it in my desk.
"Taylor and I have had our ups and downs, but she's a great kid, and I'm going to miss both of them a lot. It will be hard to coach next year without either one of them being there. Losing Brittany and Taylor is a big loss."
The experience at the state meet Friday and the success of the '13 season does nothing but help the Lady Indians' program.
"When we were leaving the stadium, I told Alli, 'Now you know what it is like (to race at state), and you can tell the underclassmen what it is about.'
"Megan and Alli are now the veterans of the team, and we have the same expectations of getting back here again with the girls program."