Audrey Rich takes off in the 100 trials at the State Finals Friday night. The Warsaw star helped her 4 X 100 relay team place seventh and the 4 X 400 relay team set a new school record (Photos by Tim Creason).

By TIM CREASON

BLOOMINGTON – How does a track athlete know when she’s given everything she’s got?

Ask Audrey Rich.

“It was just really incredible feeling my legs give out on me in the last 100, ‘cause those girls are just so fast,” said the Warsaw senior after her anchor leg in the 4 x 400 relay at Friday’s IHSAA state track finals in Bloomington.

On a night when the Tiger relays were at their best, Warsaw’s foursome of freshmen Maygan Bellamy and Remi Beckham and seniors Sam Alexander and Rich clocked 3:57.31, shattering the Warsaw school record. Rich posted an incredible split of 55.5 as the anchor leg of the record-setting quartet.

And yet, that time was good for only 11th place out of 27, not quite where they needed to be for an IHSAA award medal.

As Rich said: “It’s just incredible how fast those (other) girls are.”

But it was OK, because Rich went home with an IHSAA medal, anyway. So did a lot of Tigers, as two Warsaw teams turned in award-winning performances.

In the 4 x 100 relay, Warsaw’s Bellamy, Alexander, sophomore Abbi Curtis and Rich clocked a swift 48.66 seconds on the Indiana University track, good for seventh place. Their time was a season-best performance.

Brooke Rhodes helped her 4 X 800 relay team place ninth.

And in the 4 x 800, seniors Hannah Dawson and Brooke Rhodes, along with sophomore Emma Bohnenkamper and junior Allison Miller finished ninth despite competing in a “slow” section.  They clocked 9:26.92, a season-best effort by the group.

“We practiced all week getting out and running by ourselves,” said Dawson. “We knew we would have to get out (fast).”

To nobody’s surprise, Warren Central claimed the girls team title, using a sprint-heavy squad to score 70 points and turn back Indianapolis Pike (48). Penn finished third.

Penn, in fact, brought home two sets of blue ribbons.  Mikaylah Woods leapt 19 feet, 2-1/2 inches to win the long jump. Penn’s 4 x 800 relay team – running in a different heat than Warsaw – clocked 9:01.41 for first place.

Warsaw scored four points.

There were a lot of near misses. Besides the 4 x 400 relay, Alexander finished 11th in the long jump. She went 17 feet, 6 ½ inches, only four inches away from a spot in the finals. Alexander still finished her brilliant career as the school long jump record holder for both indoors (18-3) and outdoors (17-11.25).

Rich clocked 12.52 seconds in her trial heat of the 100-meter dash, leaving her about three-10ths of a second away from the final race.

In the 1600-meter run, sophomore Mia Beckham was right in the thick of the race until the homestretch. She clocked 5:05.59, good for 11th place in a personal-best time.  She also took a turn at the 3200-meter run, finishing 20th in 11:24.34.

“I think we proved ourselves over and again,” said Alexander, who could have received an award for aggressive moves in the 4 x 400 relay, if there was one. “I think this is a perfect way to end a high school career, and a perfect way to end a perfect season for the Tigers.”

43rd ANNUAL IHSAA GIRLS STATE TRACK FINALS

At Bloomington

Team scores (Top 20): Warren Central 70, Pike 48, Penn 28, Ben Davis 28, Hamilton Southeastern 27, Carmel 23, West Lafayette 23, Homestead 22, Crown Point 21, Fishers 20, Munster 18, Noblesville 17 ½, Zionsville 17 ½, Lafayette Jeff 17, Bloomington North 16 ½, Gary West 15, Fort Wayne Northrop 14, Indianapolis North Central 13, Indianapolis Bishop Chatard 12, Portage 11, Indianapolis Cathedral 11, Lakeland 11, Westfield 11.

First-place finishers and local results

4 x 800 relay: 1, Penn (Lorena Daugherty, Emma Jankowski, Elli Mott, Ashleigh Macleod) 9:01.41 … 9, Warsaw (Hannah Dawson, Brooke Rhodes, Emma Bohnenkamper, Allison Miller) 9:26.92.

100 meter hurdles: 1, Kayland Jackson (Warren Central) 14.00.

100: 1, Lynna Irby (Pike) 11.50 … 15, Audrey Rich (Warsaw) 12.52 (trials).

1600: 1, Grace Walther (Homestead) 4:48.68 … 11, Mia Beckham (Warsaw) 5:05.59

4 x 100 relay: 1, Warren Central (Ashley Baker, Bryeana Birdsong, Mikeisha Covington, Prommyse Hoosier) 46.17 … 7, Warsaw (Maygan Bellamy, Sam Alexander, Abbi Curtis, Audrey Rich) 48.66.

400: 1, Lynna Irby (Pike) 53.71.

300 hurdles:  1, Addison Coy (Culver Academies) 43.24.

800: 1, Madison Kiser (Pioneer) 2:11.41.

200: 1, Lynna Irby (Pike) 23.53.

3200: 1, Alex Buck (Pendleton Heights) 10:28.97 …  20, Mia Beckham (Warsaw) 11:24.34.

4 x 400 relay: 1, Warren Central (Ashley Baker, Bryeana Byrdsong, Dejah Johnson, Mikeisha Covington) 3:48.88 … 11, Warsaw (Maygan Bellamy, Remi Beckham, Samantha Alexander, Audrey Rich) 3:57.31.

High jump: 1, Corwin Erwin (Munster) 5-8; 5. Kaitlyn Reed (Whitko) 5-5.

Long jump: 1, Mikaylah Woods (Penn) 19-2 ½ … 11, Sam Alexander (Warsaw) 17-6 ½.

Shot put: 1, Victoria Farley (Portage) 46-11 ¾ .

Discus: 1, Essence Henderson (Lafayette Jeff) 151-1.

Pole vault: 1, Sandra Brown (Pike) 12-9.

MENTAL ATTITUE AWARD: Megan Grabowski (Bloomington South).

Mia Beckham competes in the 1,600. She was 11th in the event and also finished 20th in the 3,200.