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Coldwater's Isabella Zahn (4) leads the field going down the final 100 meters of the 4x400-meter relay on Saturday in Columbus. The Cavaliers set a Division III state and meet record in the event to cap off winning the team championship. Zahn won three individual events over the weekend.
COLUMBUS - On a dominating Saturday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, Coldwater provided a giant exclamation point on an amazing two days of competition.
A blistering final lap by Isabella Zahn in the 4x400-meter relay concluded a tremendous day as the Cavaliers won the Division III girls track and field championship on the campus of Ohio State University.
The Coldwater girls 4x400-meter relay team embrace after their victory in the event, which capped off winning the Division III state track and field championship, the program's fourth state title and first since 1996.
It's the fourth state track title for the Cavalier ladies. The first three came between 1994 and 1996.
It wasn't just a big win - the title was sewn up before the 200-meter dash - it was a performance that had the fans amazed.
Coldwater finished with 66 1/2 points, 27 1/2 points ahead of runner-up Oberlin.
"Our girls have been focused. We knew we were so close last year in finishing runner-up," said Coldwater coach Mark Bruns. "Just the opportunity to come back, avenge that and get one place higher was always on our mind. We strove for that the whole year."
And Zahn, who put on a performance in Friday's prelims by breaking two of her own state records and defending her long jump championship, showed that Friday was just a warm-up.
In the 400, Zahn dueled with defending champion Olivia Hudson of Oberlin and Fort Recovery's Anna Roessner. By the time she crossed the finish line, she was over 2 1/2 seconds ahead of Hudson. When Zahn crossed the line, the clock read 52.89 seconds, breaking her 24-hour old record by 1.45 seconds.
Then came the 200 with Zahn being the two-time state champion. Zahn had set a new record of 23.72 seconds in the prelims on Friday. With Roessner in the lane next to her, Zahn didn't look back, finishing in 23.04 seconds to reestablish the record. Roessner, who was third in the 400, finished second in 23.89 seconds with Hudson taking third.
"I was shocked," said Zahn. "I did not think I would run that, but I did. I'm so happy."
The Coldwater 4x400 relay team, Audrey Alig, Kiersten Keller, Isabella Zahn and Lana Kaiser, pose with Olympic gold medalist Butch Reynolds after he presented them with their medals.
With the title locked up, Coldwater went to work in the 4x400 to defend their title from a year ago. After Audrey Alig and Lana Kaiser's laps, the Cavaliers were in fourth. Kiersten Keller took the baton and moved close, getting ahead of Minster into second place as she handed off to Zahn.
"When I got the baton, I just wanted to make my team go into first," said Keller, who with Zahn were the only seniors to qualify for state. "I wanted to get a 59 (second lap). That's all I wanted. And I wanted to give Izzy a lead so she could bring it home."
And did she ever.
Zahn's lap came in at 54.05, which would have broken her old state record from the day before. The Cavaliers finished over four seconds ahead of Mogadore, setting an overall state record and state meet record with a time of 3:53.94.
"I tried to go as hard as I could for the girls," said Zahn about her final high school lap.
Coldwater's Brookelyn Sudhoff competes in the girls 4x100 meter relay.
As much as Zahn's performance was talked about by the fans, it was a team effort.
Freshman Claire Bertke contributed 10 big points, finishing fifth in the 100 dash, seventh in the 200 and teaming with Keller, Brookelyn Sudhoff and Ava Smith to place fifth in the 4x100.
Alig came up with a second-place finish in the 800 open for eight points.
Coldwater's Audrey Alig competes in the 800-meter run at the Division III state track and field meet in Columbus.
"We had so many events covered," said Bruns, referring to events where the Cavaliers scored points. "We've got our D1 in Izzy (University of Iowa) and how well she goes. … We relied on that. Our depth was huge."
"I'm still in shock about all the performances from all the girls," said Zahn. "Especially the freshmen (Bertke, Kaiser, Ava Lefeld, Channing Lefeld and Ava Smith). They stepped up this year."
For Keller, even with holding the championship trophy, it still didn't seem real.
"It hasn't settled in," said Keller. "We have a bunch of freshmen who are so talented. It made my senior year do special. I'm so happy for them. For the next three years, I can't wait to see what they can do."
