The 2A West regional meet served as a precursor to what ended up being one of the best races of this year's indoor state meet. There, Glenelg edged Oakdale, 10:08.64 to 10:09.22, in the 4x800 meter relay; at the time, they were the two fastest times run by 2A teams. The South Carroll girls had finished third and had run 10:11 earlier in the season, setting up a showdown between the three teams when they met again at the state meet.
South Carroll handed off first at 2:27, followed by Kent Island and Oakdale at 2:29 and Glenelg at 2:30. By the second exchange the top three teams had separated themselves (Oakdale handed off at 5:01 followed by South Carroll a half a second later and Glenelg at 5:03). By the time the final handoff came, it seemed as though it was a two-team race between Oakdale and South Carroll, who handed off simultaneously at 7:31. Glenelg anchor Kaila Spence got the baton almost ten seconds later at 7:40, followed closely by Kent Island.
Spence had run 2:23 at regionals and was coming off wins at both counties and regionals, but nine seconds was a lot of time to make up. Halfway through the anchor leg both of the top teams clocked in at 8:48; Glenelg was now just three to four seconds back. But did Spence have enough left in the tank after going out in 71 to complete the comeback?
As it turned out, she did - and then some. Not content to sit and try and pass the leaders on the final lap, she took the lead with one to go as all three teams hit the bell at 9:28. Neither Oakdale's Emily Baba nor South Carroll's Kate Yokay were going to go down without a fight, however, as both threatened to take the lead within the final 100 meters. However, Spence was able to hang on as the Gladiators won their first indoor 4x800 title since winning four out of five times from 2001-05.
The 2A West regional meet served as a precursor to what ended up being one of the best races of this year's indoor state meet. There, Glenelg edged Oakdale, 10:08.64 to 10:09.22, in the 4x800 meter relay; at the time, they were the two fastest times run by 2A teams. The South Carroll girls had finished third and had run 10:11 earlier in the season, setting up a showdown between the three teams when they met again at the state meet.
South Carroll handed off first at 2:27, followed by Kent Island and Oakdale at 2:29 and Glenelg at 2:30. By the second exchange the top three teams had separated themselves (Oakdale handed off at 5:01 followed by South Carroll a half a second later and Glenelg at 5:03). By the time the final handoff came, it seemed as though it was a two-team race between Oakdale and South Carroll, who handed off simultaneously at 7:31. Glenelg anchor Kaila Spence got the baton almost ten seconds later at 7:40, followed closely by Kent Island.
