After the New Albany High School girls track and field team qualified several athletes to the Division I state meet last season, coach Otis Winston acknowledged that they would need to "get their feet wet" at that level before they could excel.

The Eagles were back at state again last weekend, but of the seven athletes who were competing, only two had been there the year before. Like last season, the Eagles didn't have their best meet, but they did gain valuable experience for the six underclassmen who were competing.

"It was a new experience," sophomore Mycah Mason said. "I think we were all really excited to come. We didn't really think we would get this far (to the 1,600 meter relay final)."

Coach Otis Winston said despite a more competitive schedule in the regular season, he understood that his athletes were still a bit nervous at the state level.

"I still think they get a little overwhelmed," Winston said. "They kind of run tight, like, 'They're coming, they're coming, they're coming,' instead of relaxing and saying, 'OK, come get me.' It's just going to take a while."

New Albany competed in three events and scored one point to tie four others for 66th as Reynoldsburg scored a record 82 points to win the title.

The highlight for the Eagles was the 1,600 relay, which ran a program-record time of 3 minutes, 57.22 seconds in the semifinal. The lineup of Taylor Cameron, Kelly Brittan, Hannah Robertson and Mycah Mason couldn't match that time in the final and finished eighth (4:00.16).

Aside from the experience for next year, Mason admitted that she and her 1,600 relay teammates earned something equally exciting by reaching the final.

"We at least placed, and we get our picture on the wall," Mason said. "That's what we really wanted."

The Eagles also competed in the 400 relay and in the long jump. In the long jump, Haley Robertson jumped 16 feet, 2 inches and was unable to make the final, finishing 14th. Robertson jumped into a headwind of 2.3 meters per second, the second strongest of anyone in the field.

"I'm very proud of her, for a girl that didn't even compete at district (in the long jump) last year," Winston said. "She was district champ and was third in the regional and made it to the state meet. I think she learned a lot."

The 400 relay of Lauren Kelly, Haley Robertson, Maria Brown and Hannah Robertson ran a 48.89 in the preliminary heat, cutting .21 seconds off their regional time, but they missed the finals and finished 11th. Only three teams in the entire field ran faster than the Eagles' season-best of 48.1.

•Blake Taneff, the only state qualifier on the boys team, competed in the 3,200 last Saturday and finished 12th.

Taneff ran 9:39.5, four seconds off his regional time of 9:35.28. Taneff said he had to adjust his typical race strategy considering the speed of some of the top runners. Zach Wills of Mason wound up winning in a stadium-record 9:02.9.

"Normally I try to stay with the top group, but I knew the top group was a little out of my reach," Taneff said. "I tried to stay in the main group and just stay in the thick of things, and I fell off a little bit, but overall, I think I competed well. I passed a few guys at the end."

As a team, New Albany did not score as Gahanna won the title with 48 points.

Olinger said that although Taneff did not have his best race last Saturday, the progress he made as a sophomore was outstanding.

"He grew by leaps and bounds," Olinger said. "He ran an indoor meet in January and ran 10:37. Now by the end of the year, he ran 9:35. He's cut down a minute on his two-mile and we were thrilled with how everything ended up for him."