BLOOMINGTON — The contingent representing New Palestine at the girls state track and field meet on Friday hadn’t performed on a stage this large before, but the inexperienced Dragons didn’t shrink from the moment.
“It was a little overwhelming with all of the people and the commotion going on, but I thought it was overall a pretty good day,” sophomore Kaylin Casner said.
The Dragons’ 4×800 relay team of Casner, Victoria Crowder, Kendall Mann and Hannah Taggart started the day by finishing 19th with a time of 9 minutes, 39.86 seconds.
Casner came back much later in the evening and finished 25th in the 800 meters with a time of 2:25.04 shortly after a 75-minute lightning delay.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
“It was a little tough, because I was getting ready to warm up and ready to go and then it started pouring,” the sophomore said. “I had to go back and start over.”
Mann was 26th in the 3,200 meters, as the freshman finished in 11:30.91.
New Palestine wrapped up its evening with its best finish, a 14th-place showing in the 4×400 relay. The quartet of Victoria Crowder, Olivia McKilligin, Hannah Taggert and Sophia Taylor just cracked the 4-minute barrier, crossing the line in 3:59.99.
Despite not scoring any points, the Dragons were able to pick up some valuable experience that should pay dividends later, particularly for its young individual qualifiers.
“It lets me see how it’s played out, so I can use that information and come back stronger,” Casner said.
