DAYTON — To be mentioned as one of the best female runners in Woodridge history puts Reese Reaman in excellent company.
After Reaman's performance Saturday at the Division II state track meet, however, the discussion of who is best might be over.
Reaman led the Bulldogs to a repeat as state champions, as Woodridge finished with 40 points at Welcome Stadium in Dayton. Gilmour Academy was second with 38 points.
"It seemed like the magic number was 40," said Woodridge coach Jeff Howard. "We told the girls they needed to score around 40, and they scored exactly 40, so it worked out for us. Gilmour has a great team. We were lucky to hold them off at the end."
Of Woodridge's 40 points, Reaman accounted for 35 of them. Along with anchoring the Bulldogs' winning 3,200 relay Friday, Reaman won the 1,600 and 800 meters and then anchored Woodridge's third-place 1,600 relay.
"It's a great way to end the season," Reaman said.
Never one to toot her own horn, Reaman's teammates did it for her.
"It's honestly amazing," said Marissa Boone. "She's an inspiration to kids around. To win both the mile and the 800 and to come back get third in the 4x4 is literally crazy. Kids are definitely looking up to her."
"She's so impressive," said Sam Su. "Her consistency, her ability to go out there and deal with all the pressure, not only to win one state title, but three in the same weekend is awesome. I've been proud to be her teammate for four years."
Reaman's final high school race proved vital to the Bulldogs' title.
With Woodridge leading Gilmour 34-28 heading into the 1,600 relay, the Lancers had the top seed, meaning Woodridge needed to finish fourth or better to guarantee the title.
Boone, Reeman, Eloise Willett and Amiyah Perry ran the relay but Reaman had work to do, as the Bulldogs were in sixth place when Reaman got the baton.
"My coach told me that fifth can tie it and fourth could win it," Reaman said. "The adrenaline just kicked in. I just went out and raced. I didn't have a plan at all."
Reaman ran down every team except Gilmour within 200 yards. Although she faded to third, allowing Dayton Oakwood to place second, Woodridge's time of 3:59.8 was good for third and the state team title.
Reaman's wins in the 1,600 and 800 were carbon copies of each other.
In each race, Reaman got out of the front pack, sat behind Gilmour's Amy Weybrecht and turned on the jets 200 meters from the finish.
Reaman won the 1,600 in 4:56.78 and the 800 in 2:10.44, as Weybrecht was second in both races.
"I wanted to go out and win it, so I tried to make it as tactical as possible," Reaman said. "I just wanted to wait to the 200 to make my final move."
Reaman had some local friends join her on the podium in the 1,600, as St. Vincent-St. Mary's Camille Dunifer was fourth in 2:14.41 and Boone was fifth in 2:14.83.
Meanwhile for the Woodridge boys, Su had the best day with All-Ohio finishes in the 1,600 and 3,200.
Su finished in a familiar spot in the 1,600, placing second in 4:13.05 behind Marlington's Colin Cernansky.
"I had a really good race in the 1,600," Su said. "I was hurting pretty bad in the last lap, but still got a PR. We'll take it. I felt really bad after that, so I'm pretty happy with my 3,200 performance."
Su finished fifth in the 3,200 in 9:23.41.
Buchtel girls set state meet record in the 800 relay
Woodridge wasn't the only team to walk away from Dayton with some history.
Buchtel showed the strength of its sprint relays with a dominant performance in the 800 relay.
The team of DeVonnah Smith, Tianna Burton, Jada Davis and Miniya Mitchell combined to win the 800 in 1:39.01, breaking the Division II and state meet records set by Columbus Eastmoor Academy in 2012.
"We motivated each other, we pushed each other, we made certain we had everything under control," Mitchell, who later finished eighth in the 200 in 25.68, said. "It feels good. I'm happy that my team motivated me and helped me push through."
Meanwhile, Smith, Davis, Burton and Lamyria Trammell nearly won the 400 relay, but were edged by Port Clinton.
Burton said she was still proud of her team, as Buchtel was second in 48.33 seconds. She admitted it was scary for her being lone senior in the relays.
"I've got to rely on the young'uns to get me the baton, but I feel like they did their part," Burton said. "For all the races, I just tried to do my best as a senior."
Burton said Buchtel's future is bright, especially for Mitchell.
"She's going to be amazing in the 200," Burton said. "I think she's going to be running in the low 23s or high 22s. I just feel the girls are in a really good spot."
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Reese Reaman leads Woodridge to second straight state track title
