Late charge gives Dobson podium in 800m & 3200m at State

  


ATHENS, GA - The GHSA State Track Meet can be long day for athletes that qualify for multiple events.  The day started for freshman Emma Dobson, the anchor leg of our 4x800m relay team, by arriving at the track at 7:30am to check in and warm up for a 9:00am start. She then had to wait until 4:20pm for her chance at the 800m final and 5:45pm for the 3200m finals.  That can be a lot of downtime to think about your next race, but it was a welcomed recovery period compared to the 15 minutes she had between the events at Sectionals.

In the girls 800m finals, Emma was seeded 9th and it hasn't been her strongest event at all this season.  Fighting a chaotic start of 16 girls, Emma found herself in 11th after the first lap, but a late surge in the last 350 meters put her on the podium with a 5th place finish of 2:22.97 which is a PR and breaks the school record set by Megan Dew in 2016.

Following the race and medal ceremony, Emma returned to the team tent to try and get some recovery time in before she had to start warming up for the 3200m scheduled at 5:45pm.  Again, 16 girls lined up at the start line, many more than are typically seen at a "regular meet" during the season.  When the stakes are high, as in a State Meet, it is not uncommon to see many of the lower seeded runners sprint out to the front of the pack and this race was no different.  At the end of the first 800m, Emma was in 8th and moved up to 7th after 1200m and 6th with 2 laps to go.  After just running a personal best in the 800m Finals, she looked like she was content in finishing in the top 8 for this race.  But with 800m to go, Emma led a late charge that would take her into 3rd and that is where she would stay, finishing with an 11:39.61.

Earlier in the day, Junior sprinter Elisa Beharry ran the 400m finals at 2:45pm.  Beharry put down a school record time of 57.23 for a 4th place finish, besting a record that was set by her earlier this season.

Both Emma Dobson and Elisa Beharry receive All-State honors with their top-8 finishes.

Next up and a much needed break and then summer training for the upcoming Cross Country season.  We will be featuring some of the team's summer activities and continuing coverage through the entire season.




Meet Results: https://www.chestateexc.com/results/outdoor-track/5-14-state-meet-3a
Photos: https://www.chestateexc.com/coverage/photos
Articles: https://www.chestateexc.com/coverage/articles-archive
Schedule: https://www.chestateexc.com/schedule/outdoor-track-2026


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