photo by: Shane Jackson

Baldwin's girls 4x800-meter relay team poses for a photo atop the first-place podium after winning a state title during the state track meet on Friday at Cessna Stadium at Wichita State University in Wichita on May 28, 2021.

When Baldwin’s girls 4×800-meter relay team won a state title on Friday, the runners made it look easy — so easy, in fact, that you probably wouldn’t have guessed the team made a major lineup change less than a month earlier.

Ambrynn Stewart, Diana Messick, Karly Neufeld and Riley Smith were the top seed at the Class 4A state track and field meet in Wichita, and they took care of business with a first-place finish in 9:55.42. They won the race by 11 seconds and led for more than half of the eight-lap event.

photo by: Shane Jackson

Baldwin’s Riley Smith closes out the race as the anchor of the 4×800-meter relay during the state track meet on Friday at Cessna Stadium at Wichita State University in Wichita on May 28, 2021.

But the Bulldogs didn’t look like that earlier this year. Although they’ve been perennial contenders in the 4×800 in recent years — they took third at state in 2019 and 2018 and fifth in 2017 — they had some struggles in 2021 while trying to find their identity.

That started with figuring out the right combination of runners.

“At the beginning of the season, we really didn’t know what we were going to be,” said Stewart, who was the lone senior on the state champion relay squad. “We were switching girls every track meet.”

photo by: Shane Jackson

Baldwin’s Ambrynn Stewart competes as the first leg of the winning 4×800-meter relay team during the state track meet on Friday at Cessna Stadium at Wichita State University in Wichita on May 28, 2021.

It wasn’t until the final meet of the regular season that the Bulldogs made a breakthrough.

At that meet, on May 7 in Wellsville, Baldwin made a crucial lineup change by inserting Neufeld into the mix after the sophomore had a successful showing in a recent 800-meter run.

The Bulldogs proceeded to break the 10-minute mark for the first time all year. They won the race in 9:55.22, besting Eudora’s talented relay team for the first time all season.

“It was big because you break 10 minutes, that puts you in kind of rare air,” Baldwin coach Mike Spielman said. “Running that and beating Eudora that day was kind of the stepping stone that they needed to really realize they had a chance to be really, really good.”

The runners agreed with their coach’s assessment: “At that moment when we made our PR at the Wellsville meet, I knew we were going to make it happen,” Stewart said.

And they did exactly that.

photo by: Shane Jackson

Baldwin’s Diana Messick makes her move to pass Eudora’s Mackenzie Mayer in the 4×800-meter relay during the state track meet on Friday at Cessna Stadium at Wichita State University in Wichita on May 28, 2021.

The Bulldogs won at all of their remaining meets. They took the Frontier League crown on May 13 with a time of 10:09.57. Then they won at regionals on May 21 with a 10:10.30. Both of those meets took place at Tonganoxie High School, and Eudora was the runner-up in both.

“We have gone for time, and I think that’s most important,” Smith said. “Our biggest competition is ourselves and Eudora, of course. All of those girls — us four and them four — we are just going to make each other better. Just friendly competition.”

Eudora’s relay squad — Phoebe Fletcher, Mackenzie Mayer, Stella Whalen and Sydney Owens — served as Baldwin’s biggest challenger at the state meet. The Cardinals, who took second with a time of 10:06.58, jumped out to an early lead to begin the race.

Stewart, who was the first leg, kept Baldwin in the mix with a split of 2:29 on her two laps. Messick, a junior, jumped in front of the pack with a split of 2:24 as the second leg.

“I just knew Diana was going to run her race,” Smith said. “She’s been so consistent and she knows exactly where she needs to be no matter what other people are doing.”

photo by: Shane Jackson

Baldwin’s Karly Neufeld competes in the 4×800-meter relay during the state track meet on Friday at Cessna Stadium at Wichita State University in Wichita on May 28, 2021.

Neufeld, who competed in all three relay races at the state meet, posted a two-lap time of 2:31 to create some breathing room. Smith, a junior, closed things out with a 2:29 split as the anchor. The runners finished with their second-fastest time of the year and their first state title in the 4×800 since 2016.

“We’re really proud of them,” Spielman said. “They just worked hard all year at it and they just did a great job of trying to figure out what it was going to take to win.”

With three of the four runners coming back next year, Baldwin has a chance to defend its crown. Freshman Lily Brecheisen, who ran the open 800 at the state meet and took 11th, could be in line to take the vacant spot.

“We’ve got some good 800 runners coming along,” Spielman said. “Hopefully we can get a little tradition going and keep it going there.”