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Poland digs deep, strikes gold
By Charles Grove
COLUMBUS
Poland anchor Gino Centofanti said Friday that it would “just take a little more” to get his relay teams where they wanted to be on Saturday.
Whatever the little more was, they found it.
Poland’s boys won the Division II state title in the 4x100 relay, coming behind and making the final pass on the front stretch to win the gold.
“We came in prepared,” Centofanti said. “We stretched good, ate a good breakfast, got here early about 9:30 a.m. to prepare for it and it all worked out I guess.”
The margin of victory in the 4x100 couldn’t have been much closer, as the Bulldogs held off Galion by 0.02 seconds.
Poland also came in second in the 4x200 and eighth in the 4x400.
“I knew it was going to be close with them,” Centofanti said. “They were in front and I knew I was going to have to work my butt off to get back into it and get the lead. So that’s what I did and it worked out.”
But once he crossed the finish line, Centofanti knew he had it and immediately took off the for infield to celebrate with teammates Doug Rutana, Matthew Holsinger and Colten McFadden.
“I looked over and I saw it was close and I thought I had a little bit of room but I knew we had it,” Centofanti said. “I looked up at the board and saw it and went and celebrated with my boys.”
Rutana said once he saw it was neck and neck the final few meters, he knew Centofanti was going to pull through to the win.
“I knew he wasn’t going to let someone beat him the last 20 meters,” Rutana said. “I know how he fights for the lead and I knew he was going to get it. I was pretty pumped.”
Rutana credited his coaches and his team’s ability to adapt to changes in how they handled handoffs for the final. Little changes made a big difference in a race so close.
“We just wanted to make little adjustments that we knew had to happen and we did that today,” Rutana said. “Just little step adjustments like leaving a little early here, a little late there. They made all the difference.”
Holsinger said it was an honor to be a part of this relay.
“I know these boys have been wanting to get on top of that podium all the times they’ve been here,” Holsinger said.
The improvement from a year ago was by leaps and bounds. Last year, the Bulldogs finished eighth in the 4x200 and third in the 4x100.
“We improved in both and that’s what we wanted to do,” Centofanti said. “We’re successful and that’s what we wanted to do. This is as good as it gets.”
For Centofanti, even though he’s already sporting a new bio on his Twitter account that says “STATE CHAMPION,” it took a little while for the title to set in.
“I still can’t believe it right now,” he said. “I still can’t believe we’re state champions. We’ve been working for it for two years now.”