CHESAPEAKE - One down and one to go. And if there are any additional perks, they are more than welcomed.

The Chesapeake Lady Panthers 4×100 meter relay team of Brittney Pollock, Lindsey Thomas, Joy Mayenchein and Lisa Perry set two main goals at the beginning of the year.

Since they will be running in the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division III state meet Friday and Saturday at Welcome Stadium in Dayton, they can cross out one of those goals.

The girls have possibly only one other chance to acquire the second goal since the state meet will bring an end of the track careers for Pollock and Thomas, the two senior members of the relay team.

"Since we were sophomores, we wanted to make the state meet. That's always been our goal," Pollock said. "We want to break the school record, and whatever place that gives us will be great."

Thomas said the group's togetherness has helped them accomplish their goal.

"We've always been together. We had other girls on the relay but it didn't work out as well," Thomas said. "We trust each other more. We're used to each other. We depend on each other's strengths."

Lady Panthers track coach Chris Smith said all four girls not only work hard, but they are honor students at the top of their class.

"There aren't four more deserving kids in the state of Ohio. I'm really happy for them," Smith said.

The relay team ran a 52.08 in the regional meet to place fourth and earn their trip to the state meet. They ran a 51.74 in the district meet to finish just off the school record of 51.5 seconds.

Mayenchein, a junior like Perry, is looking forward to finally getting a chance to run in the state meet. Mayenchein knows losing Pollock and Thomas next year could mean this will be the only chance for her and Perry to run in the state meet.

"We're pretty excited," Mayenchein said. "We've tried for the past three years. We've always come close

"I hope we get to the finals. That would be a dream come true. I know there are a lot of fast girls, but we're getting our handoffs. If we're feeling right and not too nervous, we might be able to go."

Perry said the team is peaking at the right time and hopes that the momentum will continue at the state meet.

"I'm excited. We've waited three years for this," Perry said.

"At the end of last year, we didn't finish well. We didn't expect to make it to the state, but then we ran well at the end of the year."

Perry was bothered by a throat ailment in the regionals that hampered her breathing. She admitted it might have had a bearing on the team's performance.

"I was a little slower. I was dehydrated," Perry said. "But we're ready now. We'd like to break the school record. We're not that far off."

Preliminaries in the 4×100 relay are 10:45 a.m. Friday. The finals will be Saturday at 10:10 a.m.

The top four times in the two preliminary heats advance to the finals.