Marietta's Ian Putnam, center, stands on the podium at the regional track meet. (Photo Provided)

During the final lap of the 3200 meter run at the OHSAA state track meet, Ian Putnam found himself all alone in first place.

After failing to get past districts the season before, the Marietta junior was in position to bring home a state championship.

“We started, and (Tippecanoe’s) Landon (Kimmel), who was seeded first, came out pretty fast,” Putnam recalled. “(New Philadelphia’s) Marcus (Adelman) was seeded second. I was just sitting on those two front guys and we kind of separated ourselves from the fourth guy. The last lap I was like ‘I feel great. I’m going to see if I can go.’ I started running as hard as I could. I shot past them and was in first for like the first 200 of the last lap. I just couldn’t stay in that pace.”

Putnam ended up crossing in 9 minutes, 2.33 seconds to finish third. He became the first Tiger to earn All-Ohio status in a running event since Travis Moore in the 2017 300 hurdles.

“I tried to go out there and win, but to get third after not getting past districts last year was pretty surreal to me,” Putnam said. “All it took was staying consistent. I didn’t take any days off from March through the end of the season. Every workout started going well. I would end workouts and it would just feel easy. All it took was just running every day.

“I’m happy to represent Marietta. I’m very glad to be the person to take it to that level.”

For Putnam, also a cross country standout, reaching the state podium was a mission accomplished.

“Ian really had his eyes set on the state meet all season,” said Marietta boys track coach Lane Wilson. “He wanted to make it to the big show and really compete. He put in effort all season long. I was impressed with how he performed throughout the year. He was a completely different kid from last year to this year. It all came down to his motivation. He really wanted it and went for it.”

After giving his all in the 3200, Putnam, who also qualified for state in 1600, came back the next day to compete in the mile but was unable to crack the top eight. Still, it was a successful weekend for the Tiger.

“He put all his effort into the 32,” Wilson said. “Saturday was just a really tough day. All the rain delays — you expect to run at 4:40, but then the rain hits and you have no idea when you’re going to hit the track. He really made the best of it.”

Wilson, in his first year as Marietta’s boys head coach after longtime coach Mollie Schramm retired, found it very rewarding to see one of his athletes succeed on the state’s biggest stage.

“He found where he fit into running,” Wilson said. “He put the summer miles in last year and had a really great cross country season. He put in more miles and work in over the winter. He put in all that mileage and it resulted in the best outcome.”

Putnam has aspirations to run in college. He’s been on visits but is going to wait to make any commitments. Putnam’s main focus at this point is to achieve more greatness in his senior season.

“I really want to walk away with the win, not only in cross country but in the 32 in track next season,” he said.

So what is it going to take to get there?

“I finished up my break and am starting to run again this week,” Putnam said. “It’s just going to be a lot of miles and grinding. I’m trying to get up to a high mileage and build that huge aerobic base. I’m going to be out there grinding with my teammates, people from other schools and, if I have to, by myself. I’m willing to do whatever it takes until I get the results I want.”

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@mariettatimes.com.