Megan Brawner was about to win the 800 meters at the Class MM state championship meet at Middetown High School. Her first state championship. Ever.

She could hear Ledyard High School’s boys’ coach, Joe “Pasta” Sanabria, screaming from his spot in the bleachers near Middletown’s finish line. She could hear girls’ coach Dave Tetlow, even though he was all the way on the other side of the track.

“That was really special,” Brawner said of the victory. “That final stretch, the RHAM runner (top-seeded Mari Larcheveque) came from behind and I was like, ‘heck no.’ I just kept going. It was so close that final 100 meters.

“I was seeded third. Right in the beginning I had to elbow a lot to keep my place. I kind of surged to the second spot and then before the start of the second lap, I got in front.”

Now, note that the title came in Brawner’s first outdoor track season at Ledyard. She used to play tennis.

Note that Brawner used strategy to dart to the front, having tried to come from behind earlier in the 1,600-meter race and finishing a narrow second.

Note that Brawner, who was so nervous during cross country season that she became dehydrated during the state meet at Wickham Park and passed out, being taken off the course in an ambulance, was considerably more confident.

Brawner, a junior who won the 800 and the 1,600 at the Eastern Connecticut Conference meet in addition to claiming the state championship in the former event, was named The Day’s 2015 All-Area Girls’ Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

“This is the first time I have one full year of all running,” Brawner said. “I feel like I’m mentally stronger as an athlete and a student. I have a lot more confidence going into cross country season. I never was a confident runner. I thought the relays were really cool. Now I want to run individual events. That’s going to help with cross country, too. Before I was like, ‘I’ll stay in the middle of the pack.’ Now, hopefully I can lead packs.”

Brawner is already a school leader at Ledyard. She was the sports editor this year for The Colonel Newsmagazine, having written stories about former Ledyard All-America swimmer Jessica Hespeler and about the school’s Unified Sports programs, and was named editor-in-chief for next year. She was class secretary.

Brawner, who has a twin brother Kevin, has her own Web site for the many photographs she’s taken, mainly of nature and animals, and has had several photographs published in Teen Ink Magazine which is written exclusively by teenagers. She hopes to major in business in college with perhaps a minor in journalism.

Being good at running is something that has come unexpectedly to her.

“Freshman year I was surprised,” said Brawner, who lives in Gales Ferry. “In eighth grade it was more of a low-key thing. We had a club cross country team. Going to Ledyard High School surprised me because it’s a more competitive level.”

Brawner completed the 2014 cross country season unbeaten in dual meets before finishing seventh at the ECC meet at Norwich Golf Course behind runners she had previously beaten, causing her to feel like she needed to perform better at the state meet.

Now, Brawner is more self-assured, so much so that she competed in the CIAC’s 2,000-meter steeplechase at the end of this season even though she never tried the event before. And she can laugh while describing the “face-plants” she did on every single water jump.

Tetlow, a longtime coach at Ledyard, said Brawner now has a chance to catch some of the school’s longstanding record-holders.

“I’ve noticed a big difference,” Tetlow said. “In indoor, she did an awesome job and that led right up to outdoor. She’s stronger and faster. Next year, I’m looking for a lot. … She matches up with (the best runners in Ledyard history) very, very well. This is her first-ever outdoor season and she had an unbelievable one.

“She’s come out of her shell and done extremely well. It’s been a pleasure to have her.”

v.fulkerson@theday.com

Twitter: @vickieattheday

The Day's 2015 All-Area Girls' Track & Field All-Area Team

Player of the Year – Megan Brawner (Ledyard)

100 meters - Nadia Dallas (Montville)

200 - Samantha Lee (Old Lyme)

400 – Mia Santana (New London)

3,200 – Jeannette Mooney (Waterford)

100 hurdles – Kiah Strickland (Montville)

300 hurdles – Haley Ashton (East Lyme)

4x100 relay - NFA (Lauren Knerr, Stephanie Jarvis, Kelsie Hall, Margaret Lewerk)

4x400 relay – East Lyme (Ashley Kane, Cassidy Abdeen, Haley Ashton, Caroline Thiede)

4x800 relay – Montville (Caitlin Turney, Suzie Fitzgerald, Hanna Marchini, Abby Baukus)

High jump - Taty LaFrance Boyce (Stonington)

Pole vault – Kelsie Hall (NFA)

Long jump – Lauren Knerr (NFA)

Triple jump – Ryana Kelsey (Fitch)

Shot put, discus – Olivia Lane (NFA)

Javelin – Julia Bettencourt (NFA)

Utility – Gianna Folz (East Lyme), Sydnee Spruill (Fitch)