Old Lyme had three upperclassmen ready to run the 4x800-meter relay this winter, just waiting for a fourth.

Perhaps unexpectedly, the person to fill that role was freshman cross country runner Chase Gilbert, who ran the fastest 5K time in the state during the fall season. It turns out Gilbert is also quite adept at the 800 meters.

“We weren’t really sure,” Old Lyme coach Alyssa Mercaldi said of Gilbert. “But during practice, if you watch her run 200s and 400s, it looks like she’s a college sprinter. She could run anything. She has such beautiful running form. Especially running that relay, she wants that baton.”

Gilbert, who won Class S state championships in the 3,200 meters and as part of the Wildcats’ 4x800 relay, later earning All-New England honors in both, was named The Day’s 2023 All-Area Girls’ Indoor Track & Field Athlete of the Year. That comes on the heels of her All-Area Player of the Year honor during cross country season.

“It was my first high school track season ever, outdoor or indoor,” Gilbert said. “It’s definitely a lot different. ... I do have to say I’m kind of leaning toward liking track more than cross country right now just because, I don’t know, I love running fast on the track.

“I love the strategy with it, too, even though it’s a 200-meter track and you have to do laps and laps.”

At the New England meet, Gilbert ran with the 4x800 relay team, joining senior Maddy Morgado, senior Lyla Powers and junior Aggie Hunt. The Wildcats finished fourth in 9 minutes, 30.55 seconds, qualifying them for the national championship. Gilbert ran her leg in 2:12, a time which would have been good enough to win the State Open 800 meters last spring.

She followed that with a second-place finish in the 3,200 in a personal best 10:44.67.

Gilbert ran in three events at the New Balance Indoor Nationals in Boston, what she calls “probably one of the coolest experiences of my life.”

She competed in the 3,200 on Friday, the 5K on Saturday and the 4x800 on Sunday. Gilbert was 11th in the nation in the 5K in 17:23.11 to finish as the top freshman.

“The track was beautiful, it was so cool,” said Gilbert, who has already qualified for the nationals in outdoor track, as well. “I loved going to the facility even when it wasn’t my time to race and just watching the other races. All the music was so cool, all the really famous top high school runners you saw there.

“It was just literally the coolest experience ever.”

Gilbert, the former middle school soccer player, dazzled the running community for the first time in the fall, winning the Shoreline Conference and Class S cross country state championships and going on to a third-place finish in the State Open.

She is already conscious of the fact that every time she steps on the track or on a cross country course, she carries the expectation with her that she will be better than the last time, even if those lofty goals are of her own creation.

But she loves the running portion of her day more than just about everything.

“You’re at school and everything is so stressful,” said Gilbert, a high honors student. “But then when you get out, you just know you’re going to be outside running in like 30 minutes and everything is going to be OK.

“... I think (the pressure) mostly comes from myself. I’m a pretty competitive person and I like just bettering myself each time. I just try to put my best out there each time.”

Old Lyme won the Shoreline Conference championship with 128 points, backed by wins from Gilbert in the 1,600 (meet record 5:09.9), 3,200 and as part of the 4x800 relay.

At the Class S meet she took the 3,200 in 10:54.12 and was part of the championship 4x800 team and the second-place 4x400 team. She was second in the State Open in the 3,200 (10:50.83) and competed in both relays, with the 4x800 team finishing second, as well.

“It’s only four laps,” Gilbert said of her ability to shine in the 800, a shorter distance than she’s used to. “The first two laps just go by so fast. It’s just the third lap that you have to put that extra effort in and then the last lap just goes by so fast. The team aspect was super fun with it, too.”

Said Mercaldi of Gilbert: “She gets one goal and she’s on to the next goal. That’s sometimes stuff you can’t teach in a kid. She’s such a good student, too, the teachers talk so highly of her. She’s going to have a long and successful four years ahead of her.”

v.fulkerson@theday.com