It all comes down to the month of May.
For area high school track-and-field athletes, the upcoming conference meets and then postseason tournaments, are what their entire seasons come down to.
First, the goal is to win a conference title. Then, the focus quickly turns to advancing through the postseason tournament and ultimately getting to the state track meet at Ohio State on June 2-3.
First stop are the conference meets, which run this week. Next week, the postseason kicks off with district meets across the state.
The top four placers in each event at districts will qualify for regionals. Then, the top four placers in each event at the regional meets will stamp their ticket to the state meet.
Over the years of covering track for The Lima News, I have seen many athletes fly under the radar, so to speak.
Elida senior Sam Quaintance is one of those athletes.
Quaintance, the school record-holder in the 400-meter dash (49.5 seconds), has been focused on one thing this season.
“My overall goal this year is to bring it (400-meter time) down to the 48s,” Quaintance said. “It’s been fun this year. I’ve gotten faster every time I ran it. I’m looking forward to some guys pushing me even more. I haven’t had too much competition this year. So, it will be nice to have someone to run against that will push me.”
Quaintance also competes on Elida’s 800- and 1,600-meter relays.
“This year, it’s been fun running the open 400,” Quaintance said. “With the 4-by-4 (1,600 relay) team, it always gets exciting there. I think that (1,600 relay) has to be the more exciting one.
“Our 4-by-2 team (De’ Angelo Woods, Quaintance, Nazareus Wright, Xavier Gilkey) is pretty good this year. I think we can at least make it out to regionals. If we keep bringing the time down, we can maybe make it to state.”
In the open 400, Quaintance feels like he will need to keep improving in order to make it to the state meet. The Elida boys team competes in the always-competitive Division I postseason tournament.
“I definitely have to be running low 50s or high 49s to at least make it out of districts. But, I definitely have to be running 49s or 48s to make it to state this year,” he said.
In 2015 as a sophomore, Quaintance was part of Elida’s 1,600 relay which finished sixth at the Division II state meet.
Elida boys coach Tim Folger points to Quaintance’s ‘business approach’ as a key to his success.
“I know, coming into this season, Sam had some goals, like that 400-meter record, which he got earlier this year. You need guys like Sam who will step up and be a leader for you. He will lead by example. He puts in the work every day, and he’ll hold guys accountable. He does things the right way,” said Folger.
As far as getting to the state meet, both Folger and Quaintance realize it will be a challenge.
“I know he’s been keeping an eye on it (times),” Folger said. “As of right now, based on the times, I know he feels pretty good on what he needs to run to get out of districts. As we get closer to regionals, we’ll take a closer look at it. It will be a grind being Division I, but I know Sam is up to the challenge.”
Notes:
One of the questions, coming into this spring season, was if Ottoville senior Brooke Mangas would win her third consecutive state title in the high jump.
Last season at the state meet, Mangas broke the Division III state record in the high jump with a clearance of 5 feet, 10 inches in her winning effort.
Bluffton senior Trevor Bassitt is looking to defend his Division III state title in the 110-meter hurdles. This season, Bassitt has also been dominating the field in the 300 hurdles.
Ottoville junior distance standout Brendan Siefker is looking to return to the Division III state track meet.
In 2016, Siefker finished second at the state meet in the 1,600 (4:18.84) and fourth in the 3,200 (9:31.58). This spring, Siefker has also been dominate in the 800 meters.
Siefker finished second at the Division III state cross country meet this past fall.
Lima Central Catholic junior Emily Sreenan looks to be primed this spring for a strong run to the state meet.
In 2016, Sreenan finished fifth in both the 1,600 (5:04.21) and 3,200 (11:16.77) at the Division III state meet.
As a freshman in 2015, Sreenan placed fifth at the state meet in the 1,600 (5:11.34) and sixth in the 3,200 (11:22.20).
This past fall, Sreenan was the Division III state champion in cross country.
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