Athletes to watch at the state track meet

There are many Lima area athletes who will compete at this week’s Ohio High School Athletic Association State Track and Field Championships on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the University of Dayton’s Welcome Stadium.

The top four placers in each event at this past week’s regional meets automatically qualified for the state meet. Also, there were at-large bids awarded to some competitors.

Here are some of the area athletes to keep an eye on.

Ellerbrock, Auchmuty, Palte leads Columbus Grove to the Division III state meet

Columbus Grove senior Luke Ellerbrock knows what it feels like.

At last year’s Division III state track meet, Ellerbrock was in the hunt for a state title in the 3,200-meter run.

Ellerbrock finished fourth in the 3,200 in a time of 9 minutes, 28.12 seconds.

This coming weekend, Ellerbrock will return to the D-III state meet, where he will attempt to close out his illustrious high school career with another stellar performance.

This past weekend at the Division III regional at Fostoria, Ellerbrock placed second to Ottawa Hills’ standout Riley Nixon in the 3,200. Nixon clocked a winning time of 9 minutes, 26.15 seconds, while Ellerbrock crossed the finish line in 9:28.74.

Ellerbrock is looking forward to an opportunity to compete for a state title.

“I’m really confident on how it will play out,” Ellerbrock said about the upcoming state meet. “I’m confident with my ability to compete and I hope for the best – to go out there and give it my all in my last (high school) race.”

Ellerbrock will compete in track and cross country at the University of Findlay next school year.

On the girls side, Columbus Grove’s Lauryn Auchmuty punched her ticket to the state track meet in three events. Auchmuty placed fourth in the pole vault (11 feet), was part of the 800-meter relay (Allison Thompson, Kendal Palte, Auchmuty, Jade Roeder) that finished second (1:43.95) and the 400 relay (Thompson, Palte, Auchmuty, Roeder) that also came in second (49.98).

Auchmuty placed seventh in the long jump (15-8.5) at Fostoria and did not advance to the state meet in that event.

Auchmuty was ecstatic about making it out of regionals in the three events, especially in the 800- and 400-meter relays.

“We’ve been working really hard for this and had bad hand-offs in the prelims (preliminaries),” Auchmuty said. “So, coming in today – getting two PRs and breaking two school records – the adrenaline was high. Kendal (Palte) made it out in the 300 hurdles, and I made it out in the pole vault. It was a good day to run for sure. There was not a lot of wind. So, we can’t wait to see what happens in Dayton.”

Also qualifying for the state meet for Columbus Grove were Trevon Baxter (pole vault) and Layton Blankemeyer (300 hurdles).

O-G sends a slew of athletes to the D-II state meet

Ottawa-Glandorf is coming off a strong showing at the Division II regional meet at Piqua, where the O-G girls won the team title, and the boys team notched a third-place finish.

All four of the O-G girls relays qualified for this week’s D-II state meet.

At Piqua, O-G’s 3,200-meter relay (Corinne Closson, Liana Fortman, Madelyn Hovest, Anna Buddelmeyer) won in a school-record time of 9:18.09.

“I think we were pretty surprised,” Buddelmeyer said. “We were hoping for the school record, but we weren’t expecting it on Thursday (at regionals), and we weren’t expecting it by that much. We think we should PR again and we want to get first (at the state meet).”

Buddelmeyer, a junior, placed second in Saturday’s 1,600 in a personal-best time of 5:04.78. She came back later and placed third in the 3,200 (11:20.73).

Corinne Closson, one of two seniors on the 3,200 relay, admitted that their performance last week at regionals was a little bit of a surprise. However, she does feel like there is some room for improvement. “I was pretty surprised about how low we went,” Closson said. “We were hoping to get the school record, but I didn’t think we would get it by six seconds. I still think we can drop a few more seconds.”

Liana Fortman, a freshman, said her teammates push each other to get better.

“All season, there were like six girls (vying for spots on the 3,200 relay), and you had to really push at every meet, just to be on the relay. Finally, now it’s like, ‘Ok, I’m on it. Now, let’s go win’. I want to get on the podium for the relay,” Fortman said.

Last year, the O-G girls 3,200 relay placed fourth at the D-II state meet and set a school record (9:24.24).

In the 800 at Piqua, Fortman placed fourth (2:17.48) and stamped her ticket to the state meet. Closson placed fifth (2:18.28) at Piqua but was granted an at-large bid to advance to the state meet in that event.

Madelyn Hovest, the other senior on the 3,200 relay, is looking forward to competing at the state meet.

“I’m stoked. It’s going to be a lot of fun. There are a lot of good teams to compete against. It’s definitely going to be a fun race, having teams that will really push us,” Hovest said.

O-G’s 800 relay (Laney Hedrick, Savannah Recker, Alivia Grothause, Averie Fox) placed second on Saturday (1:43.94).

The Titans’ 400 relay (Savannah Recker, Alivia Grothause, Delaney Duling, Averie Fox) finished second (49.43).

O-G’s 1,600 relay (Brea Recker, Emma Heringhaus, Corinne Closson, Averie Fox) notched a third-place finish on Saturday (4:00.66).

On the boys side, O-G started off the regional meet with a school-record performance in the 3,200 relay. The team of Masen Vogt, Ethan Metzger, Isaac Macke and Ty Rosengarten finished second for O-G with a time of 7:58.38.

Rosengarten also finished second in the 1,600 (4:23.52). Later on Saturday, Rosengarten was part of the 1,600 relay (Rosengarten, Ethan Metzger, Deegan Miller, Dane Duling) that placed fifth but was later granted an at-large bid for the state meet.

Last year, the same four O-G athletes in the boys 3,200 relay finished 11th at the D-II state meet (8:14.55).

“We got there last year,” Rosengarten said. “I think the goal was just to get there last year. This year, we’re not done. We know we have one more race.

“The focus, honestly, started in January. Once a week, we would go to (the University of) Findlay and use their track. We pretty much have been training ever since then and talking about this week.”

Macke, the lone senior on the boys 3,200 relay, said the relay is a tight-knit group.

“I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else. These guys have been with me since my sophomore year. … Ethan (Metzger) came on a little later. They’re a good group of guys. They work hard. We all push each other, every day,” Macke said.

Metzger, a junior, feels like the 3,200 relay is poised to make some noise at the state meet. Metzger is also on the 1,600 relay.

“I didn’t run with them as a freshman, but I came on last year,” Metzger said. “We’ve all been working hard since last year. We’ve had our eyes on the prize. It’s kind of expected at this point. We have to come ready to compete. I think we’re ready to.”

Vogt, a junior, is expecting the relay to compete for a spot on the podium.

“It’s really big, because my freshman year we didn’t even make it out of districts. Last year, we were expecting to make the podium. This year, we’re going there, hoping for top three,” Vogt said.

O-G’s 800 relay (Gavin Morman, Alec Schroeder, Dane Duling, Deegan Miller) also qualified for the state meet with a third-place finish (1:29.80) at Piqua.

Walsh, Ryan, Cole lead the way for Bath

Senior Tatum Walsh won the 400 (57.49) at this past weekend’s D-II regional meet at Piqua. She also placed fourth in the 200 (25.54) and was the anchor of the 1,600 relay (Hailey Hale, Isabella Bartlett, Gwyneth Foust, Walsh) that came in second (3:58.77). Walsh finished sixth in the 100 (12.70) but did not advance to the state meet.

“This is one of my biggest dreams,” Walsh said after winning the 400. “I never thought – looking at the (awards) podium last year – that this would happen.”

For the boys, Bath senior Brennon Ryan won the high jump at Piqua with a height of 6-3.

“As far as regionals last year, I had a bit of a slump. I didn’t make it to state,” Ryan said. “To bounce back this year as the (regional) champion is a really good emotional jump for me.”

Bath junior Ethan Cole stamped his ticket to the D-II state meet with a second-place finish in the 300 hurdles (39.23) at the regional meet.

For more athletes to watch at the State Track Meet this weekend, read the rest of the story at LimaScores.com

Perry’s Glenn poised for the D-III state meet

Perry junior Kimari Glenn will compete in four events at the D-III state meet.

At this past week’s D-III regional at Troy, Glenn won the 200 (22.40) and long jump (22-3), placed third in the 400 (50.03) and was fourth in the 100 (11.35).

At last year’s D-III state meet, Glenn was a state qualifier in the long jump.

Baldauf, Tow, Moody head the list of state qualifiers for Lincolnview

Conner Baldauf won the 400 at the D-III regional at Troy in a new school-record time of 49.16 seconds.

Kreston Tow placed fifth in the 800 (1:57.80) at Troy and received an at-large bid. Cody Ricker won the 300 hurdles (39.65) and placed fourth in the 110 hurdles (15.37).

The Lincolnview boys 1,600 relay (Tow, Evan Johns, Baldauf, Ricker) finished second. The 3,200 relay (Tow, Johns, Norton, Baldauf) finished third (8:09.39).

On the girls side, Brynleigh Moody finished third in the 1,600 with a new school-record time of 5:08.53.

Trentman leads the way for Ottoville

Last year, Ottoville’s Garrett Trentman watched his teammate Kellen Schlagbaum win the D-III state title in the 300 hurdles.

Last year as a sophomore, Trentman was a state qualifier in the 300 hurdles, but did not advance to the finals.

With Schlagbaum now graduated, Trentman is hoping to carry on the tradition.

At this past Friday’s finals in the 300 hurdles at the D-III regional at Fostoria, Trentman won the regional title with a new personal best of 38.96 seconds. Trentman also finished fourth in the 110 hurdles (15.39).

Van Wert sends a strong contingent of athletes to the D-II state meet

Van Wert notched several state berths at this past weekend’s D-II regional at Piqua.

On the girls side, Macy Johnson finished second in the 200 (25.21).

Johnson also was part of the winning 400 relay (Olivia Vaas, Johnson, Mia Rager, Kendra Deehring; 49:05) and the 800 relay (Vaas, Johnson, Harper Roop, Deehring) that finished third (1:44.31).

Deehring placed third in the 100 (12.42).

For the boys, Owen Scott finished third in the 1,600 (4:24.15) and fourth in the 3,200 (9:39.44). Last year, Scott placed 11th in the 3,200 at the D-II state meet.

Jefferson’s Lindeman making her last trip to state

At last year’s D-III state meet as a junior, Delphos Jefferson’s Lyv Lindeman placed third in the 100 hurdles (14.63) and fourth in the 300 hurdles (44.99).

As a sophomore, Lindeman placed ninth in the 100 hurdles (15.39) and was a state qualifier in the 300 hurdles.

Lindeman will be making her final appearance at the state meet this week.

At the D-III regional at Troy, Lindeman finished second in the 100 hurdles (15.01) and fourth in the 300 hurdles (46.51).

Kessen returning to the state meet for Delphos St. John’s

At the D-III regional at Troy, Alex Kessen from St. John’s finished second in the 100 (12.00), second in the 200 (24.94), second in the long jump (17-11.75) and was in the 400 relay (Ava Hershey, Kiersten Jackson, Lila Jackson, Kessen) that placed third (49.33).

Kessen, a senior, will be making her third appearance at the state meet.

Allen East is sending five athletes to Dayton

At the D-III regional at Troy, Trey Hensley finished fourth in the 200 (22.70), was part of the 800 relay (Deacon Jones, Jackson Friesner, Isen Schafer, Hensley) that placed second (1:30.11), and the 400 relay (Jones, Friesner, Schafer, Hensley) that finished third (44.03).

On the girls side, Rilynn Jones won the 300 hurdles (44.77), and was fifth in the 100 hurdles (15.45). Jones received an at-large bid in the 100 hurdles.

Coldwater’s Zahn heading to the D-III state meet in four events

Last year as a sophomore, Coldwater’s Izzy Zahn won the D-III state title in the 200.

At this past week’s D-III regional at Fostoria, Zahn stamped her ticket to the state meet in four events.

At Fostoria, Zahn won the 100 (12.21), 200 (24.42), long jump (17-11) and anchored the winning 1,600 relay (Audrey Alig, Becca Wenning, Kiersten Keller, Zahn; 3:58.96).