Shawnee’s Akyus Richardson competes in the shot put during Saturday’s Division I OHSAA Track & Field State Championships at Welcome Stadium in Dayton.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
DAYTON – Last year as a sophomore, Shawnee’s Akyus Richardson competed at the state track meet in the shot put for the first time.
His first trip was a success as he placed seventh with a mark of 53 feet, 9.5 inches in the Division I shot put.
Richardson knew immediately that he wanted to make a return this season.
On Saturday, the third and final day of the OHSAA State Track and Field Championships at the University of Dayton, Richardson improved on last year’s performance as he placed fifth with a toss of 58-4.75.
The top eight placers make it to the awards podium.
“I came in knowing that there was going to be some very competitive throwers,” Richardson said. “I knew the kid from Fremont Ross (Dominic Brown) was going to do well. I knew the kid from Copley (Trevin Jordan) was going to do well. I knew that everyone above me (higher seeds) was going to throw far. I knew I had to throw something even farther if I was going to do well.”
Brown won Saturday’s shot put with a mark of 62-6. Jordan was close behind Brown’s winning toss with a mark of 62-1.25.
O-G’s Rosengarten and Van Wert’s Scott place in the 1,600
On Friday, O-G junior Ty Rosengarten anchored the 3,200 relay (Masen Vogt, Ethan Metzger, Isaac Macke, Rosengarten) that placed sixth in 7:59.23.
On Saturday, Rosengarten finished fifth in the 1,600-meter run with a new school-record time of 4:19.53.
“Coming in, I was nervous,” Rosengarten said about the 1,600. “The (seed) times were so close. I was seeded with like a 4:21. … I was like 10th or 11th.
“On the first 100 (meters), I was immediately like in the fourth-place slot. That’s when I kind of knew that I could do this. Coming through the first lap, I felt really good. Coming into the race I had goals, but progressively throughout the race, to see them come true was eye-opening. I’m not sure if I’ve ever had anything like that before.”
Van Wert junior Owen Scott made the podium in Saturday’s 1,600 with an eighth-place finish (4:20.73). Scott came back later and competed in the 3,200, and finished 10th (9:40.58). By the time the 3,200 started, the temperatures were rising.
“That was not fun,” Scott said about the 3,200. “I felt terrible about that. I think on lap six, I knew it was going to be bad. I tried, but you learn, I guess.”
Cole makes the podium
Bath junior Ethan Cole was not completely satisfied with his performance in Saturday’s final of the 300-meter hurdles.
However, he made it to the podium.
Then came the news that one of the competitors was disqualified for obstructing one of the lanes.
The meet officials decided to offer an opportunity for any of the competitors in the 300 hurdles to do a run-off a little later, that would give them a chance to improve their place on the podium.
Before the run-off, Cole was in seventh place, due to the disqualification of one of the competitors. Cole decided, along with two other participants to compete in the run-off.
The result was an improvement on his time, but he remained in seventh place. Cole’s official time in the 300 hurdles was 39.67 seconds.
“I had nothing to lose,” Cole said in reference to doing the run-off. “I really appreciated the opportunity to run it again. I didn’t have the best race the first time around, but I improved (my time) the second time. I’m OK. … I have another year to get back here (to the state meet).”
**Complete results for both the Division I and Division II state track meet are on milesplit.oh
