Rain doesn't slow down meet

COLDWATER - Steady was the watchword at Cavalier Stadium on Thursday during the final day of the Mercer County Knights of Columbus Track and Field Meet - steady rain, a steady line at the famed K-Burger stand and steady performances on the track.

The Marion Local boys went wire to wire in capturing the high school championship by 88 points over Celina.

On the girls' side, host Coldwater put up a strong steady effort in capturing the team championship by a 152-141 margin over first-day leader Marion Local.

The Flyer boys tallied 187 points on the day with Celina a distant second with 99 points. Coldwater (82) was third with Fort Recovery (54), St. Henry (52) and Parkway (49) rounding out the standings.

Marion thrived under the rules of the Mercer County Meet, in which each team is permitted three entrants in each event, rather than two at the conference meets, and the key to its success was having multiple athletes score points in events. The Flyer boys won five events on the day but, more importantly, scored 10 or more points in eight events.

Among the big performances from the Marion boys came in the 400-meter dash where Charlie Huelsman won and teammates Tate Hess and Luke Tangeman finished second and fourth to tally 22 points. A Ben Heitkamp-Owen Rindler 1-2 finish in the 110 hurdles and the two flipping their finishes in the 300 hurdles came up big for the Flyers. Other Marion Local wins for the boys came from the 4x100 and 4x400 relays.

"It was a tremendous team effort," said Marion coach Kyle Grabowski. "My favorite was looking at our 110 hurdles. We had Ben Heitkamp, who was having a great season, but freshman Landon Arling, who has been in the shadows, is able to score (in fifth place), then have three guys finish in the top four in the 400. The depth we've seen all year came through in the format for Mercer County."

Coldwater's Jesse Meyer, who won the high jump on Tuesday, came back and added two more first-place showings on his home track, taking the 100 dash to go along with the long jump. Celina picked up two wins on Thursday with Brayden Shaw taking the 800 and Isaac Rasawehr taking home first in the discus. Parkway's Blake Strickler captured first in the 1,600 while Fort Recovery's Trevor Heitkamp was the winner in the 3,200. Owen Moorman added another first in taking the 200 and Fort Recovery also took first in the 4x200.

The Cavalier girls won seven events on the evening, including a clean sweep of the three relays to go along with the win in the 4x800 on Tuesday. Much like the Marion Local boys, the Cavaliers did it with depth, scoring 10 or more points in 10 events on Thursday.

"To me, the big thing was just how they competed," said Coldwater coach Mark Bruns. "Everybody had to contend with the weather, but you just have to grind it out and work hard. With the girls, it was get as many places as we could picking up points and getting those double placers - and sometimes triple placers - if we could. I think it really helps when you have everybody in (the scoring) and it's not just one person. It took a lot of people to get those points."

After Marion's runner-up 141, Celina was third with 103. Fort Recovery had 66, St. Henry 33 and Parkway 28 to round out the field.

The most exciting victory came in the 1,600 as Coldwater's Haley Alig, Celina's Kaylie Dameron and Fort Recovery's Natalie Brunswick engaged in a classic stretch run. When the race was done, Alig won in 5:22.74, 0.12 seconds ahead of Dameron and 0.14 seconds ahead of Brunswick.

Mallory Kremer added a big win in the 200 with teammate Allison Hamberg taking third. Ava Giere and Becca Wenning also had a 1-3 finish in the 400 with Maria Clune taking sixth to gain an additional point. Jenna Leugers picked up a first place for the Cavaliers in the pole vault.

Marion Local kept in the chase. Becca Rindler won the 100 hurdles with runner-up teammate Sam Hoelscher later winning the 300 hurdles. Jayden Huelsman held off Coldwater's Sara Honigford and Alig to win the 800.

Celina's Kaylie Dameron came back after the 1,600 to pick up the win in the 3,200. Teammate Amelia Lutz added a first-place finish in the shot put.

Fort Recovery's Whitley Rammel captured the high jump. Parkway picked up a win on the day with Morgan Hunter dashing to a victory in the 100 dash.

In the middle school meet, Marion Local's boys and St. Henry's girls captured team titles.

Athletes earning multiple wins on the day were Coldwater's Izzy Zahn (girls' 100 hurdles and 200 dash), Celina's Jennalee Dameron (girls' 1,600 and 800), Marion Local's Andrew Pohlman (boys' 1,600 and 400) and Marion's Drew Lause (boys' 400 and 200).

Book Scholarship Winners - The area Knights of Columbus councils gave $100 book scholarship rewards to one senior from each of the county schools.

The 2021 recipients are: Clayton Martin (Celina), Isaac Schoen (Coldwater), Owen Moorman (Fort Recovery), Luke Tangeman (Marion Local), Liam Ferroggiaro (Parkway) and Nathan Howe (St. Henry).