Saturday, June 4th, 2022
2022 State Track and Field Championships
Big wins on opening day
By Gary R. Rasberry
Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry
The weather was perfect, and the athletes were ready to go as the 2022 State Track and Field Championships returned to Jesse Owens Stadium after a year away due to the pandemic.
Area athletes reached the podium in several field events and one running final with others earning berths to today's finals in Columbus.
The winning got started in the first event as the Minster girls held off its neighbor to the south Fort Loramie and MAC rival Coldwater to win the Division III girls' 4x800-meter relay in the only running final of the day.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
Minster's Margaret Hemmelgarn stays ahead of Coldwater's Ava Giere during the 4x800-meter relay at the Division III State Track and Field Championships in Columbus.
Margaret Hemmelgarn, sisters Cameo and Chaney Cedarleaf and Taylor Roth completed the eight-lap event in 9:28.67, just over six seconds ahead of Fort Loramie.
"That's an 11-second (personal record) for them," said Minster coach Jessie Magoto. "That's all we really wanted (for them to get) because you don't know what everyone else will do. A win and a PR, I'm pretty happy with that."
The Coldwater quartet of Ava Giere, Carlee Goodwin, Kiersten Keller and Haley Alig earned All-Ohio honors with a third-place finish. The New Bremen team of Caroline Whitlach, Mia Hirschfeld, Molly Dues and Chloe Homan finished one place from a podium finish in ninth place.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
Marion Local's Molly Winner heaves the shot put en route to winning the Division III state title on Friday in Columbus.
The first day closed out with another title for an area athlete as Marion Local's Molly Winner saved the best for last in the shot put.
Winner easily earned a spot in the final nine on her first put of the day by going 42- 3/4. On that throw alone, she would have clinched a state title in the event, But on her final throw of the day, she let fly a shot that went for a personal best of 43 feet even, winning the state title by over a foot against runner-up Kaitlyn Gum of New London, who posted her best throw of 41-2 3/4 twice in the finals. The top five finishers in the event had their best throw of the day in their final attempts.
"Last throw, best throw. That's what we always say," said Winner. "I actually did it for once."
Fort Recovery's Whitley Rammel finished fourth after topping out at 40-11 1/4 while Minster's Lillian Barhorst took sixth as her initial put of 39-7 3/4 held up through the day.
Other Field Events
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
Fort Recovery's Mara Pearson makes a leap during the state long jump competition.
The first wave of field event finals produced several more podium finishes for the girls as Fort Recovery's Mara Pearson reached All-Ohio status after just missing last year in placing seventh in the long jump. Pearson fouled in her first two attempts in the prelims before getting a leap of 17-2 1/2 to make it into the top nine that advance to the final round of three jumps. In her second leap in the finals, Pearson hit a jump of 17-3 3/4 before fouling on her final try, The jump was good enough to reach the podium.
New Knoxville's Avery Henschen wrapped up a successful senior year that included a state volleyball title and a state runner-up in basketball with a fourth-place finish in the discus with a top effort of 129-7.
Minster's Josi Boate was unable to clear the opening height of nine feet in the pole vault.
Running Prelims
Marion Local's Sam Hoelscher will get four chances to reach the podium today as she qualified for both her hurdle events and ran legs in the qualifying 4x200 and 4x400 relays.
Hoelscher finished fourth overall in her qualifying heat of the 100 hurdles and returned later to take the second-fastest qualifying time in the 300 hurdles. Hoelscher then teamed with Lynn Schwieterman, Natalie Pohl and Maddie Keller to qualify fourth in the 4x200. Minster was 10th and Coldwater 17th in qualifying as only the top nine move on.
The 4x400 relay final features three MAC teams as Coldwater's quartet of Alig, Carlee Goodwin, Izzy Zahn and Giere finished third in qualifying, just ahead of the Minster foursome of Cameo Cedarleaf, Lillian Barhorst, Keri Heckman and Roth. Hoelscher, Schwieterman, Keller and Jayden Huelsman earned the seventh-spot for the Flyers in the finals.
Coldwater's Zahn, Shelby Linn, Keller and Allison Hamberg secured the ninth and final qualifying spot for the 4x100. Marion finished 12th and were unable to advance.
Fort Recovery's Abbie Francis will compete for a title after finishing seventh in the prelims for the 200 dash.
Giere was able to advance in the 400 after finishing 12th in qualifying. Goodwin also was unable to advance in the 300 hurdles.
DIVISION III BOYS
Running Prelims
Coldwater's Tyler Schwieterman will get the chance to defend his 300 hurdles state title after posting the second-fastest time in the preliminaries. Schwieterman's time of 39.64 seconds was just 0.15 seconds back of the fastest mark set by Bluffton's Ethan Bogart. Minster's Joseph Slonkosky will also compete in the 300 final after finishing with the seventh-fastest time in prelims.
Schwieterman is also in the running for a title in the 110 hurdles after finishing with the seventh-fastest qualifying time. Slonkosky missed out after finishing 12th.
The only other event a local team was able to qualify for on Friday was Marion Local's 4x100 relay team. Brayden Pavelka, Kyle Otte, Peyton Moeller and Peyton Otte finished sixth in qualifying.
The Minster 4x200 relay finished 17th in qualifying to end their run while the 4x400 relay took 15th in qualifying. Wildcat Jack Koehne was 15th in qualifying for the 200 dash.
Field Events Finals
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
Marion Local's Nate Buschur clears the bar during the pole vault at the Division III State Track and Field Championships.
Marion Local's Nate Buschur earned points - and tied his own record - for the Flyers in the pole vault in the final contested contest of the day. Buschur passed on the opening height of 12-6 and then cleared 13-0, 13-6 and 14-0 on the first attempt each try. Reaching 14-4, Buschur missed on the first try, but cleared on the second, tying the school record he had set earlier this season. Buschur tried three times to clear 14-8, but missed to finish fifth.
Minster's Russell Heid bowed out after missing three times at 13-6 to finish 11th.
Mohawk's Zaiden Fry won the state title reaching 16-0, but missed breaking the meet record of 16-1 1/2 and the Division III record of 16-4 by being unable to clear 16-4.
Buschur's Flyer teammate Jack Knapke threw 168 feet on his first throw of the day in the discus and the distance held up to earn him an All-Ohio podium finish in taking sixth. Coldwater's Jesse Meyer finished 15th after topping out at 140 feet.
In the first wave of field finals, Meyer used a great throw in his final attempt in the shot put to finish seventh with a best effort of 55 6 3/4. St. Henry's Dustin Quinter finished 12th with a top effort of 47-10 1/4 with teammate Brandon Keller topping out at 46-8 to finish 14th.
Parkway's Caden Slusher finished 15th in the long jump after posting a best jump of 19-7 1/2 in the prelims.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
Parkway's Caden Slusher lands his long jump attempt at Jesse Owens Stadium.
DIVISION II
GIRLS & BOYS
After missing the podium in both throwing events last year, Celina's Amelia Lutz cinched one spot on the podium and still has a shot at a second today.
Lutz saved her best throw for last in finishing fourth in the discus on Friday. Lutz easily reached the finals with a solid qualifying throw of 126-9 in her first attempt. After hitting 123-3 in her first throw in the finals, Lutz came up with a dandy in the second, topping out at 128-5, which put her in third going into the final throw. Lutz didn't make an attempt, but dropped to fourth when Ottawa-Glandorf's Emma Hoffman fired the discus for a throw of 128-8 to take third by three inches.
Lutz will compete in the shot put today with teammate Nevaeh Huser looking to place in the pole vault.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
Celina's Ellie Hitchcock takes off at the start of the Division II girls 4x100-meter relay at the state meet in Columbus.
Celina's lone running entrant, the 4x100 relay (Ellie Hitchcock, Kira Dirksen, Paige Veit and Nevaeh Huser), missed on qualifying for state after finishing with the 15th fastest time in the prelims
St. Marys senior Brandon Bowers will compete for a state title in the 110 hurdles after finishing eighth in qualifying.
Roughrider Syerra Greber's season ended in finishing 13th in qualifying for the 200 dash.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard
St. Marys' Syerra Greber finishes her heat of the 200-meter dash.
Today's State Track and Field Schedule:
~ - To be run after the girls' race
DIVISION III
Running Finals
9:30 a.m. - Girls 100 Hurdles
Sam Hoelscher (Marion Local), Lane 3
9:35 a.m. - Boys 110 Hurdles
Tyler Schwieterman (Coldwater), Lane 8
9:45 a.m. - Girls 4x200 Relay
Marion Local, Lane 3
10:05 a.m. - Girls 1,600 Run
Margaret Hemmelgarn (Minster)
~10:05 a.m. - Boys 1,600 Run
Alex Albers (Minster)
10:20 a.m. - Girls 4x100 Relay
Coldwater, Lane 9
~ 10:20 a.m. - Boys 4x100 Relays
Marion Local, Lane 7
10:40 a.m. - Girls 300 Hurdles
Sam Hoelscher (Marion Local), Lane 5
~ 10:40 a.m. - Boys 300 Hurdles
Tyler Schwieterman (Coldwater), Lane 5
Joseph Slonkosky (Minster), Lane 8
10:55 a.m. - Girls 800 Run
Taylor Roth (Minster)
Haley Alig (Coldwater)
~10:55 p.m. - Boys 800 Run
Alex Albers (Minster)
11:25 a.m. - Girls 200 Dash
Abbie Francis (Fort Recovery), Lane 8
~11:30 a.m. - Boys 3,200 Run
Trevor Heitkamp (Fort Recovery)
Noon - Girls 4x400 Relay
Minster, Lane 3
Coldwater, Lane 6
Marion Local, Lane 8
DIVISION II
Field Event Finals
9:30 a.m. - Girls Shot Put
Amelia Lutz (Celina): Flight 2
9:30 a.m. - Girls Pole Vault
Nevaeh Huser (Celina): Flight 1
Running Finals
1:05 p.m. - Boys 110 Hurdles
Brandon Bowers (St. Marys), Lane 1
