Blanchard River Buzz

Girls Track:Reiser wins twice for Elmwood

By TED RADICK
Staff Writer
COLUMBUS – Elmwood senior Katie Reiser said the reality of being a two-time state champion hasn’t hit her yet.
“It just feels like another race,” Reiser said Saturday after winning the 200-meter dash at the Division III state track and field championships at Jesse Owens Stadium in Columbus.
Reiser started her day in the 100-meter finals. Sidney Lehman’s Gretchen Walter ran right with Reiser for the first 70 meters or so, then Reiser turned on the afterburners.
“I felt somebody come up on me and I was like, ‘OK, let’s go,’ Reiser said “I just took off and I was good.
“It’s nice to have that extra gear come in.”
Reiser won the race in 12.16 seconds to Walters’ 12.28. The rest of the field was buried more than two-tenths behind Walter, a portend of things to come in the 200.
Before that race, though, came a one-hour delay as rains swept through the stadium. OHSHAA officials cleared the stadium of competitors and fans.
“It was actually kind of nice, I got a breather in and got that 100 celebration out of the way,” Reiser said. “We went in my coach’s van and we put down the seats and stretched out there and kept warm.”
Reiser’s coach is her cousin, Monica Arnold. Arnold was also a state champion sprinter and was Elmwood’s last champion (25.64 in the 200 in 1988). Elmwood finished the meet tied for seventh place in the girls team race with 20 points, all scored by Reiser.
Reiser came back from the delay with a dominating performance in the 200. She led from start to finish and clocked a winning time of 25.03. Walter finished a distant second in 25.37, with no one else running faster than 25.50.
“After the 100 I said to myself, ‘I’m state champion but I still have that 200,’” Reiser said. “I had to stay focused and I did. I was ready to run it.”
Reiser said she felt strong throughout the race.
I came off the curve and I felt really good. I just took off,” she said. “I love the 200, it’s just so adrenaline-filled. You come off the curve and you get so much energy. I love it.”
Even some sketchy track conditions didn’t stop her.
I had a puddle in my lane, oh my gosh,” she said. “But you run your race and you get through it.”
Reiser said she was determined to follow up on a longtime goal of winning at the state meet.
“ I said to myself that I had the best times coming in, so let’s stay there,” she said. “I always thought, ‘I am going to be state champion.’ That was my goal from the beginning.”
Walter won an event of her own, the 400, but was no match for Reiser on Saturday.
“It felt good. Gretchen got third last year, she’s a great competitor and had a great meet.”
Reiser said she’d already received more than a few congratulatory text messages after the second win, and she was beginning to get used to the idea of being a multiple state champion.
“It hasn’t kicked it yet,” she said. “It definitely will when I get home.”
Radick, 419-427-8405,
tedradick@thecourier.com

Fostoria Track roundup: Reiser wins twice, Guerra places in four events

By JAMIE BAKER
For The Review Times
COLUMBUS — Elmwood’s Katie Reiser is the fastest small-school sprinter in the state.
She left no doubt about it.
Reiser rolled to state titles in the Division III girls 100- and 200-meter dashes on the second day of the OHSAA state track and field championships at Jesse Owens Stadium Saturday.
Meanwhile, in the Division III boys meet, Lakota senior Roger Guerra proved to be perhaps the best all-around athlete in the boys meet as he added a pair of state medals in the 100 and 200 after scoring fourth-place finishes in the long jump and high jump Friday.
But the star that shined brightest on a gloomy, muggy day in Columbus was Reiser.
Reiser became Elmwood’s first girls state track champ since her coach, Monica (Stone) Arnold, won the Class AA 200-meter dash in a time of 25.64 in 1988.
“After I finished that 100 it was really hard to believe after I finished that I really just won it at state meet,” said Reiser with her shiny first-place gold medal around her neck. “The feeling hasn’t kicked in yet, it just feels like another race. It definitely will when I get home.”
Reiser led the 100 nearly from start to finish and pulled away from the rest of the field with around 30 meters to go to win the race in a time of 12.16 seconds.
“I said to myself OK let’s go. I just took off and then knew I was good then. It’s nice to have that extra gear kick in,” Reiser said.
She was even more impressive in the 200 where she won the race with a time of 25.03 seconds. Sidney Lehman’s Gretchen Walter, who won the 400, but finished second to Reiser in both the 100 and 200 was next at 25.37.
“I came off the curve and felt really good. I love the 200,” Reiser declared. “When you come off the curve, your adrenaline builds and you just get a rush of energy.”
Reiser, who will continue her track career at Kent State, never doubted she would be a state champ.
“I always thought I had the best time coming in and I wanted to stay there,” she said. “I thought I was going to be a state champion, that was my goal from the beginning.”
While Guerra didn’t win a state title, he did something none of the other 1,800 competitors in Columbus were able to do --- earn medals in four individual events.
Although he didn’t win a gold medal, Guerra is far from disappointed.
“I’m up there with the best athletes in Division III. I’m not disappointed at all. You can’t win them all,” he said. “I put a lot of effort into it and did what I could do. My friends came here to support me and they knew I was going to do my best. I promised them I was going to get on the podium in four events.”
He kept his promise.
Perhaps his strongest effort the entire weekend came in the finals of the 100-meter dash as he grimaced and dug deep to scratch out his highest finish, a third-place effort in a time of 11.13 seconds.
“I gave it everything I had, that was the best race I’ve ever ran in my life,” Guerra said. “I was looking forward to trying to win a championship in that race. I was a hundredth if a second from getting first or second, so I’m happy with that.”
He capped his state meet performance, with a sixth place finish in the 200 in 22.61 seconds.
A couple of Fostoria seniors also capped their track careers in Columbus Saturday.
Fostoria senior Ray Foster became the first Redmen sprinter in more than a decade to medal at the state meet.
Foster roared out of the blocks in the Division II boys 200-meter dash on his way to a fifth-place showing in a time of 22.54.
“Just being on the podium is a great feeling,” said Foster who plans  to continue his track career at Ohio Northern. “I had a lot of fun out there all the work was worth  it.”
Claiming fifth place wasn’t easy. Foster came into the finals with the slowest time among the eight competitors.
“I couldn’t see seven other guys beating me in this race. I knew this was my last high school race so I had to give it my all. It was my best race of the year,” Foster added.
St. Wendelin’s Jaunna Gase earned a spot on the state meet awards stand for the third straight year, a first for a St. Wendelin girls athlete.
She put together one of her strongest races of the season to end up fifth in the Division III girls 100-meter hurdles in 15.36 seconds.
“It’s an amazing feeling, I wouldn’t have it any other way,” said Gase, who placed seventh in the long jump as a junior and eighth in the 100 hurdles as a junior.
“I made it to state in three events my sophomore year so it was kind of a disappointment to only make it in one last year. It was kind of sad that I only made it in one event this year too.
“But you know what, I’ll take it because some people don’t get the chance to experience what it’s like down here and I appreciate it a lot.”

State Girls Track: Stump runs to second-place finish for Hardin Northern

By TED RADICK
Staff writer
COLUMBUS – Hardin Northern’s Shelby Stump was in the middle of getting warmed up for the 400-meter final Saturday at Jesse Owens Stadium in Columbus.
Then the weather hit, forcing a one-hour delay in the Division III state track and field championships.
“I said, ‘Are you kidding me?’” Stump said. “I was sitting there getting stretched out, and then they said we were going to have a delay.
“So then we had to warm back up. You have to get your mind set right and get ready to go.”
Stump sure didn’t seem to have any problems getting ready as she finished second in the race in 58.44 seconds.
“I was more nervous before the rain delay,” said Stump, a junior. “Afterwards, I just wanted to go. I just wanted to run.”
Stump made up some ground on Saturday – she entered the race with the fifth-best time after Friday’s preliminary races. A crowd of supporters urged her on in the final.
“It’s really great to have a whole group of fans. Not just from my school and my family, but all the girls from the area schools were cheering me on,” she said. “That really helps, especially here where you need that extra push.”
Stump said finishing second (Sidney Lehman’s Gretchen Walter, also a finalist in the 100 and 200, won the race in 57.26 on a rain-puddled track) will motivate her for next year.
“I didn’t get get first, but that’s OK. I felt good, I didn’t feel like I was going to cramp up like I did last year,” she said. “Last year I ran a 59 and I felt like my legs couldn’t take it. That’s something to build on for next year. Next year maybe I can run a 55 and then I don’t have to worry about my body shutting down on me.”
Liberty-Benton and McComb finished with the highest team scores among area teams. Those two tied for 11th place overall with 15 points. Versailles won the Division III girls title with 47½ points, followed by Gates Mills Gilmour Academy (36) and Steubenville Central Catholic (34).
McComb’s Jena Kryling grabbed a podium spot, finishing eighth in the 300 low hurdles in 46.58. Liberty-Benton had three relay teams in the finals Saturday.
The L-B 400 and 800 relay teams each fininshed sixth, with times of 50.48 and 1:46.05, respectively. The 1,600 relay team was fifth in 4:06.15.
“We’re just a second or two off the school record in all the races,” said junior Taylor Allen, who ran all three events. “We’re hoping since we’re all back next year that we can achieve those.”
“It was nice to be up on the podium with these girls there knowing that we did our best,” said sophomore Laura Fish, part of the 1,600 relay.
St. Wendelin senior Jaunna Gase went out with a bang, scoring a career-best fifth place in the 100 intermediate hurdles.
“I just wanted sixth or above, that was my goal,” said Gase, who ran a 15.36. “It’s an amazing feeling. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“My sophomore year I made it in three (events), so junior year it was a disappointment I only made it in one.
“This year it was kind of sad I only made it in one, but you know what, some people never get the experience to even come down here and I appreciate it a lot.”
Ottoville junior Shayla Siefker also finished fifth. She ran a 5:09.29 in the 1,600. Bluffton got a seventh-place finish from sophomore Lydia Guagenti, who competed in four events over the weekend, in the 400 (59.15) and an eighth from sophomore Hannah Chappell-Dick in the 800 (2:19.67).
“The pace is crazy. It’s hard and it hurts and it’s just such a rush,” Chappell-Dick said. “I’d love to come back here next year.”
Other area Division III finishes:
800 – 9, Molly Maag, Ottoville 2:22.49. 10, Krystin Reiser, Patrick Henry 2:23.44. 14, Shelby Wilson, McComb 2:28.05.
3,200 – 10, Sarah Flickinger, Pandora-Gilboa 12:01.96.
Radick, 419-427-8405,
tedradick@thecourier.com

Boys State Track: Butler wins third straight state title for L-B

By JAMIE BAKER
Staff Writer
COLUMBUS — Seth Butler is the best.
The Liberty-Benton senior claimed the Division III boys 800-meter run for the third straight year to highlight the day for area athletes at the 103rd OHSAA state track and field championships at Jesse Owens Stadium Saturday.
Despite winning the event for the third year in a row, Butler was still a bit disappointed.
“I came down here for a reason and weather or not I was going to go for the record,” said Butler, whose race was delayed an hour because of severe weather that swept through the Columbus area.
“I came out here to get the record, that was the main goal but it‘s always good to win as well. Three wins is not something that happens a whole lot, so I’m happy.”
The record Butler was after was the Division III meet record of 1:51.54 set by Yellow Springs’ Sam Borchers, when Butler was a freshman and finished fifth at state.
Butler, who was scheduled to compete in the 1,600 Saturday but scratched in the event to focus on the 800, rolled across the finish line all alone in first place in a time of 1:52.57, 1.03 seconds behind Borchers’ mark.
Butler had some unexpected company for the first 500 meters of the race as Cincinnati Deer Park’s Micquelle Burton was hanging tough behind the reigning state champ.
But Butler, who will continue his track career at Colorado State, kicked it into a different gear and was eventually able to put some distance between himself and Burton over the final 200 meters.
“I felt pretty comfortable for the entire race, although I knew we went out pretty fast in that 200,” Butler said. “I was surprised they were able to hang on as long as they did through that first 400 I had to make my move if I was going to go for the record. I took off and luckily I was able to pull away from them.”
Butler’s teammate, sophomore Dakota Conkle, may be next in line to win a state championship for the Eagles.
He made the most of his state meet debut by finishing third in the 110-meter high hurdles in a time of 14.74 seconds.
Just minutes after standing on the third step of the awards stand, he was already thinking of bigger and better things down the road.
“I don’t think anyone thought I would be in this position. I didn’t even make it to districts last year. I think I surprised a lot of people, third place is good, but it’s not first place,” Conkle said.
“I have two more years and this summer, after football practice in the morning, I’m going to go to the track and work on my hurdles.
Hopefully, I can become a two-time 110 state champ hurdler.”
For Pandora-Gilboa senior Sam Spallinger Saturday was a bittersweet ending to a stellar track career.
Count him as the greatest track athlete his school has ever produced. He finished his career Saturday with a second-place finish in the 400 with a time of 48.94. He trailed only Allen East’s Jacob Cook who won the race in 47.77.
In 12 state meet events over the past three years, Spallinger racked up three seconds, a pair of third and two fifth-place finishes.
The silver medals he won in the 400 and long jump over the weekend weren’t exactly what he was hoping for.
“It’s kind of frustrating getting silvers. I know most people’s goal is just to make it here. It’s a good achievement to get here but you have to keep it in your mind that it’s not good enough just to be here, you have to do your best,” Spallinger said.
“I feel like this meet, I didn’t really do my best. It’s more important for me to say I didn’t perform well this weekend and suck it up, man up and admit that I’m not perfect and I didn’t have a good meet.”
Spallinger is already looking forward to next year and a chance to excel on an even bigger stage in college at Miami University.
“It’s good to know it’s just my season that’s over, it’s not my career,” Spallinger said.
“I’m really looking forward to going to Miami and competing at the college level. My next goal is to make the Olympic trials my sophomore year in the long jump. I’m going to take three weeks off, get in the weight room and start getting my stuff ready for college.”
Leipsic senior Derrick Schroeder just missed a spot on the awards stand as he ended up ninth in the Division III boys 1,600 with a time of 4:33.4.
Bluffton’s Lucas Harnish was 14th in the Division III 800 in 2:01.29.

Area State Track Qualifiers, Schedule

Division III
Friday’s Finals
Boys 3,200 meter relay (Friday, 9:45 a.m.) — Liberty-Benton (Sherrieb, Johnson, Clagg, Butler) 8:11.5.
Girls Discus (Friday, 12:00 p.m.) — Gary, Liberty-Benton, 148-9; Leppelmeier, McComb, 140-6.
Boys High Jump (Friday, 12:00 p.m.) — Eickholt, Ottoville, 6-6; Hochstettler, Pandora-Gilboa, 6-5.
Girls Long Jump (Friday, 12:00 p.m.) — Ream, Liberty-Benton, 17-23/4; Yungmann, Patrick Henry, 16-111/4; Beck, Arlington, 15-101/2; Koch, Ottoville, 15-9.
Boys Shot Put (Friday, 12:00 p.m.) — Vogt, Columbus Grove, 55-93/4; Rickard, Fostoria St. Wendelin, 50-81/2.
Girls Pole Vault (Friday, 12:00 p.m.) — Meyer, Patrick Henry, 11-8; Braidic, Pandora-Gilboa, 11-8; Hotaling, North Baltimore, 11-4; Barnett, Hardin Northern, 9-9; Wentling, Carey, 9-6.
Boys Discus (Friday, 3 p.m.) — Vogt, Columbus Grove, 164-1; Boes, Pandora-Gilboa, 150-1.
Girls High Jump (Friday, 3 p.m.) — Guagenti, Bluffton, 5-5; Eversole, Columbus Grove, 5-3; Newell, Carey, 5-1; Stump, Hardin Northern, 5-1.
Boys Long Jump (Friday, 3 p.m.)— Spallinger, Pandora-Gilboa, 23-9.
Girls Shot Put (Friday, 3 p.m.) — Leppelmeier, McComb, 45-33/4; Gary, Liberty-Benton, 41-31/2.
Boys Pole Vault (Friday, 3 p.m.) — Wolfe, Columbus Grove, 15-4; Keller, Liberty-Benton, 15-0.
Friday’s Semifinals
Girls 100 meter intermediate hurdles (Friday, 10 a.m.) — Meyer, Patrick Henry, 15.37; Gase, Fostoria St. Wendelin, 15.41; Bassitt, Bluffton, 15.68.
Boys 110 meter high hurdles (Friday, 10:10 a.m.) — Conkle, Liberty-Benton, 14.96; Luginbuhl, Bluffton, 15.40; Hogrefe, Patrick Henry, 15.50
Girls 100 meter dash (Friday 10:20 a.m.) — Reiser, Elmwood,  12:24.
Boys 100 meter dash (Friday, 10:25 a.m.) — Spallinger, Pandora-Gilboa, 11.30.
Girls 800 meter relay (Friday, 10:30 a.m.) — Liberty-Benton (Mathias, Ford, Allen, Rhodes), 1:46.57; Bluffton (Bassitt, Guagenti, Stratton, Chappell-Dick) 1:47.70.
Girls 400 meter relay (Friday, 10:50 a.m.) — Liberty-Benton (Mathias, Ford, Allen, Rhodes) 50.57.
Girls 400 meter dash (Friday, 11 a.m.) — Stump, Hardin Northern, 58.29; Guagenti, Bluffton, 58.86.
Boys 400 meter dash (Friday,  11:10 a.m.) — Spallinger, Pandora-Gilboa, 48:84; Schalk, New Riegel, 50.89.
Girls 300 meter hurdles (Friday, 11:20 a.m.) — Kryling, McComb, 46.07.
Boys 300 meter hurdles (Friday, 11:30 a.m.) — Conkle, Liberty-Benton, 40.59.
Girls 200 meter dash (Friday, 11:40 a.m.) — Reiser, Elmwood,  24.81; Stump, Hardin Northern, 26.43.
Boys 200 meter dash (Friday, 11:50 a.m.) — Spallinger, Pandora-Gilboa, 22.86.
Girls 1,600 meter relay (Friday, 12:00 p.m.) — Liberty-Benton (Ford, Allen Rhodes, Fish) 4:05.91; Bluffton (Stratton, Althaus, Chappell-Dick, Guagenti) 4:07.04.
Boys 1,600 meter relay (Friday, 12:10 p.m.) — Liberty-Benton (Rosenberger, Sherrieb, Conkle, Butler) 3:25.06.
Saturday’s Finals
Girls 1,600 meter run (Saturday, 10:05 a.m.) — Siefker, Ottoville, 5:08.4.
Boys 1,600 meter run (Saturday, 10:05 a.m.) — Butler, Liberty-Benton, 4:22.60; Schroeder, Leipsic, 4:32.68.
Girls 800 meter run (Saturday, 10:55 a.m.) — Maag, Ottoville, 2:18.28; Reiser, Patrick Henry, 2:20.31; Chappell-Dick, Bluffton, 2:21.28; Wilson, McComb, 2:21.94.
Boys 800 meter run (Saturday, 10:55 a.m.) — Butler, Liberty-Benton, 1:53.97; Harnish, Bluffton, 1:58.78.
Girls 3,200 meter run (Saturday, 11:10 a.m.) — Flickinger, Pandora-Gilboa, 11:58.13.
Division II
Friday’s Semifinals
Boys 200 meter dash (Friday, 3:50 p.m.) — Foster, Fostoria, 22.89.
Division I
Saturday’s Field Event Finals
Girls Shot Put (Saturday, 3 p.m.) — Neal, Findlay, 41-0.

State Track: Grove has tradition of excellence in field events

By JAMIE BAKER
Staff Writer
The tradition of excellence continues in the field events for Columbus Grove.
The Bulldogs’ talent in the jumps and throws will be on display Friday when the OHSAA Division III state track and field championships get underway at Ohio State‘s Jesse Owens Stadium.
Columbus Grove won’t have any competitors on the track, but the Bulldogs will have four athletes competing in five field events in Columbus.
Senior Dylan Vogt, a returning third-place finisher in the discus, will compete in both throwing events. He has the third-best qualifying throw in the discus (164-1) and is ranked second in the shot put (55-91/4).
Sophomore Tyler Wolfe has the top pole vault mark at 15-4 and junior Luke Kohls’ regional jump of 6-4 ties him for ninth-best of the 16 competitors in the high jump.
In the girls portion of the meet, sophomore Riley Eversole ranks eighth in the high jump at 5-3.
Time will tell whether one of those four athletes will be the next in a long line of state field event champions from Columbus Grove?
A stroll around Clymer Stadium, though, tells the story. The school recently put up signs honoring the school’s numerous state track champions.
Dating back to Dan Maag’s 1956 Class B state championship in the boys high jump, Grove athletes have captured 11 state championships in the field events.
They have been especially dominant in the discus and in the pole vault. The Bulldogs have collected seven titles in the discus and three in the pole vault.
“If you come to our track on a Sunday afternoon in the months of June and July there will be four, five or six kids out there throwing and there will be the same number out there pole vaulting,” Columbus Grove boys track coach Chris Grothaus said. “It’s kind of contagious. It’s a laid-back atmosphere and the kids just enjoy doing it.”
The Bulldogs also have a unique coaching situation that has contributed to their success. Most schools may have one or two coaches who take care of all the field events. At Columbus Grove, each field event has its own coach.
“Our coaching is outstanding. I coach the long jumpers, Mike (Broadwolf) coaches the high jumpers, Bob (Baxter) coaches the pole vaulters and Rick (Maag) the shot and disc. Everthing is covered and we coach the junior high field events, too,” Grothaus said.
“We start them off doing all the right things to be successful at the junior high level. We’re not trying to step on the junior high coaches’ toes, we just want to make sure the same technique is going to be taught to them from seventh to 12th grade.”
Certainly the school’s past success plays a role. Grove graduates Cory Meuleman and Blaine Maag threw for Ashland University in the NCAA Division II national championships last weekend.
Another Grove grad, Heath Nickles, pole vaults for Ohio State. He’ll be joined on the Buckeyes next season by Vogt.
“Rick has a throwing camp and he brings back those kids who have been state champs and that have thrown in college. The kids see that and that makes them work toward being a state champ,” Grothaus said. “Just looking at the fence and seeing the signs with our state champions listed on it, that’s big, that’s huge.
“It’s the tradition we’ve built over the years at Grove and the kids expect to be successful. When the expectations are that high, kids work hard to try and compete at a high level.”

Columbus Grove
 State Field Event Champions
Boys Division
1956 — Dan Maag, Class B, High Jump (tie), 5-10
1974 — Joe Green, Class A, Discus, 161-4
2002 — Blake Maag, Div. III, discus, 177-8
2003 — Blaine Maag, Div. III, discus, 175-4
2005 — Blaine Maag, Div. III, discus, 178-10
2006 — Cory Meuleman, Div. III, discus 162-0
2007 — Heath Nickles, Div. III, pole vault, 15-4
2007 — Cory Meuleman, Div. III, discus 180-4
2008 — Heath Nickles, Div. III, pole vault, 16-11/2
Girls Division
1983 — Michelle Foltz, Class A, Discus, 135-3
2006 — Jenna Oard, Div. III, pole vault, 11-9
Baker: 419-427-8409,
jamiebaker@thecourier.com