COLUMBUS Banners boasting the phrase "The People, The Tradition, The Excellence" are posted throughout the campus of The Ohio State University. Track in Ohio has a strong tradition, and qualifiers for the state tournament obviously exude excellence.
If you are a track and field athlete in Ohio, then Jesse Owens Stadium is where you want to be in early June. Just to qualify for the state championship means that the student-athlete has performed at a very high level, and has earned the opportunity to test his or her skills against the best in the state.
Indian Valley’s Zach Love showed that his skills in the pole vault could not be matched by anyone in Ohio. He stood tall on the podium atop No. 1, signifying he was the Division II state champion for that -- temporarily gravity-defying -- event when he soared to clear 15 feet, 2 inches.
“It was just a crazy feeling, that's the only word I can think of right now,” Love said when asked about how he felt immediately after knowing he won.
Love’s coach Dave "Buzz" Bell was a state champion pole vaulter in 1984 for Newcomerstown High School. Bell has coached four runners-up at state, and now has a state champion.
“He just patted me on the back and said, 'Good job,'” Love said. “All business, that’s just coach Bell.”
Love took advantage of his experience at last year's state meet, where he finished fifth. He said that it motivated him and gave him confidence he could get the job done this season. His vault of 15 feet, 2 inches was nearly a full foot higher than the silver medalist.
“Coach Bell is who I look up to athletically, and I jokingly told him I was going to win,” Love said.
Perhaps Love should joke with his coach more often, because this time the end result was a dominating performance.
Meanwhile, Newcomerstown's Hunter Garretson finished second in the pole vault in Division III at 15 feet.
Also in Division III, Malvern's' Kelsi Hulit finished runner-up in the discus (137-6), and fifth in the shot put (40-3 1/4), earning All-Ohio honors for the third consecutive year.
Ridgewood's Alexis Prater was the state runner-up in the Division III long jump with a leap of 18-1 1/4.
DIVISION I
New Philadelphia’s L.J. Lowery was the lone area boy competing in Division I on Friday. He finished with a time of 49.24, fourth in his heat, to qualify for the finals for the second consecutive season in the boys 400 meter dash. Micah Donley of Carrollton was the only area girl running in Division I. She finished 13th with a 57.73 in the 400 meter dash, the second consecutive year she qualified for the state finals. Donley finished sixth last season. Donley also finished 16th with a time of 25.91 in the 200 meter dash Friday.
DIVISION II
In the Division II field events, Kennady Gibbins of Fairless reached the podium, finishing seventh with a high jump of 5 feet, 3 inches. Coshocton’s Kennedy Haley finished 12th at 5 feet.
Gavin Alexander of Fairless finished 11th in the pole vault with a vault of 12 feet, participated in the same event that Love won the state title in. Chase Flanagan of Carrollton finished 12th in the long jump at 20 feet, 7.75 inches.
Tusky Valley earned a sixth place finish in the girls 3,200 relay (Madi DeBos, Kat Gaiser, Hannah Hostetler and Kaylyn Lloyd) with a time of 9:34.67. River View's Alicia Lonsinger, Kelsey Hartsock, Cassidi Bookless and Skyler Stewart finished finished 17th in 50.94. Tusky Valley's boys 400 relay team (Justin Merrick, Brock Haas, Tyler Stump and Brandon Steinbaugh) finished 12th at 43.90. The Carrollton boys also earned a 12th place finish in the 400 relay with a time of 43.9. River View girls (Alicia Lonsinger, Kelsey Hartsock, Skyler Stewart and Jesse Vandenbark) finished 17th at 50.94.
Running individually was River View's Bookless, who finished 14th in the 400 meter dash with a time of 1:00.21, and Hartsock, who finished 12th in the 100 meter dash at 12.93.
DIVISION III
Division III featured a lot of hurdlers.
Garaway's Carly Jacobs finished fourth in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 45.03, qualifying her for today's final. Jacobs also finished 12th in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.41. Prater qualified for the 100-meter hurdles finals by finishing fifth at 15.0, and her teammate Grace Gottwait will join her in the final today after finishing eighth at 15.26. Brayden Gray of Hiland finished 11th in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 40.55.
Prater also placed 10th in the 100-meter dash at 12.82. Ridgewood’s 400 meter relay team of Gottwait, Prater, Raquel Foster and Abbey Kellish finished first and will run today in the final. The Malvern girls 4x100 relay of Kelsi Hulit, Zoe Moser, Lauren Foster and Jasmine Goldworthy also qualified for the final with a time of 51.32. Moser posted the best time in the 100 (12.25) and 200 (25.42) meter dashes and will be the favorite to win both events in today’s final.