State track recap, Day 1 Division II
Chagrin Falls senior Ryan Kochert celebrates his 15 feet, 4 inch effort in the Division II pole vault, good for second place at the state track meet in Columbus.
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(John Kuntz / The Plain Dealer)
State track recap, Day 1
Division II
What happened:
Northeast Ohio produced three winning efforts on the opening day of the Division II track meet at Ohio State's Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The Woodridge boys and the St. Vincent-St. Mary girls 4x400-meter relay teams were victorious in the lone running finals. In field event finals, Keystone senior Corry Sprouse won the long jump on his final attempt with a leap of 22 feet, 9 inches. It was Keystone's first state track champion since 1991.
The stars:
• Keystone's Sprouse never thought he would be a track star, opting to play football and baseball for the Wildcats. He decided to run sprints this spring to pick up speed as a running back in the fall at Notre Dame College in South Euclid. He wound up winning the long jump on Friday with a leap of 22-9.
• Collinwood senior Amber Smith will have a busy day today. In the morning she will compete with senior teammate and fellow Michigan recruit Erin Busbee in the long jump. After qualifying first in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, the latter in a Division II record 42.94, she will also run in the 4x200 relay.
• Buchtel sophomore Nathaniel Harris was the top qualifier in the 100 and 200, while anchoring the Griffins on their top-seeded 4x200 relay.
•Columbus Bishop Hartley senior Chesna Sykes qualified first in the 100 and 200 and was on both of the top qualifying 4x100 and 4x200 relays, the latter setting a Division II record.
Notable: Collinwood and Bishop Hartley are locked in a two-team race in the girls division. They will square off against each other in seven events today, including three relays. Collinwood's Busbee is the favorite in the long jump, with Hartley junior Maya Pederson going solo after qualifying third against defending champ Daianna Barron of Warrensville Heights, the top qualifier.