Clyde's Crockett falls into 3rd in Div. III 300 hurdles

COLUMBUS — Dekin Crockett just wanted to see the finish line. Crockett clipped the last hurdle in Saturday's Division III 300-meter hurdles final. Thankfully, it was the final hurdle. Crockett ran one of his best races of the season at the state track meet, taking third place at Jesse Owens Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University. "It was crazy. Really give it all I have," said Crockett of his mindset. "After I hit the last hurdle, I felt myself tumbling and I at least had to dive. I did what I had to do." Crockett finished in a time of 37.99 seconds. His personal-best is 37.90 seconds, set just last week at the regional. "I'm pretty pleased with my performance," Crockett said. "There's a little bit I could have changed. I floated on a couple hurdles. My goal was a state championship, but I got third. I'm not going to sit here and be disappointed or get down on myself. I tried to run my best race and try to give everything I had. I felt like I did that." There were two other Division III finals Saturday. Perkins' Joel Smelcer entered the 1600 final with the 17th-best time, but shot up to ninth in the race on the track. The junior finished in a personal-best time of 4:19.28. In the 800, Port Clinton's Charlie Simpson also finished ninth. He crossed the line in 1:55.41. In a field event final Saturday, Perkins' Paul Keys finished tied for 12th. He cleared 6 feet on his first attempt, but fouled out at 6-4. Division II running prelims were washed out by rain Saturday. The runners in the two heats were reseeded and ran back-to-back Sunday. Norwalk's Elliot Gahring took fifth place in the 400 in 48.9 seconds. In another finals-only race, Sandusky's Keylan Howell was 17th in the 300 hurdles. He crossed the line in a time of 42.94 seconds.