Huron girls make history; records fall all over at SBC championships

MILAN — Track and field growth is a long process. Huron's girls team is proof of what all the work that goes into jumping a little higher and running a little faster can add up to. The Tigers won the SBC Bay Division team championship on Friday night at Edison, and it was a long time coming. It's the first Huron girls SBC title since 1979. "Us seniors, we've talked about it before," senior Kennedy Schlessman said. "This is our last conference race. It's the last race at a familiar field with a chance to prove to ourselves and everyone else where we belong and that we can do what we're really capable of doing." Schlessman led Huron. She won the 800- and 1600-meter races, setting meet records in both. "Being able to say that we were conference champions speaks to everything we've been working for for the past four or six years in track season," Schlessman said. Schlessman's mile time of 5:03.66 was a personal best, too. She ran 2:18.97 in the 800. Both those races provided an easy visual of Huron's team prowess. Running right alongside Schlessman for 90 percent of both of those races was junior Jadyn Towns, who ended runner-up in both. "It's a really friendly competition, because at the end, we know at some point in that last 400 one of us is gonna kick and the other one is gonna have to follow," Schlessman said. "She's beat me a couple times. I've beat her a couple times. I just had a good day." Schlessman found an extra gear at the end of both races. She hadn't been running her best early in the year, but the kick has been her calling card and it was twice on Friday night. "In past years, I had a giant kick at the end of the race and it was a defining part of what it means for me to run," Schlessman said. "This year, I struggled a lot, I haven't felt good during my races, haven't felt strong, and today I was gonna go after it." The Huron girls had two other multi-event individual champions, seniors Jaden Carey and Kyla Garbe. Carey won the high jump with a 5-0 clearance. "I was really happy with that," Carey said. "I really wanted a jump championship." Carey has also been working through her 100 hurdles nerves and ran 16.09 to win on Friday. "It was the second time I've three-stepped all the hurdles," Carey said of nailing the optimal form. "A lot of it for me is being mentally ready and being comfortable with what I'm doing. Hurdles, I love it, but it scares me a little bit. Looking down the lane and seeing all the hurdles lined up is so intimidating, but getting past that is a huge part for me." Garbe won the long jump earlier in the week at a personal best 17-4 (with Carey in second at 16-6), then won the 300 hurdles on Friday night in about 48 seconds. Huron's girls capped their historic night with a 4x400 win. Garbe anchored the group that also included Towns, Samantha Lesnak and Olivia Kohlmann. "It's amazing," Huron coach Lesley Gainer said. "The girls have worked their butt off, and they all deserve this." Aside from the victorious seniors, Huron is a relatively young girls group. Many will be back in a year's time, looking to repeat what their predecessors showed them the way to do. "I'm sure Jadyn will get (the records) next year," Schlessman said. "I set it up for her. Maybe they'll win next year." Buhro leads Oak Harbor boys out on top Hayden Buhro has embraced this whole last year in the Sandusky Bay Conference thing at Oak Harbor wholeheartedly. He was an SBC Bay Division champion during the football season, won at the SBC wrestling meet and, on Friday night, led the Rockets to the Bay team championship in track and field. "It's been awesome," Buhro said. "All year, the school's whole motto has been 'Last year, best year.'" Buhro broke the school record in the 100-meter dash, running a 10.86-second race. "My top speed has always been fine," Buhro said. "My block starts weren't there for a while, and it is, and my time is dropping everyday." Buhro also ran his fastest 200, a meet and school record 21.86, while flanked by two of the area's other fastest runners, Edison's Trayvon Williams and Huron's Conner Schaeffer. "Today my coach told me, don't wait, go all out," Buhro said. "I went all out, caught them by the straightaway, and I know I'm one of the best guys in the state at that finish. I knew I wasn't losing today." The Rockets boys set two new SBC records, as well, winning both the 4x100 and 4x200 relays in record times. Garry Brooks, Judson Overmyer, Owen Miller and Buhro ran the 4x2 in 1:29.57, breaking their school's record from 2015. And in the 4x1, the Rockets broke the record they set last year at 42.60 from Overmyer, Brooks, Wyatt Augsburger and Buhro. "We had a guy get hurt, so it's just next man up," Buhro said. "I trust everyone on my team to win, and it obviously worked." Miller, Buhro's senior wrestling teammate, set a meet record to win the 400 in 49.42 seconds, and he anchored the victorious 4x400 relay with Augsburger, Overmyer and Blake Nickel. Oak Harbor's boys team also got a huge boost from pole vaulter Will Rahm, who set a new personal best by nearly a foot with a winning height of 14-4. On the girls side, Oak Harbor senior Rylee McKitrick dropped the 100-meter dash record she set earlier this season. It was 12.40 seconds, and she went out and ran a 12.32. "I was sick, so I was nervous," McKitrick said. "... I love my team. I like being around them and the friendships." McKitrick also won the 200-meter dash in convincing fashion of 25.69, a personal best and a new school record. "I was excited," McKitrick said. "I puked before the 4x1, but after I puked, I felt better." Rothhaar, Kromer double up Ben Rothhaar has spent the spring balancing baseball alongside track. The supremely athletic Norwalk sophomore has certainly made it work. Rothhaar won the 200 (22.24) and 400 (50.03) in the SBC Lake Division on Friday night. "It's really fun to do both things," Rothhaar said. Rothhaar took his time in the 400, letting multiple runners lead through about 200 meters before hitting another gear to barely hold off Clyde's top sprinter, Damarius Chrisman. "I like to play the first 200 at 95 percent stride, and last 200 is everything you've got," Rothhaar said. Rothhaar won the 200-meter dash ahead of Columbian's Damien Brockington, a pair that will meet on the football field again in the fall. "You've just got to want it is really all it comes down to," Rothhaar said. Norwalk freshman Casey Kromer took SBC titles in both the mile (4:31.19) and the 800 (2:02.10), never really looking in doubt in either. Sturzinger embracing 400 Emma Sturzinger had been a part of Perkins' 4x400 relay, but she ran her first open 400 just last week. On Friday night, it looked like she'd been running it her whole life. She surged away from the field in a time of 59.73. "Everything felt good," Sturinzger said. "... I realized last week that I can run a pretty good race. Once I got that confidence, it helped a lot." Sturzinger put a similar distance between herself and the field in a winning 200 time of 26.10. "Just attacking the curve is the best part of my race," Sturzinger said. "I love that part of the race." It hasn't been the easiest few weeks for the junior, who has had to get through a quad injury and strep throat. But she's flying at just the right time. "I'm hoping once I get over this sickness, I can keep training," Sturzinger said. Sturzinger helped lead the Perkins girls to a team title as they pulled off the team title sweep with their boys team, just as they did last season. The Pirates girls also got an impressive win in the 800 from Ellie Bodle, who ran 2:22 to hold off Norwalk's Xavi Immel. Mikey Young led the Pirates boys with an 11.42 seconds to win the 100-meter dash. Redett, Saylor show comeback speed Danbury freshman Emma Redett is already the Lakers' school record holder in the mile, and she dropped it further on Friday night. She did it like she does in most of her races — a solid 1200 meters, then a blistering final 400. "That's generally how I race," Redett said. "I usually kick pretty hard in the end after sticking to the pace that I train for." Redett trailed by about 15 meters before the final lap but won the River Division race comfortably anyway. She finished in 5:39.43. "Today I started slower than I wanted to and was kind of hard behind," Redett said. "I just kept trying to pick the girls off, and at the end, I picked the last girl off… It's really fun. It's my favorite part of the race." Margaretta junior Olivia Saylor had a similar experience in the Bay Division 400 meters running behind Huron star Schlessman. "I know I had big competition with Huron throwing Kennedy in the race," Saylor said. "I knew if I really wanted it I'd have to dig and push and give it everything I've got." Saylor's long strides hit their groove in the last 100 meters to win in 58.43, a new school record. "I feel like I've always known I have a lot more left to give in the 400," Saylor said. "That definitely pushed me a lot. It was a good race." Rucker pushing through injury Ella Rucker is running through an injury that many girls track and field athletes deal with — a potential torn meniscus, hers in her left knee. But when the race is going on, she doesn't notice the pain. "When I'm running, everything is complete silence and I'm just looking straight forward and ready to get to the finish line," Rucker said. Rucker ran a quick 15.34 seconds to win the Lake Division 100-meter hurdles. That's just a tenth of a second off her school record time. "It definitely was not my smoothest," Rucker said. "I know I can do better. I've been a little less confident lately coming back from injury. There's just stuff I have to work on to get stronger." Rucker was also runner-up in the 100-meter dash behind her teammate, the fast freshman Amerie Wagner. "That's amazing," Rucker said. "I love when we have a really good team, a really competitive team. Everyone pushes each other to go farther." Frattaroli hoping to finish strong Danbury's Owen Frattaroli is trying to give himself a memorable finish to his senior year.That now includes an SBC River Division championship. He won the 110-meter hurdles in 15.88 seconds. He had a competitor even with him at the last hurdle but found an extra burst as he hit the ground and took his final few strides across the line. "I want to end this year nice," Frattaroli said. "I know the rest of those guys were juniors, so I can't let them beat me." Frattaroli was also runner-up in the 300-meter hurdles behind standout Lakota freshman Lucas McEwan. "I'm just getting back on the ground that way, moving faster, keeping my momentum going," Frattaroli said. "... I'm gonna try to make it to regionals and if I can, state." Patrick twins pull off usual sweep Margaretta's JT and Jenny Patrick didn't love the conditions for throwing on Friday night. Some thick, humid air without much wind knocked down what the twins felt were their best tosses of the discus. Of course, locally, that wasn't going to matter because the duo was always favored to win the SBC Bay Division discus events, which they did just like they did the double in the shot put earlier this week. Jenny threw 140-4 as she's found an ability to repeat 140 feet and beyond of late. She holds the school record at 145-3. "I'm definitely getting more consistent," Jenny said. "I was hoping to break the record today. I was close." JT threw 157-6 to win the boys disc event. "I was feeling really good today," JT said. "I got some good sleep. I had a long week, but got through it and showed up and knew it was gonna be a pretty good day. I was pretty happy with that." Team scores Girls River: Calvert 131, Gibsonburg 114, Danbury 94, Hopewell-Loudon 88, Lakota 81, Old Fort 53, SJCC 45.5, St. Mary CC 32, New Riegel 16.5 Bay: Huron 153, Margaretta 138.5, Oak Harbor 123, Port Clinton 112, Edison 89, Willard 28.5 Lake: Perkins 176.5, Columbian 146, Bellevue 100, Norwalk 80, Clyde 69.5, Vermilion 45, Sandusky 36 Boys River: Hopewell-Loudon 133, Lakota 118.5, Gibsonburg 115, Calvert 105.5, Old Fort 63, New Riegel 49, Danbury 23, St. Mary CC 23, SJCC 21 Bay: Oak Harbor 198, Huron 161, Margaretta 112.5, Edison 87, Willard 57, Port Clinton 27.5 Lake: Perkins 137, Columbian 115, Norwalk 101.5, Vermilion 99.5, Clyde 91.5, Bellevue 67