Tigers head to state as 4x200 favorites

LEXINGTON — The fastest quartet in Huron history has one final destination in mind: the top of the state podium. Austin Brunow, Andrew Delaney, Joe Schaeffer and Beau Harkelroad will head to Dayton as the Division II title favorites in the 4x200-meter relay. They have held the fastest time in the state in that race for most of the season and dropped it again at Saturday's Lexington Regional, running 1:26.48, another school record. "We know that that is our race to lose," Huron coach Mike Lemponen said. "And we don't plan on doing that, but obviously you've got to get the stick around." This has been the trend line since last year's state championship race. Huron's 4x2 relay finished state runner-up to Glenville. Brunow has stepped in this year for the since-graduated Conner Schaeffer, and the Tigers haven't missed much of a beat. "It's just about keep building that chemistry," Delaney said. "We try to be in the locker room, getting closer, just trusting one another." The group ran a 1:26.84 in the regional prelims, already a new school record. Then they dropped it by almost four-tenths of a second in the finals as they won by 2.1 seconds. "We have great guys on this team," Joe Schaeffer said. "We just put it all together and had a great race. We've just got to keep doing that." Huron is running so fast that Saturday's regional championship time was only three-tenths of a second behind the OHSAA Division II state record, set by Akron Buchtel in 2006 at 1:26.18 — and the Tigers came that close despite two sub-optimal handoffs. "The awesome thing about that race is that there were two handoffs we could still improve on," Lemponen said. "You don't plan on even having the conversation about state records." Brunow, a junior, sets the tone out of the blocks. He's the anchor in the 4x100, but in the 4x200, Brunow's job is to get Delaney the baton in a position to do damage. "I definitely feel myself getting stronger every time in the starting leg," Brunow said. Delaney, the powerful senior running back and linebacker on the football field, is as imposing as anyone once he gets the baton. Not just because of his size, either — he almost always overtakes any remaining stagger on the curve. Schaeffer, just a sophomore, is already showing off the speed of his graduated older brother and ran a particularly blistering 200 leg in Saturday's relay. Harkelroad, the senior hurdles standout, runs plenty fast without any barriers, too, and even in the regional final had just himself to push across the line with a big gap between himself and second. "I've just got to finish strong, give it my all," Harkelroad said. Spending a week thinking about state title contention could add nerves for some groups, but not for these four. They've proven their athletic prowess and composure, both in track and other sports. Besides, they've spent all season knowing the only outcome they wanted was a state championship. "They are definitely level-headed," Lemponen said. "The thing we talk about a lot is that it's just another track meet." The 4x100, with Harkelroad leading off and Brunow finishing, will also have a shot. The Tigers ran a school-record 42.11 seconds on Saturday, coming in second to Marion-Franklin (42.02). "Losing the 4x1 is probably the best thing that could've happened to us," Lemponen said. "We haven't had to taste that bitterness. I'm kind of glad it happened now. You can go back and figure out little things. You don't have to panic." Harkelroad and Schaeffer will also compete as individuals at state. The Kent State-bound Harkelroad won both hurdles races at the regional meet and will try to build on his runner-up finish in last season's 300 hurdles state final. "I'm happy with (the hurdles)," Harkelroad said. "There's always room to improve… It'll be my last high school races, so I'm just gonna try to enjoy." Schaeffer keeps getting faster in the open 200, where he was just two-hundredths of a second behind Oak Harbor's Tyler Thompson on Saturday to take regional runner-up in 21.94. "Happy with it," Schaeffer said. "Just knew I had to get out fast out of the blocks and keep up with them. Happy I'm moving on." These Tigers have been by each other's sides throughout this season of high pressure and high performance. They've won nearly all their races, including at the high-powered Euclid Relays over fellow state title contenders Glenville. They do it with a real bond, one that sees them all walking around post-race in bucket hats — although like any good friend group, they playfully argue over who started the hat-wearing. That'll all culminate in Dayton, the site of this year's state championships. Preliminary races are Friday, with the primary goal for the Tigers being to get around the track cleanly. Then it'll be back to Welcome Stadium on Saturday for the state finals and one final step to climb. "We're trying to be about living in the moment and enjoying it, and letting the kids enjoy it, too," Lemponen said. "It's taking the pressure off all that stuff and just going out to run."