STATE TRACK: Schaeffer leads Huron boys into D-III finals

COLUMBUS — Huron senior Joe Schaeffer had the top time in two heats in the Division III 200-meter semifinals Friday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University. Schaeffer won the first heat in a time of 21.73, advancing to Saturday's final at the state track and field championships. The top two finishers in each heat automatically advance while five others receive at-large bids to the final. Schaeffer also anchored a pair of relays for the Tigers that moved on. Huron's 4x200 relay that also included Jackson McNulty, Peter Cencer and Austin Brunow was second overall in a time of 1:28.99 after taking second in the first heat. "We came out and it's some hot weather," Schaeffer said. "We're not quite used to that. We have some things to work on. We had a couple bad handoffs there. We can't be mad because we're moving on to the finals." The Huron 4x100 quartet of McNulty, Hayden Wilson, Brunow and Schaeffer wound up second in the prelims, crossing the line in 43.34. They won the first heat. "That felt good," Schaeffer said. "We just need to make sure we get those handoffs down. We have to run through the lines and run through the handoffs." Margaretta's 4x200 of Kale Bailey, Tate Bailey, Carter Luzader and Zach Bouy won their heat and finished third overall, running a 1:30.03. The Polar Bears' quartet of Alayna Biehl, Lillian Belak, Kenadie Saylor and Julia Berg grabbed the last at-large spot in the 4x200 relay. The group was fourth in the first heat, finishing in 1:46.33. New London's Madison Smith advanced to Saturday in both hurdle races. She was sixth in the 100 hurdles in a time of 15.31 while taking seventh (46.36) in the 300 hurdles. She took fourth in heat 1 in the 100 and fifth in heat 2 in the 300. Huron's Wilson was 13th overall in 15.53 in the boys 110 hurdles while Cencer was 15th in the 300 hurdles in 41.0. Margaretta's girls 4x100 relay of Biehl, Dani Grunden, Belak and Berg finished 11th in 50.87 while the boys 4x100 team of Luzader, Kale Bailey, Bouy and Tate Bailey took 16th in 44.59. South Central's Autumn Fry took 16th overall in the 100 in a time of 12.97. Division I Sandusky's Dre' Campbell crossed the line in 38.18 seconds in the 300 hurdles, good enough for the seventh overall spot. "I already knew going into the state tournament that there were going to be a lot of different guys running a similar time to me," Campbell said. "Me and my coach knew we really wanted to work on that backstretch and really striding and going for it." Campbell was fourth in the second heat and will be in Lane 1 for Saturday's final. Tiffin Columbian's Jack Newlove will be right beside him in Lane 2. "It's really sweet," said Campbell of advancing to the final. "Me and my family have been talking about this since the season started. That was one of the biggest goals that I set out personally myself. To be able to hit accomplish that, it's really hitting that home that my senior year is ending." Grace Norris from Norwalk claimed the ninth and final qualifying spot for the 400 finals. Norris finished with a time of 57.44 seconds in the semifinals, which was good for fifth in the second heat. "I definitely feel like I ran as good as I wanted to," Norris said. "I felt like I had a pretty strong finish, but I tried to have a really fast start. I had to catch up at the end." Norris advanced to state by running a 57.37 at last week's Port Clinton regional. "It feels really great," Norris said. "I was about to be really sad if I didn't make it. But, it feels like a great opportunity to be able to make it to the finals at Ohio State." Division II Port Clinton's Alexis Shelton finished sixth at last week's regional meet at Lexington. You could say she kicked it up a notch with a second-place finish in the second heat of the 200, advancing to the finals Saturday. Only one thing nearly slowed the senior down. "I wasn't even expecting to get second," Shelton said. "I knew all of our times were close, but not what I expected. My shoe was coming untied in the middle of the race. That's the second time it's happened. That can't happen in the finals." Shelton crossed the line in a time of 24.96, which was the fourth-best across the two heats. Defending state champion Nyla King from Toledo Central Catholic had the best mark at 24.03. Shelton ran a 25.44 in the regional finals. "I was really doubting myself," Shelton said. "Usually there's a relay here every year, but we didn't make it this year, unfortunately. I have more time to focus on me and I did. I used that and I ran well." Besides making sure her shoes are tied tight, there isn't much Shelton will change in her final race of the season. "Do the same thing," Shelton said. "Just run because that's what I do best." Perkins senior Owen Stewart advanced to the finals of the 110 hurdles after taking second in heat 2. He had the fourth-best time with a run of 14.63. The Clyde 4x200 relay quartet of Hector Garza, Dekin Crockett, Cayden Perkins and Damarius Chrisman finished second in their second heat. They crossed the line in 1:27.77, which is the third-best time entering the finals. Bellevue's girls are finalists in the 4x200 as well. The group of Katelyn Turner, Brooke Brown, Hallie McCarthy and Amerie Wagner claimed the ninth and final spot in a time of 1:45.54. They finished fourth in heat 1. The only other area qualifier for Saturday was Perkins' 4x400 relay. Camryn VanVlerah, Caitlin Frankfather, Belle Smith and Alex Merriman finished seventh overall in 4:02.60. They took third in the second heat and will race one more time. Besides the 4x200 relay advancing, it was a tough day for the Fliers. Chrisman was 11th overall in the 100, crossing the line in 10.87. Later, he was 10th — one spot short of advancing — in the 400, finishing in 49.82, just .2 seconds behind the final qualifying spot. Crockett suffered a closer loss, taking 10th in the 300 hurdles in a time of 39.60, just .02 behind the final spot in the finals. The group of Garza, Crockett, Hayden Rex and Chrisman was 14th in the 4x400 relay in 3:27.79. Vermilion's Brooke Whisenant was 11th in the 400 and the Sailors' boys quartet of Aaron Mathis, Brady Parker, Johnathon Brass and Evan Kuhns took 12th in the 4x100 in 43.10, setting a school record. Huron's Sasha Fry, Megan Harkelroad, Kate Ryan and Elliana Cozzie finished 13th in the 4x200 in 1:46.24. Racing against Perkins, Bellevue's 4x400 of Wagner, Brown, Turner and McCarthy took 12th in a time of 4:05.85.