Two FC throwers qualify for state

TIFFIN — Two Firelands Conference throwing standouts became the first area athletes to qualify for the Division III state track and field championships to be held next weekend at Westerville North High School. At the Div. III regional championships at Tiffin Columbian, New London's Kaitlyn Gum placed fourth in the shot put with a throw of 39-feet-2.5 inches to earn her trip to state. Down in Chillicothe regional site, South Central's Mason Kiesel continued his big spring by placing third in the discus (149-feet-6) to also earn a spot at the state championship meet. The top four placers in reach regional event advance to state. Also on Wednesday in Tiffin, South Central's Claire Osborn placed eighth in the shot put (36-feet-6). Qualifying for Friday's running finals at Tiffin was South Central's Grace Lamoreaux in the 100 hurdles (eighth, 16.06 seconds), Monroeville's Stacey Legg in the 100 dash (eighth, 13.06 seconds) and St. Paul's Sarah Matlack in the 400 dash (eighth, 1:01.02). On the boys side, Western Reserve's Jacob Jarrett had the top preliminary time in the 110 hurdles (15.58 seconds) and the third-best time in the 300 hurdles (41.05 seconds) to advance to Friday's finals in both events. Jonathon Fisher qualified with the fourth-best time (22.95) in the 200, and placed ninth in the long jump (19-feet-5). The 4x100 relay of Fisher, Aiden Beck, Aiden Edwards and Jarrett also qualified for Friday by placing eighth in 45.7 seconds. Also Wednesday, St. Paul's 4x800 relay of Ian Deeter, Ryan Gross, Nick Centa and Isaac Thimke placed eighth in 8:36.61. Action begins at 5 p.m. Friday back at Columbian High School. Also on Wednesday at Chillicothe, the New London 4x800 team of Wyatt Harrison, Braeden Geist, Cole Kropka and Tyler Twining placed eighth in 8:40.82, while teammate Mike Dalton was fifth in the pole vault (12 feet). Qualifying for Friday's running finals included South Central's Trey Beverly in the 400 dash (third, 51.44) and Dalton in the 300 hurdles (eighth, 43.16). Action begins at 4 p.m. Friday in Chillicothe. Day 1 action at the Div. II Lexington High School regional site featuring Edison and Willard athletes will be held on Thursday. DIVISION I Hainline qualifies for finals AMHERST — At the Division I Amherst High School site, Norwalk's Mason Hainline improved his seed time of 51.96 seconds to a 51.51 on Wednesday in the 400 meter dash. His time was good for eighth, which qualified him for Friday's finals in the event. Also competing on Friday in the 800 run will be Norwalk's Joscey Thomas. Action gets underway at 2:30 p.m. Friday.