MV's Sackmann can rest easy

Maumee Valley's Chris Sackmann claimed a state championship in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.34.

COLUMBUS - Even a night of insomnia couldn't hinder Maumee Valley Country Day's Chris Sackmann from pulling off what the hurdler set out to do at the Division III state meet yesterday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.

The Hawks senior closed out his high school career by winning a state title in the 110-meter hurdles in a personal-record time of 14.34.

Sackmann was the only individual under 15 seconds.

"It's amazing," Sackmann said, following his victory. "This is better than I would have ever imagined."

Sackmann, who struggled to fall asleep until after midnight the night before running his final two high school races, expected to sleep easy now that he's accomplished his season-long goal.

"I can't explain how happy I am today," he said. "My high school career is over and I went out with a bang."

The Indiana University-bound hurdler also scored a state runner-up finish for the second year in a row. His time of 38.82 in the 300-meter hurdles came a close second to Barnesville's Jayme Detling (38.58). Detling finished behind Sackmann in third place a year ago.

"He was just better than me today," Sackmann said of Detling. "He's an awesome guy and I don't mind losing to him. He wanted it more and I already had gotten my [first-place] medal."

Maumee Valley's Kristen Meister also finished her senior season on a high note by placing third in the 100-meter hurdles with a personal best of 15.02. Her decision last winter to learn how to run the hurdles paid off with a second state medal. Meister earned a second-place medal in the high jump on Friday.

"I'm so happy," said Meister.

"I was staying focused on myself. I knew I was among the top four.

"I just wanted a personal record. I figured if I ran a PR I'd be near the top of the awards stand."

Toledo Christian senior Steve Lane qualified for the state meet in the 1600 for the first time and was runner-up in the 1600 after a personal-best time of 4:19.37.

"It was awesome," Lane said. "I didn't think I'd do this good, but the Lord blessed me so much this year. It's definitely amazing."

Liberty-Benton's Sam Benjamin placed second (10.96) in the 100 and fourth in the 200 (22.38) to help the defending state champion Eagles earn state runner-up honors with 39 points. Waynesfield-Goshen collected the boys state title with 51 points. Liberty-Benton also produced second-place showings in the 400, 800 and 1600-meter relay events.

Arlington's Jared Krout ran second (47.71) in the 400, third (22.21) in the 200 and fifth (10.99) in the 100 to lead the Red Devils to fourth place in the team rankings with 26 points.

Gilmour Academy claimed the girls team championship with 55 points, while Bellaire St. John Central finished second with 47, followed by Western Reserve 46, St. Peter Chanel 35 and Liberty-Benton 31.75.

Liberty-Benton's Kesha Brooks earned second place (2:14.46) in the 800. Brooks, Laura Robb, Kailee Whitaker and Allison Boguski worked together to place second (4:00.15) in the 1600-meter relay.

Toledo Christian's Bethany McGraw finished off a stellar four-year track career, which included winning a state long jump title as a sophomore, by placing seventh (26.35) in the 200 and eighth (13.11) in the 100. McGraw, who also finished third in the long jump on Friday and was a four-time state qualifier in the long jump and 200, considered her final state meet a success.

"I was nervous and excited," said McGraw, who has been bothered with shin splints much of the season. "I wanted to do even better than I did, but it's nice to finish off my year here. It's a great meet. It's a rush being in front of all these people."

Carey's Danielle Jacoby just missed becoming a state champion, placing second (25.44) in the 200. Mohawk's Kari Weimerskirch and Columbus Groves' Jenna Oard finished sixth (15.33) and eighth (16.55), respectively, in the 100 hurdles. Cardinal Stritch's Katie Bochi closed out the season running seventh (46.07) in the 300 hurdles.

New Riegel's Jamie Depinet placed sixth (59.35) in the 400.

Holgate's Jason Ordway crossed the finish line second (9:28.05) in the 3200 and Delta's Jeremy Lee produced a fourth-place effort (1:57.98) in the 800.

Columbus Grove's Aubrie Stechschulte, Cara May, Grace Needler and Amanda Schroeder posted an eighth-place finish (52.19) in the 400 relay.