Delta's Smith exceeds expectations

Eastwood s Crosby Schemenauer cleared 14-4 to place second in the Division II pole vault. The Eagles are tied for sixth.

The first day of the Division II state track and field meet proved full of surprises for Delta junior Korbin Smith.

Both good and bad.

The day started quite well as he pulled off an unexpected victory in the long jump by leaping 22 feet, 3 3/4 inches yesterday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.

Not bad for someone that didn't even qualify for the state meet a year earlier.

"It's still sinking in," Smith said, of his winning a state title. "I haven't really gotten a chance to enjoy it, but it will get enjoyed."

Nevertheless, Smith admits he outdid his own expectations.

"I was thinking maybe fifth or finish anywhere in the top eight," he said.

Smith's day also consisted of running in a 400 prelim heat in which he finished second with a time of 49.51 to qualify for today's finals and in position to contend for a second state championship.

"I really went out hard being in lane eight," Smith said.

However, his day ended on a bad note when he had the baton knocked out of his hand during the 1600 relay. Delta's relay team, which also included Tim Sintobin, Adam Godsey and Nate Westphal, was in the top three of their heat when Smith received the baton to start the final lap.

"It was knocked out of my hand and there was not much I could do about it," Smith said, who walked off the track when he realized the baton was too far out of his reach to retrieve and get back into contention for a spot in the finals.

Eastwood's Crosby Schemenauer walked away from the first day of the state competition pleased about his work in the pole vault. His first trip to state in the event resulted in a state runner-up showing with his personal-best effort of 14-4, which topped his PR set a week ago by an inch.

"I wanted to win but I guess I got what I was seeded," Schemenauer said. "I had a PR and that's what I came to do."

Finishing second at the state meet is something Schemenauer appreciated.

"I didn't even make it out of districts last year," said Schemenauer, who helped the Eagles gain eight points with the runner-up finish.

Genoa's Vicars brothers, Derrick and Marcus, placed third and fourth, respectively, in the shot put. Derrick's best effort measured 58-9 3/4 while Marcus produced a throw of 57-4 1/2. Eastwood's Justin Welch finished 14th with his best throw of the day measuring 48-11 1/2.

Rossford's Ricardo Ross took care of business in hurdles events by winning his 110 and 300 hurdles prelim heats. He posted the top time of the day in the 100 hurdles (14.77) and the second-fastest performance in the 300 hurdles (39.47).

"Two first-place finishes, I can't be mad about that," Ross said.

Rossford's Rachel Clay qualified for the 400 finals after finishing second in her heat with a time of 57.85. The Bulldogs senior did not qualify for the 200 finals after running seventh in her heat with a time of 26.93.

Eastwood's Cody Seifert also went into the first day of competition with the frame of mind to go all-out.

He responded by qualifying for the finals of the 100 and 200. He ran second in each of his prelim heats. He posted a time of 11.49 in the 100 and 22.77 in the 200.

Napoleon's Connor Pain also advanced to the finals of the two sprint events. Pain finished fourth in his 100 heat with a time of 11.67 and third behind Seifert in the 200 with a time of 22.95.

Seifert also ran with Jeremy Foster, Josh Hoodlebrink and Matt Schlumbohm for a second-place showing in the 800 relay prelims. They ran in a time of

1:29.64 to advance to the finals.

Tiffin Columbian's 400 relay team made up of Ethan Kagy, Derek Kneeskern, Luke Shaffer and Than Worland will contend for a state championship after winning their prelim heat with a time of 43.31.

Clyde's Ryan Scharf, Aric Thurn, Rick Webber and Justin Cook advanced to the 1600 relay finals by recording the fourth-best qualifying time (3:25.70).

Defiance's Aaron Demecs ran fourth in his heat of the 400 (51.08) to qualify for the finals.

Defiance's Mikaela Tolbert, Anna Meyer, Megan Vogelsong, and Lauren Fett placed fifth in the 3200 meters with a time of

9:36.31. Tolbert, Fett, Kelsey Zipfel and Lena Herrett qualified for the 1600 relay finals with a time of 4:05.99.

Defending state 300 hurdles champion Allison Schroeder advanced to the finals by winning her prelim heat with a time of 46.05. Oak Harbor's Erica Lipstraw ran second (46.29).

Schroeder teamed with Jenna Ellerbrock, Dana Lanwehr and Emily Heitmeyer to earn a spot in the 1600 relay finals after posting the third-best qualifying time (4:03.68).

Napoleon's Sara Weaver became a state finalist by placing seventh in the discus with a throw of 122-7. Her teammate, Kendall Homan will run in the 100 hurdles finals after a second-place run in her prelim heat. She crossed the finish line in 15.81.