DIII TRACK & FIELD

DIII State Finals: Best in the state

TC’s Phelps, Gibsonburg’s Reynolds win

Evergreen's Carly Truckor wins the 300-meter hurdles.

THE BLADE/LORI KING
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Evergreen's Carly Truckor wins the 300-meter hurdles.

COLUMBUS — Toledo Christian senior Delainey Phelps closed out her high school career the right way during the Division III state track championships Saturday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus.

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Phelps became a state champion in the 3200 meters with a personal-record time of 10 minutes, 51.68 seconds. She shattered her previous personal best of 11:16 en route to earning the first-place medal.

“It’s a great feeling because I wanted it badly,” said Phelps, who will run at Ashland College in the fall.

Phelps placed third in the 1600 (5:04.55) and seventh in the 3200 (11:23.91) at last year’s meet.

Although she qualified for state in both events, she opted to concentrate on running the latter.

The decision to bow out of the 1600 paid off in a major way.

“That’s the first time I’ve run it [3200] without running a mile [1600] in the same meet,“ Phelps said. “I felt really fresh.”

Findlay's Tyler Brown won the boys Division I high jump after topping 6 feet, 10.25 inches. He also won the 400-meter dash.

Liberty Center’s Brittany Atkinson placed fourth (11:03.73) and teammate Kelly Haubert ran 10th (11:26.33).

The day didn’t start quite the way Gibsonburg’s Colleen Reynolds had hoped.

Scheduled to run in three individual events — 100, 200, and 400 meters — the sophomore sprinter envisioned standing on the top step of the podium. Her first attempt came when she ran in the 100, only to finish a disappointing fifth (12.57).

“That made me mad,” Reynolds said.

But Reynolds returned a little while later and became the 400 state champion with a personal-record time of 56.57.

“I was fifth in the 100 and I wanted something better,” she said. “I just went for it.

“I’m pretty happy.”

Toledo Christian's Delainey Phelps (10) won the Division III 3200-meter run with a personal best time of 10:51.68. She skipped the 1600 to concentrate solely on the 3200 in her final state track meet.

Her day also included a fifth-place finish in the 200 (25.74), which came a little while after giving practically everything she had in the 400.

“I was pretty tired and I had a bad start,” Reynolds said of her 200 effort.

Van Buren’s Sarah Benson had a strong showing in the two sprints, finishing as runner-up in the 200 (25.38) and third in the 100 (12.41).

Archbold’s Kassidy Garrow ran ninth in the 800 (2:19.04) and Van Buren’s Rachell Resnik placed 14th (2:25.21). Archbold’s 1600-relay team (Meridith Short, Kassidy Garrow, Tressa Parsley, Jensyn Garrow) placed third with a time of 4:01.39.

In the 800-relay Van Buren (Lauren Wise, Abby Shroll, Bri Lasley, Sarah Benson) and Archbold (Kinsey Smith, Meridith Short, Kassidy Garrow, Jensyn Garrow) placed third (1:45.46) and ninth (1:47.42), respectively.

In the boys competition, Patrick Henry’s Zach Nye delivered a fourth-place effort in the 110 hurdles (14.61).

Liberty-Benton’s Chase Cook placed fourth in the 200 (22.41) and sixth in the (100) 11.14.

“My legs were dead from yesterday, running and jumping,” Cook said. “My times are slower today, but I'm happy with my performance.”

Cook, along with Kyle Bowsher, Chase Conkle, and Austin Combs teamed up to finish fourth in the 400 relay (43.51) for the Eagles.

Elmwood’s Alex Jasso, Woodmore’s Deric Anthony, and Liberty Center’s Henry Elling placed 13th (2:00.08), 15th (2:03.96), and 16th (2:06.15), respectively, in the 800. Elmwood teammate Lorne Strausbaugh finished seventh (4;22.42) in the 1600.

Woodmore’s 800-relay team (Michael Travis, Malachi Brown, Zach Sandwisch, Andrew Shrewsbury) ran ninth (1:31.38).

In the 3200 final, Toledo Christian’s Daniel Burket ran 15th (10:22.13) and Liberty-Benton’s Eric Duvall 16th (10:23.48).

Gibsonburg's Colleen Reynolds, right, won the 400 meters and placed fifth in the 100 and 200 meters.

Versailles claimed the D-III girls state championship with 28 points, which set a state record for fewest points scored by a team champion.

Columbus Academy placed second with 24 points, followed by Van Buren and Fredericktown, Canton Central Catholic with 20 apiece. Gibsonburg, McComb, Hawken, Tinora, Covington, Russia, and Steubenville Catholic Central finished in a seven-way tie for sixth place to round out the top 12.

Columbus Academy won the boys title with 49 points, followed by Lima Central Catholic with 43 points. Warren JFK followed with 41 points, Minster had 33, and Liberty-Benton, McDonald, and Fairview had 26 each.

Liberty Center junior Robert Burns finished third in the 100-meter wheelchair final with a time of 17.80.

This was the first year the Ohio High School Athletic Association included competitions for wheelchair athletes.

Contact Donald Emmons at: demmons@theblade.com, 419-724-6302 or on Twitter @DemmonsBlade.