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Body poised, eyes focused, form well-rehearsed, Eastwood's Justin Welch is a split second away from launching the D-II state championship shot put Friday.<br><img src=http://www.toledoblade.com/graphics/icons/photo.gif> <font color=red><b>PHOTO GALLERY</b></font>: <a href="/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=TO&Dato=20100605&Kategori=SPORTS12&Lopenr=605009999&Ref=PH"_blank"> <b> State Track & Field Championships: </b></a> June 4, 2010
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Welch wins shot put title with record-buster

The Blade/Jeremy Wadsworth

Welch wins shot put title with record-buster

COLUMBUS - Justin Welch's performance in last week's regional shot put competition was an aberration.

Welch simply had a poor day at Lexington, finishing fourth to earn the region's final state qualifying bid.

The Eastwood senior made up for it big time yesterday.

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Last year's Division II state discus champion, Welch added a championship in shot put to his portfolio at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium with a D-II state meet record throw.

In third place entering the final throw of the meet, Welch's most important put of his career traveled 62 feet, 11 3/4 inches. Like that, Welch was the winner.

"I was feeling pretty good all day, and when I hit that last throw, I knew it was going to be a good one," Welch said.

Today, Welch, who has signed to compete at Georgia, will attempt to defend his discus title.

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Sandusky Perkins' Matthew Hoty, the two-time defending shot put state champ, finished second with a throw two inches shorter than Welch's. Hoty won last week's regional when Welch, clearly underperforming, threw 55 feet, 6 3/4 inches.

"This week went the way I felt it should," Welch said.

Unlike Welch, Fremont St. Joe's Brant Reardon is not a household name around the state. At least he wasn't before winning the D-III high jump with a leap of 6 feet, 7 inches. A junior, who did not advance out of regionals last year, Reardon was one of seven perceived title contenders within an inch of another entering the day. His winning jump prevailed based on criteria over Ottoville's Travis Eickholt, who also topped out at 6-7.

"I told a bunch of [friends] that I wasn't content just coming down here," Reardon said. "I wanted to compete, and that's what I did."

Also in D-III, Lakota's Roger Guerra was fourth in both high jump and long jump, and based on his qualifying for the finals in two running events, he matched his feat from last year when he earned four state medals. Guerra will compete in the 100 and 200 today and feels strongly about his chances of winning the 100.

"I can easily win it and I'm looking forward to doing it," Guerra said. "I'm looking to explode and to do better than I did [in the semifinals]."

In the only running event final of the day, Woodmore finished sixth in the D-III 3200 relay. The quartet of Grant Weirich, DeVaughnte Askew, Brock Avers, and Justin Garver recorded their fastest time of the year - 8:02.47 - and also qualified for the 1600 final.

"I'm pretty happy with that," Avers said. "We just wanted to run our best and get on the podium."

Archbold enters today looking to strike big. Its 800 relay recorded the fastest qualifying time in the field - 1:29.66 - and its 1600 relay was fifth. Individually, junior Desmond Sleigh - a member of the 800 squad - was third in long jump. Nate Hammersmith and Danny Young, members of both relays, also advanced individually in the 200 and 300 hurdles, respectively.

"Definitely proud of these boys," Hammersmith said of his relay partners. "I wouldn't trade these guys for last year's team [fourth in the 800] even though everybody thought we wouldn't be as good. They work their butts off."

Liberty-Benton's Brad Keller was fourth in D-III pole vault.

Wauseon's Todd Christy was one of the three individuals who defeated Welch a week ago. Yesterday, the junior Indian was fifth with a throw of 56 feet, 2 1/2 inches. He'll compete in discus today, hoping to improve upon his fourth place finish from a year ago.

"I did a lot better than I thought I would, to be honest with you," Christy said.

Christy, though, wasn't so surprised by Welch's turnaround from regionals.

"It was amazing," Christy said. "I knew he was a little down, but he definitely had a great day today."

First Published June 5, 2010, 1:15 p.m.

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Body poised, eyes focused, form well-rehearsed, Eastwood's Justin Welch is a split second away from launching the D-II state championship shot put Friday.<br><img src=http://www.toledoblade.com/graphics/icons/photo.gif> <font color=red><b>PHOTO GALLERY</b></font>: <a href="/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=TO&Dato=20100605&Kategori=SPORTS12&Lopenr=605009999&Ref=PH"_blank"> <b> State Track & Field Championships: </b></a> June 4, 2010  (The Blade/Jeremy Wadsworth)  Buy Image
Archbold's Nate Hammersmith, right, finishes the 800-meter relay. The Blue Streaks had the fastest qualifying time in the field at 1:29:66 ahead of the state championship final in Columbus.  (The Blade/Jeremy Wadsworth)  Buy Image
The Blade/Jeremy Wadsworth
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