Regional Bound
Published 11:31 pm Saturday, May 22, 2010
OAK HILL — Talk about your down to the wire finishes.
Wheelersburg slipped past the Hornets by two points — 133-131 — to win the Div. III district track meet Saturday when the champion was determined in the final event.
The difference came when the Pirates won the 4×400 relay and the Hornets finished fifth, thus giving Wheelersburg 10 points and Coal Grove four.
In the girls’ meet, Wheelersburg won with 74 points to edge Belpre who finished with 68. The Ironton Lady Fighting Tigers were a close third with 61. The Coal Grove Lady Hornets finished 11th with 30 points.
Regardless of the team finish, the top four finishers in an event qualify for the regional meet to be held at 4 p.m. Wednesday and Friday at Lancaster Fairfield Union High School.
Coal Grove’s Oakie Haynes led the way as he won the 100-meter dash with an 11.21 time and the 200 meters with a district record 22.47 time.
Haynes also anchored the 4×100 relay team as Alex Bare, Jake Brown and Boo Woods ran a 44.78 time that set a new district record.
The Hornets’ Jacob Pauley was second in the 800 with a 2:05.96 clocking and took third in the 1600 at 4:39.88.
The Hornets Shawn Morrison was fourth in the 110-meter hurdles at 17.42 seconds. The 4×200 relay team of Brown, Evan Ferguson, Woods and Brad Hager was second at 1:34.72.
Cody Damron was second in the high jump at 6-2 and Greg Bender was second in the shot put with a heave of 47-5.
The Ironton Lady Tigers were led by junior distance runner Taylor Hacker who placed in the 1600- and 3200-meter runs. Hacker was second in the 1600 at 5:30.61 and third in the 3200 at 12:43.27.
Hacker was also a member of the qualifying 4×800 relay team.
Teammate Ariel Schweickart also qualified in two events. She was second in the 800 with a 2:32.85time and fourth in the 1600 at 5:38.42.
Ironton’s Lorna Ceaser was third in the discus at 109-9 to go along with her fourth place finish in the shot put.
The Lady Hornets’ Chelsea Delong won the discus with a toss of 114-3. Paige McKnight ran a 48.89 to finish fourth in the 300-meter hurdles.
Qualifying for the regional meet earlier in the week were:
The Lady Tigers’ Hannah Cronacher in the pole vault and the 4×800 relay team of Schweickart, Colleen and Shannon Walker, and Hacker.
The Hornets’ pole vaulters Jake Murphy and Kyle Estep, Aaron Dickess in the discus, and the 4×800 relay team of Jordan Beals, Bryan Steele, Jake Jewell and Jacob Pauley.