Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

It looks like eight was enough.

Eight more area track athletes qualified on Saturday for next weekend’s Ohio High School Athletic Association state track and field meet to be held at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University.

Coal Grove Hornets’ senior Brandon Adkins led Saturday’s qualifiers as he won the Division III high jump with a leap of 6-feet, 9-inches.

Adkins — who cleared 6-10 to win the district last week — is the defending state champion.

In Division II, Rock Hill Redmen junior distance runner Seth Miller was second in the 3200-meter run with a 9:56.61 time to earn a state berth. Miller also ran in the state cross country meet last fall.

South Point Pointers’ senior Tyler Mathes will join Miller in the 3200 after finishing fourth with a 9:58.74 clocking.

The top four finishers in each event advance to the state meet on Friday and Saturday.

The South Point 4×100-meter relay team of Stephen Wagoner, Trent Paterson, Mason White and Keion Dre’ Hill was third with a 44.63 time.

The other qualifier on Saturday was Chesapeake Panthers’ freshman Cecil Fletcher who was fourth in the 400 meters with a 51.01 time.

On Thursday, Chesapeake Lady Panthers’ junior Aitya Spaulding qualified for the state meet in the high jump.

Spaulding ran in the 100-meter and 200-meter races on Saturday. She was fifth in the 100 meters at 13.05 seconds and sixth in the 200 at 26.74.

Coal Grove sophomore Eli Willis won the Division III pole vault on Thursday to get a trip to the state meet for the second straight year.

Ironton senior Tim Maynard was fourth in the pole vault to get a berth in the state meet.

Hornets’ senior Austen Pleasants was ninth in the shot put on Saturday with a heave of 44-9. However, Pleasants qualified for the state meet on Thursday when he was second in the discus at 144-7.

Coal Grove senior Joe Akers just missed a trip to the state meet. He was fifth in the 300-meter hurdles with a 41.54 time.

In Division II on Saturday, South Point’s Brady Sloan leaped 5-10 to finish sixth in the high jump.

Fairland senior Zach McKinney was 10th in the shot put with a 44-10 toss.

On Friday at Jesse Owens Stadium, the Division III high jump is at 1 p.m., and the pole vault and discus at 4 p.m.

Preliminaries in the Division II 4×100 relay will be at 2:55 p.m. Finals are 1:50 p.m. on Saturday.

The girls’ Division II high jump will be at 9:30 a.m. on Friday.

The Division II 3200-meter run will be at 2:45 p.m. on Saturday.