Track: O-G boys, Bluffton girls win Ehresman Invite
Apr. 12—BATH TOWNSHIP — Bluffton basketball standout Marek Donaldson has always wondered how he would fare in track and field.
Now, a senior, Donaldson decided to give the sport a try for the first time. So far, it looks like he is catching on.
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At Friday's Ehresman Memorial Invitational at Bath High School, Donaldson won the 800 meters (2:00.60) and finished a close third in the 1,600 meters (4:27.18).
The only two athletes that defeated Donaldson in the 1,600 on Friday were two Division II all-Ohio performers from last year, Ottawa-Glandorf's Ty Rosengarten (first, 4:24.86) and Van Wert's Owen Scott (second, 4:25.79). Bath senior Jacob Wireman was a close fourth in the 1,600 (4:37.64).
"My parents always have kind of wanted me to do track, but with me being a basketball guy, I've always had spring basketball. So, I've never been able to do it," Donaldson said. "Now, being a senior, and not having spring basketball, I thought, 'I have one more (high school) sports season, so I might as well try it'. So, I came out and tried it, found out what I was good at, and since then I've been working on it and training."
Donaldson said he began to give track-and-field serious consideration before this past basketball season.
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"Before basketball season, me and the team did some conditioning. While I was conditioning, the competitive spirit in me was timing my mile, and two-mile. And I thought the times were pretty good. I had nothing in the spring, and I wanted to do something. So, I thought track was my best shot to be decent at something. So, at the beginning of basketball season was when I really knew that I was going to do track," he said.
Bluffton's Griffin Stackhouse won Friday's 100 in a new meet-record time of 10.91 seconds. Stackhouse went on to win the 200 (22.26) and was part of the winning 800 relay (Carson Kruse, Tayt Giesige, Kain Wright, Stackhouse; 1:30.09) and the 1,600 relay (Stackhouse, Kruse, Kizer Young, Wright) that finished second (3:32.19). Bath (Levi Luke, Jacob Wireman, Foster Deters, Ethan Cole) won the 1,600 relay (3:30.62).
In the final team standings on Friday, Ottawa-Glandorf won the boys' team title with 132 points, while Bluffton finished in second place with 117.50 points. Shawnee (83.75), Bath (71.50) and Wapakoneta (53.50) rounded out the top five teams in a field of 12.
Bluffton came away with the girls' team crown with 139 points, while O-G finished second (114.50). Bath (81.50), Bryan (65.50) and Wapakoneta (60) finished out the top five squads.
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Bluffton scored big points in the girls' pole vault on Friday. Alayna Mueller (9-0) and teammate Kally Cotter (8-6) finished first and second, respectively.
On the boys' side, O-G senior Ty Rosengarten and Van Wert senior Owen Scott added another epic battle to their history of races against each other, as the two all-Ohio performers went at it in the 1,600 on Friday.
And just like most of their other races between each other, it came down to the final sprint. Friday night, Rosengarten came away with the win (4:24.86), while Scott finished a close second (4:25.79). Bluffton's Marek Donaldson was a close third (4:27.18).
At last year's Division II state track meet, Rosengarten finished fifth with a personal-best and school-record time of 4:19.53, while Scott placed eighth (4:20.73). The top eight placers in each event at the state meet earn all-Ohio status.
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Rosengarten said he plans to log heavy mileage throughout the regular season in hopes of peaking out by the state meet.
"The plan is to just maintain it (the mileage) the entire year and not race crazy. Then come postseason, I want to come out and race and see what I can really do. Considering that I'm now putting down times that I was putting down at the end of last year, with the training I'm on right now, I'll take it," he said.
For Scott, it's all about working toward the end of the season. Scott was also on the winning 3,200-meter relay (Drew Laudick, Evan Keuneke, Keaten Welch, Scott; 8:24.49), and finished third in the 800 (2:01.15) on Friday.
"So far, it looks like the four-by-eight (3,200 relay), mile (1,600) and then two-mile (3,200) are the events. I ran it last year, so I might as well do it again," he said with a grin.
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Rosengarten will compete in track and cross country at the University of Findlay next year, while Scott will compete in track and cross country at Youngstown State University.
O-G boys coach Brian Heebsh was pleased at how his team responded in its first invitational of the season.
"We have a really good senior class, and we've had some younger guys step up. We're trying to reduce their (the seniors) workload a little bit. So, guys who would normally do three or four events are doing two or three, and they're doing them really well," he said.
Added O-G girls coach Matt Burwell, "All-around, I thought the girls did outstanding. They've all been putting the work in. It seems like every year we're working harder. We've got over a hundred kids (total athletes) in the high school (track program). We've got 110 (total athletes) in the junior high. It's awesome to see what our track program is doing," he said.
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Shawnee's Richardson shatters invite record
Shawnee senior Akyus Richardson knew he had some even better throws to come.
Last spring, Richardson threw the shot put 60 feet, 4 inches during the regular season. He went on to place fifth at the Division I state meet with a mark of 58-4.75.
At Friday's Ehresman Invitational, Richardson not only set a personal best but recorded a new Ehresman Invitational record with a winning heave of 61-0. Bryan's Cody Shaffer finished a distant second with a toss of 47-1.
"The goal is to get back to state and just crash through everybody. ... That's the goal," Richardson said. "It (fifth-place finish at state) was good, but it wasn't where I wanted to be. I try to get better every single day. That's the goal. That's the mentality. So, this season, I want to be ready to do the best at the right time."
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Richardson also won the discus on Friday with a toss of 151-0. Kenton's Bill Wilkinson finished a close second (147-11), while Shawnee's Brady Miller came in close third (145-4).
Richardson will compete at Walsh University next year.
***Complete results of the Ehresman Invitational can be found on www.milesplit.oh.
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