Emma Tyrrell, Trevor Vogt and Colonel Crawford relays shine on Day 1 of state track meet
COLUMBUS - You'd have to go back in the record books to 2014 to find the last female state qualifier from Bucyrus.
Brittany Parsell podiumed in the 100 dash, 200 dash and long jump, and Friday morning junior Emma Tyrrell joined the club putting an end to a nine-year drought for the Lady Red.
Coming into the preliminaries of the girls 400-meter dash, Tyrrell thought she would have to do something special in order to make finals like her predecessor.
"I knew coming in here I was sitting last," she said. "I didn't run so well at regionals so I knew if I wanted to go through I'd have to pick it up a bit."
Not only did she pick it up a bit, Tyrrell "left it all out there" running a personal best and breaking her own school record with a 59.60 to finish fifth in her heat. It clinched her an at-large bid in the finals where she's seeded eighth. Her previous record was 59.88 set earlier this season at New London's Bob Knoll Invitational.
"That felt amazing," Tyrrell said. "A PR and new school record, I set that when I broke (one minute) the first time. Knowing I had great competition, I had to really go if I wanted to move on."
That competition alone was enough to push her despite temperatures approaching 90 degrees and starting in an outside lane, albeit the better of the two.
"It was definitely motivating because I knew what I came in with wasn't my fastest time and I knew Lane 1 is a pretty good lane," Tyrrell said. "I had to run with it and use what I had, that definitely motivated me a lot."
She will be back in her new lucky Lane 1 on Saturday for the finals which are slated for 10:35 a.m.
Cookin'! Colonel Crawford's Vogt wins hurdles heat
After finishing 16th in the 4x200 alongside Lane Kozinski, Ethan Holt and Ryan McMichael — which featured time drop of seven-hundredths (1:33.5) of a second and an improvement from their 18th seeding — Trevor Vogt had one final event to try and extend his state track weekend.
Seeded third in the second heat and overall in the 300-meter hurdles, Vogt PR'd for the sixth consecutive meet clocking in at 39.50 to win his heat and secure a spot in the coveted Lane 5 for Saturday's final.
"It helped me a little bit because I had a little warmup," Vogt said about running the relay first. "But it also could've been bad for me because I was dying after that 200 and I had to take a long break. It's good I got to get warmed up, but tomorrow I definitely hope for a faster time because my legs aren't going to be dead."
Being in the quicker heat with fellow juniors Jeremy Reber of Apple Creek Waynedale and Carter Herman of Edgerton flanking him in neighboring lanes, that's all Vogt needed as an extra push.
"I had Lane 6 (Herman) in front of me and that was pushing me," he said. "I just kept thinking I had to get to his hip, he's a faster seeded time than me so I had to get to him. Then at the end I just gave everything I had.
"I was trying to win my heat because that's pretty fun in front of a crowd like this."
He'll try to have more fun Saturday at 10:40 a.m. competing for a state title.
'I was expecting more:' Galion hurdler proud, but not satisfied after state trip
All season long junior Linkon Tyrrell had the state meet circled on his metaphorical calendar — it's how he wanted to start his summer.
"It was something I was looking forward to at the beginning of the year, trying to get here," Tyrrell said. "But I wasn't sure if I could. I'm proud of myself for making it, but it was a disappointing run, I was expecting more."
He came in seeded eighth overall in a very competitive 110-meter hurdles bunch and finished fifth in his heat, but it was only enough for a 12th overall finish coming in at 15.04.
But the experience of competing at the state meet amongst the best of the best in the state was invaluable in itself. It's something he knew he was capable of from the moment this season started.
"My very first run of the season was a second faster than I was last year, so I realized then I had a chance if I dialed it in and worked hard," Tyrrell said.
That extra year under his belt, along with some additional training on the side is what he credits to a successful junior campaign.
"I did indoor this season for the first time and put in a lot of work," Tyrrell said. "Then I also started working out with the Ohio Speed Academy and they've done a lot to improve my times."
Though his season comes to a close, fellow Tigers Gabe Ivy, Jack Hart, Zach Sallee and Jacob Chambers get one more race having qualified for the finals of the 4x100 relay. The quartet was sweating — literally and metaphorically — after finishing fifth in their heat waiting for the official times to come in. It came down to three-thousandths of a second to determine eighth and ninth, both of which qualified for finals, which means the elusive final spot on the podium is going to be a heated one.
Mixed bag of results for relays
Colonel Crawford's 4x200 relays had a tough five minute stretch.
The girls foursome of Ayla McKibben, Rylee Ritzhaupt, Reagan Ritzhaupt and Mira Holt finished sixth in their heat with a 1:47.22 and 12th overall to miss out on finals by .43 seconds. Then the boys relay of Kozinski, Holt, Vogt and McMichael mentioned above missed out as well.
But the girls would rebound immediately in the 4x100 (McKibben, Holt, Reagan Ritzhaupt, Hailey Slagle) clocking in at 50.51 for a third place finish in their heat which seeds them fifth overall heading into finals.
And the 4x400 of the Ritzhaupt twins, Gabby Roston and Holt capped off prelims with a second place finish in their heat, 4:03.17 has them seeded fourth.
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This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Crawford County advances two individuals, relays to state track finals
