Six things to know from the OHSAA Norwayne Regional: Rootstown sends three to state meet

In addition to the Mogadore girls sending all four regional runners to Columbus, here are six things to know from Norwayne:

1. Rootstown junior Brady Fillmore surprises himself with state berth

Brady Fillmore's journey from the 800 to qualifying for state in the 400 was relatively simple.

Rootstown boys coach Larry Bailey remembered asking Fillmore if he wanted to keep doing the 800 or switch to the 400. The Rovers junior chose the 400.

"I said, 'Good,'" Bailey recalled. "He said, 'I love you, man.'"

Both coach and runner chuckle about it now.

"I like the 400 a lot more than the 800," Fillmore said. "I tried to convince Coach the whole year to let me just do the 400."

Entering a new season in a new event, Fillmore didn't necessarily entertain dreams of Columbus. Not after he fell shy of making it to the regional meet in 2022.

"I really didn't expect to do this well this year," Fillmore said. "I kind of came into this year thinking hopefully I could do well in districts, maybe make it to regionals. But then once the times started going down and I saw the time I needed to get to state, it kind of pushed me to run harder, so [I'm] really excited about it."

His fourth-place run of 51.18 showcased Fillmore's best quality, said Bailey, as he used his 800 endurance to pass people toward the end of the race.

"I know how fast I can run and I know how fast I need to run, and I go in with the race strategy and try to focus on that," Fillmore said. "[I] don't focus on the competition as much, so that's kind of what keeps me focused and not as nervous throughout the race."

2. Rootstown senior Carlee Clifford earns second state berth

A 2021 state qualifier, Carlee Clifford clinched her second trip to state with a third-place finish in the 100 hurdles (16.17).

While Clifford has qualified for state before, this will be the Rootstown senior's first chance to compete at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. When she made it to state as a sophomore, the meet was held at Westerville North as the Ohio High School Athletic Association made various adjustments due to COVID-19.

A year ago, Clifford traveled to Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium to watch fellow Rovers hurdler Marinna Atanmo compete. Now, Clifford will get her own chance to take that vaunted stage.

"I was OK not making it last year," Clifford said. "I got to go, I got to watch Marinna, so I got to witness what state was going to be, but I still have never got to run at Jesse Owens, which that's what I think I'm most excited about is to actually get to run there."

While Clifford made Friday's final relatively stress-free, surging into the front four early and staying there, she admitted there was a nervous moment when one of her fellow frontrunners hit a hurdle midway through the race.

"It's always kind of nerve-wracking when you hear someone fall behind you," Clifford said. "You never know what it is."

3. Gavin Berka makes huge strides for Southeast

Last year, Gavin Berka recalled maxing out at 5-6 in the high jump. A season later, the Southeast junior, in his first regional appearance, cleared 6-0 and 6-1 on his third and final attempt.

"On my final jump, I always just take extra time to try to gather myself to make sure that I'm going to clear it," Berka said. "[I] go through how I'm going to jump over that bar and picture myself how I'm going to go over it, that's one of my biggest things that I do."

Pirates high jump coach Becky Dunn noted how hard Berka has worked all season, especially given Southeast doesn't have its own facility. "Always hustling," per Dunn, Berka gained more than a place to practice when they went to Youngstown State, picking up tips from Penguins jumper Nathan Leskovac.

Still, as Dunn noted, none of that would matter if Berka wasn't so willing to learn.

"He's super coachable," Dunn said. "Some kids take that personally when you're critiquing, and he is able to take constructive criticism, which is such a life skill."

While Berka has bigger dreams, including making state as a senior, he relished not just the chance to stand on the podium Friday, but also clearing 6-1 for the first time.

"It meant a lot really," the 6-0 Berka said. "I mean, I was just saying a couple days ago if I ever hit something taller than me, that's a great achievement."

4. Rootstown's Simon Halaszi, Porter Smith fall just shy of wild-card berth

All told, three Rootstown track and field athletes advanced to state, with Clifford and Fillmore joining junior Brooklynn McIntyre, who advanced in the shot put Wednesday (37-6¼).

The Rovers nearly had two more as senior Simon Halaszi and junior Porter Smith each came one spot shy of earning the final wild-card berth in the 300 hurdles.

After the meet, Bailey noted how much Halaszi's times came down over the course of his career.

And girls coach Kyle Rodstrom said Smith actually ran one of her best races Friday.

"She just works really hard at it and she's always liked the hurdles and it's just a matter of getting her comfortable," Rodstrom said. "She knows what she wants to accomplish and she just wants to get after it."

While the Rovers' 4x200 relay fell short of a third straight trip to state, it, too, ran one of its best times.

Per Rodstrom, "They ran the fifth- or sixth-fastest time in school history and they just got smoked because it's just such a deep region."

5. Garfield distance runners excel

The G-Men girls had a number of strong distance running performances in Norwayne.

After Garfield's 4x800 finished seventh Wednesday in 10:27.88, freshman Kathlene McMayon had her team's top finish Friday, placing eighth in the 1,600 (5:52.65).

G-Men sophomore Hannah Kernig also scored a top-10 finish with a 4-10 in the high jump, and later added a 13th-place finish in the long jump (14-5¾).

6. Windham's Briah Daniel makes state for the first time

Although the Bombers didn't have anyone competing at Norwayne Friday, Briah Daniel qualified for state Wednesday. The Windham junior earned her first trip to Columbus by snagging fifth in the shot put (36-6¼), earning a wild-card berth.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Six things to know from the OHSAA Norwayne Regional track & field meet