State track and field: Lancaster and Fisher Catholic boys 3,200 relay teams earn All-Ohio honors
COLUMBUS – It wasn’t exactly the way the Lancaster boys' 3,200 relay team wanted to finish, but nevertheless, the Golden Gales did well enough to earn All-Ohio honors with a fifth-place finish during Friday’s Division I state track and field championships at Ohio State's Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
The Gales, who had the fastest time entering the race at 7:48.70, finished with a time of 7:48.65. Cincinnati St. Xavier won with a time of 7:45.21.
Lancaster’s anchor, Colton Thress, made up a bunch of ground in the final leg. The Gales were in 11th place before Thress, a senior, began picking runners off to pull the Gales to their fifth-place finish. Zane Schorr, Wes Taylor and Trevor Lanoy made up the team.
“We had a 15-minute delay after we got up to the line and we were hot and worried and that just put more stress on us,” Thress said. “By the time we got to the line, our legs were hurting, and we were drained, but I knew I still had to try to get us somewhere, so I just did all I could do at the end. We aren’t happy with our spot, but we still got here and placed.
“During those moments when I was running, I was just thinking about my team and what we went through to get here and I couldn’t let them down because they expect a lot from me. I felt like I could have done more, but I just ran out of track.”
The Fisher Catholic boys’ 3,200 relay team, consisting of Noah Sharp, Nathan Krile, Alex Ristau and Jack Gentile, earned All-Ohio honors and reached the podium with an eighth-place finish in Division III, and their time of 8:10.16 a season-low time.
“It feels great after working so hard to get here,” Sharp said. “We just wanted to come out and give it all we had for each other, and I feel like we did that. Regardless of the place we finished in, we ran a great race. With the heat the way it way it was, it comes down to being mentally tough, and I think we were. The goal was to get on the podium, and we did that.”
Fairfield Union’s 3,200 relay team of Anna Conrad, Andrea Phillips, Abigail Pike and Adelyn Winters placed 13th (9:48.56) in Division II, The Falcons’ 1,600 relay team of Emma McCormick, Pike, Sarah Lepi and Conrad failed to qualify for the finals.
Also in Division II, Liberty Union’s Zach McCoy placed 13th in the pole vault (13-6), while the Lions’ Caleb Hague failed to qualify for the finals in the 110 hurdles (15.31), and Fairfield Union’s Averey Cottrill did not qualify in the 300 hurdles (47.40).
Tom Wilson is a sports reporter for the Lancaster Eagle Gazette. Contact him at 740-689-5150 or via email at twilson@gannett.com for comments or story tips. Follow him on Twitter @twil2323.
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: State track and field: Lancaster and Fisher Catholic boys 3,200 relay teams earn All-Ohio honors
