State Track: John Glenn's Fields, Snider headline All-Ohioans
COLUMBUS — A season of hard work came to a culmination for area track and field athletes on Saturday.
John Glenn senior Kara Fields capped her career with a third-place finish in the 100 hurdles in a time of :14.66, while sophomore teammate Brayden Snider cleared 12-feet-2 to come in third in the pole vault to highlight area finishers in the Division II meet at Ohio State's Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
The top eight placers earned All-Ohio honors.
Morgan senior Odessa Smith placed fifth in the 300 hurdles with a personal best time of 44.95 and Sheridan junior Claire Shriner was seventh, a school record time of 45.13, while Smith also finished sixth in the 100 hurdles (14.78) and John Glenn sophomore Jess Church came in eighth in the 400 (1:00.67).
West Muskingum senior Rebecca Strunk ended her career as an All-Ohioan, posting a throw of 40-6 1/2 inches to place fifth in the state. John Glenn junior Chelsea Sotherden placed 10th (36-11) in the event, and Philo senior Anna Stutes finished 10th the long jump with a school-record distance of 17-4 1/2 to round out area competitors.
Fields, who had the fourth fastest time in the 100 hurdles in :14.87, credited a strong start to her race. She also finished as a two-time All-Ohioan after just picking up the hurdles last season.
"I started hurdles last year and to be here twice is amazing. Glory to God," Fields said. "I thought I'd be near the bottom of the podium, but I had a good start and ran on my toes. It's fun to race with Odessa again. We will get to be teammates at Ashland next year, and I look forward to being teammates and competing together."
Snider felt last year's experience benefitted her this time, as she set a personal best in the process.
"I wasn't happy with how I did last year so being on the podium was my goal," she said. "I went through my poles and had to use someone else's, but it's pretty awesome to have this experience. My coaches have played a big part, and I won't be as nervous next year."
Smith had higher aspirations on the day, but her time in the 300 hurdles was a nice consolation, as was running with Fields and Shriner.
"I'm disappointed in my finishes, but I'm happy with my time in the 300 hurdles. I've never broken 45 seconds so I'm very pleased with that," she said. "Claire and Kara pushed me, and I'm very grateful to race with them. It's bittersweet, but Kara and I are like best friends so I'm excited to run with her next season."
Shriner took in the experience and looks forward to trying to get back.
"It's my third time here in three years, and I'm glad to be in the top 8 and stand on the podium," she said. "Odessa and I pushed each other so I'm glad we could race together one more time."
Strunk's distance came on her third throw of her heat. She noted the climb to the podium has been a long journey, but the support of her parents and coaches helped her finish with All-Ohio honors.
"My support system has been great, and my coaches Zach Clapper, Zane Lawrence, (Mike) Casapini and Tiny have helped me out, especially Coach Clapper. He's made our throws program better," Strunk said. "Last year was a bad year, but this year, I had a better mentality and worked on being more consistent.
"I knew I had this throw in me, and feel like I have some left. I'm disappointed I wasn't able to get a little bit more," she added. "It's awesome to be here, and I appreciate everyone's support in helping me get here."
Church was aiming for better than eighth, but she began cramping up about halfway through the race. Yet, it's an improvement over her 15th-place finish as a freshman.
"I'm All-Ohio, and I wanted to run a better time, but I started cramping up on the back stretch," she said. "I need to have better warmups and focus on being better mentally. It's still great to be All-Ohio, and I'll aim for better next year."
bhannahs@gannett.com; @brandonhannahs
This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: State Track: John Glenn's Fields, Snider headline All-Ohioans
