This is the Division III Girls State Meet Preview. Inside you will find five events that will be of interest to the general track and field fan. While this Preview will not be as in depth as the Division I preview, this is in no way a slight to the athletes that have made it to the Division III State meet. Simply it is just a matter of time available to be able to do a preview for both Division II and Division III at the state level.
It's an honor for all athletes to make the state meet, and OHRunners wishes everyone the best.
State Meet Preview - Five Events to Watch
Girls Division III
1600m
1b 205 Samantha Hamilton, North Jackson Jackson-Milton 11 5:10.58
2a 123 Natalie Perzanowski, Bellaire St. John Central 12 5:27.70
2b 215 Melanie Frank, Gates Mills Gilmour Academy 11 5:18.77
3a 5 Katie Borchers, Russia 9 5:27.68
3b 700 Ashley Sprunger, Pandora-Gilboa 11 5:19.12
4a 19 Mary Prakel, Versailles 11 5:18.64
4b 312 Kayla Cook, South Webster 10 5:21.54
5a 624 Stephanie Morgan, Barnesville 11 5:03.82
5b 117 Kelly Perzanowski, Bellaire St. John Central 10 5:14.46
6a 101 Alexa Stults, Old Fort 10 5:16.58
6b 501 Anne Wise, Atwater Waterloo 9 5:17.73
7a 504 Amanda Meixner, Cincinnati Country Day 11 5:26.05
7b 22 Monica Ciarnello, Lowellville 10 5:16.89
8a 615 Kim Swartz, Tiffin Calvert 12 5:19.15
8b 600 Jessica Albers, Minster 10 5:20.41
Ones to Watch
Any time Stephanie Morgan runs things could get interesting. Her Penn Relay time, when converted to the 1600m using the MileSplit Conversion Calculator would have been an all division State Record for Ohio. She already holds the DIII record, and she very well could go for the all division record since she is running at 10:05 AM. She owns the fastest one mile of the season in the country, and her converted 1600m time places her second in the nation. If she breaks the record here, Infeld might try to regain the record at the Division I meet later in the day, but Infeld will likely have to deal with the heat. Perzanowski sisters should battle it out with Siefker for the second through fourth spots.
800m
1b 327 Jessica Phillips, Attica Seneca East 10 2:19.99
2a 117 Kelly Perzanowski, Bellaire St. John Central 10 2:22.88
2b 163 Jessica Burkett, Gibsonburg 12 2:21.60
3a 624 Stephanie Morgan, Barnesville 11 2:12.11
3b 423 Elizabeth Hess, Burton Berkshire 12 2:21.24
4a 608 Jessica Winkler, Creston Norwayne 11 2:21.60
4b 40 Amanda Roden, Fairfield Cincinnati Christian 9 2:19.01
5a 760 Katie Bunker, Cedarville 10 2:17.67
5b 25 Mindy Henry, Versailles 11 2:20.20
6a 606 Molly Maag, Ottoville 10 2:21.26
6b 801 Kristin Miller, Columbus Africentric Secondary 10 2:25.86
7a 105 Katie Honigford, Van Wert Lincolnview 12 2:19.06
7b 501 Claire Larson, Columbus School for Girls 12 2:24.96
8a 711 Audrey Maheu, Warren John F. Kennedy 12 2:13.84
8b 215 Melanie Frank, Gates Mills Gilmour Academy 11 2:19.55
Ones to Watch
Any time Stephanie Morgan runs things could get interesting. I know I already said that, but it's true. Morgan ran a 2:07 earlier in the year which leads the state and also is the US #3 time currently. Morgan has nearly a six second better PR than the rest of the DIII girls. Morgan is going to run the 1600m all out, so we will see how she can come back, she will run to win the race, but just imagine what she could do if she was fresh and was pushed. Maheu will be running the 800m fresh, so she might be able to challange Morgan. Bunker, Phillips and Larson will all be running for the bronze medal.
4x200m Relay
2 Belpre 1:45.03
3 Columbus Grove 1:45.69
4 Bellaire St. John Central 1:42.77
5 Maria Stein Marion Local 1:46.23
6 Gates Mills Gilmour Academy 1:44.62
7 Minster 1:48.06
8 Findlay Liberty-Benton 1:47.36
1 McDonald 1:48.41
2 Creston Norwayne 1:46.12
3 Delphos Jefferson 1:47.88
4 Bluffton 1:44.39
5 Youngstown Ursuline 1:44.59
6 Steubenville Catholic Central 1:44.07
7 Arlington 1:46.36
8 Columbus School for Girls 1:45.08
Ones to Watch
St. John Central set the DIII State Record at the Pickerington Regional last weekend, the only question is how low they can go. They are nearly a second and a half faster than the rest of the field and should cruise to a gold medal. Bluffton, Gilmour Academy and Steubenville Catholic Central should battle it out for second through fourth places. The team with the cleaner exchanges will get the silver.
Pole Vault
2 616 Brittany Auker, Fredericktown 12 8'09.00"
3 305 Cami Wasserman, Kansas Lakota 12 10'04.00"
4 352 Jenna Cockrell, Chillicothe Huntington 11 9'06.00"
5 831 Mackenzie Fields, Cincinnati Mariemont 12 11'00.00"
6 109 Katie Reid, Garfield Heights Trinity 12 10'03.00"
7 764 Alexa Dorricott, Columbia Station Columbia 12 10'00.00"
8 66 Josie Caglianone, Versailles 12 10'04.00"
9 608 Grace Needler, Columbus Grove 12 10'00.00"
10 222 Katie Grothouse, Delphos St. John's 12 10'04.00"
11 214 Stefini Kosa, Lakeside Danbury 12 10'00.00"
12 707 Chelsey Detwiler, Dalton 12 11'06.00"
13 901 Tori Meyer, Hamler Patrick Henry 9 9'08.00"
14 683 Mackenzie Wills, Troy Christian 12 12'02.00"
15 78 Michelle Adams, Independence 12 10'03.00"
16 627 Kaitlyn Newkirk, Fredericktown 10 9'00.00"
Ones to Watch
Wills set the all division state record by being the first girl to clear 13' in Ohio history ealier this seson (watch the video). Let's see if she can set the bar higher at the State Meet. Nobody else in DIII has cleared 12', so Wills is the clear front runner in this competition. Detweiler is the next to step in if Will faulters. Fields and Wasserman are the other DIII girls that have cleared 11' and the bronze medal could come down to misses.
Discus
2 49 Christine Borchers, Versailles 11 125'04"
3 632 Kayla Wilson, Creston Norwayne 11 125'00"
4 828 Hannah Benzing, Findlay Liberty-Benton 11 119'00"
5 790 Amelia Carter, DeGraff Riverside 10 122'09"
6 546 Alexandra Roberts, Columbus School for Girls 12 132'05"
7 708 Katie Gerhardt, Cedarville 12 149'02"
8 542 Jenna Pew, Smithville 10 117'00"
1 933 Kathy Dirksen, Maria Stein Marion Local 12 125'06"
2 377 Jessica Molyet, Fremont St. Joseph Central Catholic 10 121'10"
3 139 Erin Pendleton, Elmore Woodmore 11 160'10"
4 882 Megan Green, Bellaire 11 121'07"
5 215 Kim Booth, Milford Center Fairbanks 10 123'04"
6 132 Lauren Jenkins, Bellaire St. John Central 11 117'02"
7 235 Joh'Vonnie Mosley, McDonald 10 119'00"
8 270 Samantha Bryan, McComb 11 126'04"
One to Watch
When's the last time a Pendleton didn't win the discus at the State Meet? The answer is 2003. When will be the next time a Pendleton doesn't win the discus at the State Meet? We could have to wait up to the year 2011 to find out! Erin Pendleton took second to her sister, Emily (who now throws for Michigan), last year. Erin is now the favorite, as she has a mark that is 18' better than the rest of the state. Erin also set her PR in the same ring in horrid conditions back at the Jesse Owens Classic in early May. Gerhardt has the second best throw in the state, and it will likely remain that way while she takes home the silver medal. Roberts and Borchers should battle it out to see who gets the bronze.