While every event at the state meet is important and fun to watch and each has its little elements and story lines that interest different individuals, here are five events that should be labeled "Do Not Miss." If you are a true fan of Track and Field you won't want to miss these events.
Below are the events for Girls Division 1, in no particular order, that you will want to make sure that you get to see.
1. 200m Dash
Prelims on Friday at 6:55pm
Finals on Saturday at 6:05pm
Three time defending state Champion Destinee Gause, a senior at Reynoldsburg will look to make it four in a row. While she does have the state leading time in this event, she will have challenges from Megan Osborne of Chillicothe, Stephanie Ferrante of Chardon, Alicia Arnold of Lorain and a handful of others. This will likely be Gause's third race of the day and seventh of the weekend, but if she can win on Saturday she will have a rare opportunity of becoming a four time champion in the 200m Dash. Gause will also be shooting to run 23.64 or better, which would break Aereon Payne's (Beaumont) 2007 Division 1 and State Meet record.
2. 300m Hurdles
Prelims on Friday at 6:35pm
Finals on Saturday at 5:40pm
This is going to be one of the more exciting races on Saturday as six athletes return who made the finals in 2011. In one preliminary heat, you have Claudia Saunders (Princeton) who is a two-time bronze medalist and three time state placer in this event. Also in Saunders heat is 2011 silver medalist and 2x state placer, Melody Farris of Lorain. In the other preliminary heat, Faith Washington of Reynoldsburg has finished 2nd, 3rd and 4th over the last three years and will look to add an individual gold medal to finish out her career. Also in Washington's heat are three other finalists from last year, Paige Yeager (Solon) who is making her third trip to state in this event, Taylor McDonald of Nordonia who was a finalist last year, and Joscelyn Powell of Canal Winchester who made the finals last year as a freshman. The prelims are going to be tough to make it out of, but whoever does knows that they will have a full out battle for 300 meters on Saturday to look forward to.
3. 800m Run
Saturday at 5:55pm
A total of eight girls in the field have already run sub 2:15, and all are within four seconds of each other. Given the right conditions, this is a race where we could see multiple athletes go sub 2:10. Therese Haiss of Solon is the state leader at 2:11.11, but also in the field is 2011 silver medalist, Danielle Pfeifer of McAuley and 2011 bronze medalist Amber Davis of Shaker Heights. This field includes seven athletes that competed in the event last year, including five athletes that placed. Other athletes to watch include Natalie Zidd of Highland-Medina, Rebecca Rings of Jerome, Allison Work of Sylvania Northview and Anna Boyert of Medina.
4. 4x100m Relay
Prelims on Friday at 6:05pm
Finals on Saturday at 5:20pm
Reynoldsburg, Withrow, Lorain, Gahanna Lincoln and Solon will sqaure off in this speedy relay race. Withrow is the defending champion and returns two of four athletes from last year's team (Jade Loveless and Jasmyne Robinson). Reynoldsburg has ran the state's fastest time at 46.61, which is just off the Division 1 and State Meet record of 46.53 (set by Withrow in 2009). Lorain and Gahanna Lincoln could be players as each team has gone sub 48 recently. Solon, another team that has gone sub 48, will look to finish high on the podium to help pick up some team points.
5. High Jump
Saturday at Noon
North Canton Hoover's 4x state qualifier in the High Jump, Maddie Morrow, will be looking for her first OHSAA State Meet Championship to go along with her other accomplishments (2x OHSAA State Meet silver medalist, 2010 OATCCC Indoor State Meet silver medalist, 2x NBIN silver medalist, 2012 NBON National Champion, and 2x OATCCC Indoor State Meet Champion). Morrow, who is bound for Duke University in the fall, has a season best jump of 5-10, and personal best jump of 5-11 (set during the 2011 campaign). Jasmine Glover of Sidney and Taylor Smith of Canal Winchester are the only athletes in Division one that are within 4" of Morrow.
Returning State Champions
Event - Name (School) - Last Year's winning time/mark
4x800m Relay - Mason - 9:13.09
100m Hurdles - Chantel Richardson (West Geauga) - 14.39
100m Dash - Destinee Gause (Reynoldsburg) - 11.82
4x200m Relay - Withrow - 1:38.91
4x100m Relay - Withrow - 46.90
400m Dash - Brianna Neitzel (Brunswick) - 54.70
200m Dash - Destinee Gause (Reynoldsburg) - 23.84
Shot Put - D'Monami Gardner (Withrow) - 46-8.75