DAYTON — Two Otsego juniors Brooke Simon and Nathan Strahm, were state runners-up in their respective events at the Division II state track meet at the University of Dayton’s Welcome Stadium Friday and Saturday.
Simon threw 142 feet in the discus in the finals on Friday to finish behind state champion Norton senior Morgan Hallett (152 feet, two inches).
On Saturday, Strahm held on to second place the entire 800-meter race to finish in 1:53.61, exactly one second behind the champion, Dayton Carroll junior Andrew Janson (1:52.61).
For second place, Strahm beat out Fairview Park Fairview senior Tyson Crandall (1:53.72) and Plain City Jonathan Alder senior Luke Goode (1:53.78), all finishing within a split second of Strahm.
“It was a very tight pack,” Strahm said. “All of these guys here are really fast. I’m so glad I could be a part of this.
“The first 400 was supposed to be hard and then that last lap is as long as you can hang on for. I didn’t know what to expect being in the second the whole time. I figured there would always be somebody else who might have more. It was tough.”
Strahm has qualified for state all three years of high school career, finishing 11th last year, with one year remaining to qualify, but he’ll have to beat Janson, who could also return next year. This year, Strahm was just glad the temperature was more bearable.
“My last two years running here at the state meet, can’t say I’ve been the best, of course, and the weather is almost up toward 90,” Strahm said. “I’m very happy that it was a lot cooler. I think the weather helps a lot.”
Strahm was also pleased for his teammate, Simon. Both athletes scored eight points each for the Knights in the team standings.
“It feels great. She also had a tough year last at state,” Strahm said. “I’m very happy she was able to grab that runner-up this year. I know she works hard. She is outside throwing a lot while I’m out there running. Even on her own time off she practices.”
Otsego sophomore Leah McCabe cleared 5-2 in the high jump to finish in 12th place, and in the 100 hurdles, Otsego freshman Molly Kramer finished 12th in the 100 hurdles (15.68) and did not qualify for finals.
D-II state qualifiers
On Saturday, Eastwood junior Leah Emch finished ninth in the 3200 at the D-II state meet, one spot out of placing despite setting a school record (11:24.01) — that was how good the competition was.
The champion, Athens sophomore Sophia Szolosi, broke the 11-minute mark, finishing in 10:59.61.
Eastwood junior Andre Lewis cleared 6-2 in the high jump, finishing in 10th place.
In the Seated Division, Eastwood sophomore Jenna Gallant finished the 100-meter dash in 38.85 in the preliminaries and did not qualify for the finals, and Gallant threw 9-2¾ in the shot put to finish ninth.
Elmwood senior Jakob Zibbel finished 17th in the D-II 1600 in the 1600 (4:42.86), another event that saw the winner, Marlington senior Colin Carnansky (4:07.53) miss the state record (Joseph Bistritz, Chagrin Falls, 2016, 4:05.62) by less than two seconds.
Elmwood senior Micah Oliver, like Lewis, cleared 6-2 in the high jump, but fijnished in 13th place based on jumps needed to clear. The winning jump was 6-7 by Bellevue senior Wyatt Sumser.
In the 200, Rossford senior Mia DeBortoli finished 18th in 26.33 in the prelims and did not qualify for the finals.
