Staff report
SPENCERVILLE — The Fort Loramie track teams competed in the Spencerville Relays last Friday night, and highlighting their performance was two long-distance relays teams, with the five runners that won the state championship last fall in cross country, setting new meet records.
In the final team standings, Fort Loramie’s girls were fourth and the boys were fifth, with eight teams in each division.
The Loramie foursome of Alan Holdheide, Tom Ballas, Jake Rethman and Joe Ballas took first in the 3200 relay in 8:27.21 to break the previous record of 8:31.23 set by Marion Local in 2003.
And the 6400 relay (4 x 1600) with the team of Noah Siegel, Rethman, and Tom and Joe Ballas won in 19:20.3 to break the previous record of 19:25.13 set by Spencerville, also in 2003. The Redskins won by nearly two full minutes.
The distance medley relay team also took first in 8:57.39 with the same foursome as the 3200 relay, with Joe Ballas running the lead leg followed by brother Tom, Holdheide and Rethman.
And the same four runners, in the order of Rethman, T. Ballas, J. Ballas and Holdheide, won the 1600 relay in 3:43.52.
Holdheide also led the pole vault relay team to second place by clearing 13 feet. He was second in the competition, and was joined by Charles Wray, who was fourth at 10-6, and Collin Luthman, who was 11th at 8 feet.
Marion Local’s boys finished one spot ahead of Loramie in fourth place.
The Flyers got a second from the 1600 relay team of Austin Wendel, Alex Klosterman, Caleb Bruns and John Tangeman, and a second from the 400 relay throwers, including Jon Knapschaefer, Tyler Mescher, Nathan Arling and Alex Partington. They ran a 50.99.
Knapschaefer, Klosterman and Matt Tangeman combined to win the high jump relay, with both Knapschaefer and Klosterman clearing 5-8. And Knapschaefer, Mescher and John Dirksen combined for a second in the shot put relay, with Knapschaefer leading with a heave of 43-7.
• For the Fort Loramie girls, the relay team of Alyssa Wrasman, Chloe Stang, Erin Chaney and Kennedi Gephart combined to win two events. They finished first in the 1600 relay in 4:23.14, and took first in the 800 relay in 1:51.65.
Andrea Rodeheffer and Caitlin Meyer combined to win the pole vault relay, with Meyer clearing 8 feet and Rodeheffer 7-6.
Wrasman also joined Madison Rose and Rodeheffer to place second in the high jump relay.
The team of Grace Wehrman, Stang, Chaney and Wrasman finished second in the 400 relay in 54.33.
Marion Local was third in the final team standings.
The distance medley team of Jessie Kramer, Kylie Albers, Brooke Homan and Kelsey Broering won in 10:31.25, and the long jump team of Kremer and Aubrey Thobe was first, with Thobe going 16 feet and Kramer 15-3.5, the top two distances in the competition.
Thobe, Chloe Nagel, Kremer and Albers combined for a second in the 400 shuttle hurdles, Natalie Rethman, Thobe, Broering and Homan took second in the 1600 relay, and Albers, Homan, Rethman and Kramer took second in the 800 relay.
Final team standings
Boys — 1. Columbus Grove 89, 2. (tie) Spencerville, St. Henry 72, 4. Marion Local 70, 5. Fort Loramie 64, 6. Delphos Jefferson 44, 7. Ada 31, 8. Delphos St. John’s 21.
Girls — 1. Columbus Grove 98, 2. St. Henry 82, 3. Marion Local 68, 4. Fort Loramie 66, 5. Spencerville 54, 6. Ada 40, 7. St. John’s 15, 8. Jefferson 8.
