Staff report
TROY — Day 1 of the Division 3 Regional Track Meet was held Friday at Troy Memorial Stadium, with finals held in five field events as well as the boys and girls 3200 relay.
After the first day, there are already seven county/area schools that will be represented at the State Track Meet next week.
In the girls 3200 relay, Minster took first place with a time of 9:32.2, and the Russia foursome earned the final qualifying spot, placing fourth in 9:47.92.
And in the boys 3200 relay, Fort Loramie was clearly the class of the field, running an 8:01.76 to win by about 15 seconds.
In the field events, the boys discus saw all four qualifiers from the area.
Josh Miller of Botkins followed up his district title with a first in the regional with a toss of 156 feet, 3 inches. He was followed by John Dirksen of Marion Local (152-5), David Stammen of Houston (140-even), and Tony Winner of Minster (139-1).
In the girls shot put, Grace Homan of Botkins was third and Maddy Moeller of New Bremen was fourth to both qualify.
Fort Loramie’s Jarrett Meyer qualified in the long jump, placing third with a distance of 20 feet, 9.25 inches.
And Jordyn Heitbrink of Minster qualified in the high jump, clearing 5-5 to place second.
There as one other field event, the pole vault, but no local or area competitors were able to make the top five. Fort Loramie’s Alan Holdheide finished in fifth place, just one spot out of qualifying.
Joe Shuga of Botkins was fifth to just miss out in the discus, and Minster’s Savanah Luthman settled for fifth in the shot put. Claire Spicer of Anna was sixth.
The rest of the field events as well as the running events will be held on Friday at Troy, with the top four in each event advancing to the state meet next week.
Division 3 Regional Track
State qualifiers
(With regional places)
Girls 3200 relay — 1. Minster 9:32.2;. 4. Russia 9:47.92.
Boys 3200 relay — 1. Fort Loramie (Luthman, Rethman, J. Ballas, T. Ballas) 8:01.76.
Boys discus — 1. Josh Miller, Botkins, 156-3; 2. John Dirksen, Marion Local, 152-5; 3. David Stammen, Houston, 140-0; 4. Tony Winner, Minster, 139-11.
Girls high jump — 2. Jordyn Heitbrink, Minster, 5-5.
Boys long jump — 3. Jarrett Meyer, Fort Loramie, 20-9.25.
Girls shot put — 3. Grace Homan, Botkins, 38-5.25; 4. Maddy Moeller, New Bremen, 37-4.25.
Boys pole vault — no local/area qualifiers.
