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COLUMBUS - Multiple rain delays did not stop the actions from heating up during Saturday's Divisions II and III events at the OHSAA Jesse Owens State Track and Field Championships.
Celina had six athletes compete on the day, which also featured two long rain delays that prompted a change in the running of the Division II semifinals to a timed finals format run on Sunday and extended the finish time of the Division III running finals to 10:45 p.m.
Celina's Brenna Korte had a personal best to finish seventh in the Division III girls long jump.
Saturday got underway with Division III girls long jump, where Celina senior Rachel Rammel and freshman Brenna Korte looked to reach the final nine that compete in the final. Rammel finished shy of the podium, finishing 13th with a distance of 16 feet, 11 inches. Korte's best effort of 17-5 earned her a spot in the finals. Korte was unable to improve, finishing in a tie with West Geauga's Kara Deister. Deister's second-best effort of 17-3 1/2 allowed her to take sixth place as Korte reached the podium for seventh
"It feels great, I'm just excited to be here," said Korte. "Can't ask for much more than a podium finish. I think I could have given a little more, but I fouled my first two jumps so there was a lot of pressure on the third to just get one out there."
Celina's Gracyn Harris goes up to clear the bar during competition in the Division III girls pole vault at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
Right across the field was the Division III girls pole vault, where freshman Gracyn Harris competed in the pole vault. Harris had cleared a personal best of 12 feet and was among the five remaining vaulters alive when lightning and storms prompted a delay of nearly two hours. When action resumed at 1:30 p.m. Harris was unable to clear 12-6 in her three attempts, allowing her to tie with Medina Buckeye's Ellen Steppenbacker for fourth place and a spot on the podium. Oakwood's Mila Gelbart took the top spot at 12-10, winning the tiebreaker over teammate Addie Kash based on fewer attempts.
"It was a lot of hard work, determination and perfectionism," said Harris. "The nerves are a lot, you can feel your heart pounding and I was not expecting 12. I was injured a lot during the season but pushed through and was able to clear it."
Celina freshman Alison Hemmelgarn (5) heads down the track during the final of the Division III girls 100-meter hurdles at the state track meet at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus. Hemmelgarn finished fourth for All-Ohio honors.
The Division III running finals were set to start at 5:45 p.m., but a line of strong storms rolled into the Columbus area, clearing the stadium and not allowing a resumption of action until 8:30 p.m.
When action resumed, freshman Alison Hemmelgarn gave the Celina fans a reason to stay through the storm as she placed fourth in the girls 100 hurdles with a new personal-best time of 14.35. She was just .06 seconds behind the leader Molly Kramer from Otsego.
"It was difficult (with the delays), sitting in the car I was anxious, but I had people helping me and I had a good warmup before," said Hemmelgarn. "That helped me a lot, and I was really happy to get there as a freshman."
Next up for Celina was 100 dash and another freshman competing in Maddie Rammel. saw one Bulldog compete in the day's quickest event. Maddie Rammel 12.53 placed her ninth in the field, missing the podium by 0.003 seconds. Ottawa-Glandorf's Alivia Grothause won the event with a time of 12.12.
Celina freshman Elle Miesse finished eighth in the Division III girls 1,600 run.
The night for Celina runners concluded with the 1,600. Freshman Elle Miesse picked up a new personal best with her time of 5:00.84, which got her on the podium in eighth place. Sophia Szoloi from Athens took home first with a time of 4:48.45.
Celina's girls took home 19th out of the 60 teams with 12 1/2 points. Oakwood took home the Division III girls team trophy with Ottawa-Glandorf taking second with 41 points.
After the conclusion of the Division III girls pole vault in the afternoon, the Division II boys pole vault took the stage. Celina's Zaden Rolfes opted to start at the opening height of 13 feet rather than pass to a higher bar placement. Rolfes cleared the mark on the first attempt, but at 13-6, Rolfes was unable to clear the bar in his three attempts, finishing 12th. Piqua's Carson Holtvogt won by clearing 15-8 on his first try to win the tiebreaker over University School's Nathanael Honvou.
Celina's Zaden Rolfes goes up during Division II boys pole vault competition.
