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Fort Recovery's Anna Roessner (left) runs with Coldwater's Claire Bertke en route to winning the Division III girls 100-meter dash.
COLUMBUS - Anna Roessner brought a presence of her own to Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium for state track weekend.
The lone representative for Fort Recovery finished with three top-three finishes to score 24 points, good enough for the Indians to finish eighth in the team standings in Division III girls, three points better than ninth-place Minster, which had seven athletes.
It was her first race of the day that proved historic as she ran the 100-meter dash, which she had qualified for on Friday with the best overall time.
From the opening horn, Roessner was off and running, finishing in 11.75 seconds, not only beating the Division III state meet record of 11.81 seconds set by Bridgeport's Brittany Hocker set in 2004, but also tying the overall Division III state record originally set by Gilmour Academy's Candace Loningo-Thomas in 2011.
"Whenever I run, I just envision someone right next to me pushing me along," said Roessner. "I just had to go as fast as I can."
The win was the second state championship for a Fort Recovery track athlete. The first coming in 1968 when Ben Timmerman won the Class A 2-mile title.
In addition to the 100 win, Roessner next finished third behind MAC rival Isabella Zahn in the 400. Then in her final race of her high school career, Roessner finished second behind Zahn in the 200.
"Honestly, I'm super-thankful to be here," said Roessner, who will run at Hillsdale College next season. "Last year I was fifth, so being able to from fifth to first was a huge progression for me. I'm so thankful to God and give Him all the glory."
Marion Local's boys, the two-time defending state champion in Division III, battled through ailments to finish tied for sixth with 22 points.
The Flyers picked up the bulk of its points in the relays, getting a fifth place finish in the 4x200 with Mason Jones, Oliver Huelsman, Justin Knouff and Victor Hoelscher taking part.
The day ended with a state title as Huelsman, Knouff, Hoelscher and Andrew Pohlman looked to win the 4x400 relay after finishing runner-up the season before. In third place after two laps, Pohlman moved the Flyers into second place as he handed the baton to Hoelscher, who used a 48.45 second lap to move into first place and edge out New Middletown Springfield by 0.36 seconds with a win in 3:21.06.
Marion Local's Victor Hoelscher takes the baton from Andrew Pohlman on the final lap of the 4x400 relay.
"Been a tough day. Better than it was (Friday)," said Huelsman. "It was cooler, the sun isn't out as much. I just tried to run my race as fast I could.
"Coming in, I knew it was my last run and most of us it's our last day," said Knouff. "We just tried to push ourselves to the fullest to get the gold."
Hoelscher also ran the finals of the 100 and 200, taking sixth in the 100 before moving up to fourth in the 200.
"Whatever helps my team win, that's all I care about," said Hoelscher. "As long as we're up and running for the title, it's not for myself."
"We've been dealing with injures on and off," said Pohlman. "Our trainer's been doing a great job to get us prepared for this."
Celina's Jon Lutz earned state runner-up honors in the Division I 110-meter hurdles at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus.
Celina senior Jon Lutz wrapped up his high school career with a great finish in the Division I 110 hurdles. Lutz's 14.05 second performance to edge Wayne's Keng Martin at the finish line earned him second place behind Fairmont's Logan Wilkins.
The St. Henry boys had a spectacular performance on the day, finished fourth in the team standings with 28 points, two points back of Africentric and three points out of first place, shared by Huron and McDonald with 31 points.
Redskin sophomore Cole Kaiser was busy Saturday, running in the 100 and 200 finals as well as part of the 4x100 and 4x200 relay. Kaiser started his day by finishing second in the 100 with a time of 10.88 seconds, moments later in the 4x200, Kaiser ran the last leg as he, Carson Harrod, Zach Heath and Will Gerlach finished sixth. Kaiser, Heath, Harrod and Kenseth Hoying then finished fourth in the 4x200 before Kaiser then wrapped up St. Henry's day with a third-place finish in the 200.
St. Henry's Cole Kaiser competes in the 100-meter dash.
Kaiser gave a nod to Marion's Hoelscher, who competed against Kaiser in the 100 and 200, to help push him to good efforts.
"We've been going all season," Kaiser. "We push each other. We're buddies and want the best for each other."
Harrod earned his own podium spot in the 110 hurdles, finishing third in 14.70 seconds.
Marion Local junior Grace Moeller earned two trips to the podium. Moeller finished second in the 100 hurdles with a time of 14.65 seconds. Later in the morning, Moeller ran a personal best of 44.95 seconds to finish fourth in the 300 hurdles.
Marion Local's Grace Moeller earned two All-Ohio finishes in the hurdle events.
Perennial power Minster finished ninth in the team points with 21 points, tallying 11 points on Saturday after winning the 4x800 on Friday. The 4x400 relay team of Sophia Dirksen, Annie Hemmelgarn, Joanna Topp and Claire Bohman finished fourth with 4:00.15.
Molly Brame picked up six points in the 100 hurdles. Bohman added a sixth-place finish in the 1,600 with Topp finishing 13th. Hemmelgarn just missed the podium in the 800 with a ninth-place finish with Dirksen placing 17th.
Coldwater's Lana Kaiser stays ahead of Minster's Sophia Dirksen and Annie Hemmelgarn in the 800.
The St. Henry girls placed 12th with 17 points. The 4x100 relay lineup of Morgan Baumer, Karlee Buschur, Sam Lauber and Ellie Fullenkamp finished sixth in 50.20 seconds. Before that, Baumer, Lauber and Fullenkamp teamed with Evie Gast to take sixth in the 4x200. Buschur later added a sixth-place finish in the 300 hurdles.
New Bremen's Sam Bernhold earned All-Ohio honors with a seventh-place finish in the boys' 800.
New Bremen's Sam Bernhold runs the boys 800.
