Paulding County will be well represented at the 2021 state track and field meets as ten athletes from the three county schools advanced out of regional competition over the weekend.
In the Division III regional at Tiffin, Wayne Trace sophomore Sydnee Sinn clinched a state berth in the 400 dash by taking second with a time of 59.05 seconds. Junior Rachel Stoller just missed qualifying for state in the 400, placing fifth in 1:00.81.
The Lady Raiders’ 3200 relay team of Kassidy Campbell, Kiara Bahena, Abby Moore and Sinn clinched a state meet appearance by taking third in 9:45.42.
The red, white and blue 1600 relay quartet of Rachel Stoller, Bahena, Gracie Shepherd and Sinn also qualified for the state meet, posting a second-place finish in 4:06.44.
Antwerp will also be represented at the state meet as junior Leslie Pollock recorded a throw of 121-4 to take fourth place in the discus.
In Division II, Paulding junior Claire Schweller qualified for the state meet as well with a third-place finish in the pole vault at the Piqua regional.
Those placing but just missing qualifying spots for the state meet were Wayne Trace’s Shepherd, who took sixth in the high jump with a leap of 5-2, and Antwerp junior Kiara Reyes, who finished eighth after a jump of 9-4 in the pole vault.
On the boys side, the Raiders send a pair of individuals on to Columbus in freshman Maddox Treece and junior Brayson Parrish.
Treece secured a spot in the state meet with a fourth-place finish in the 400 dash, crossing the finish line in 51.86 seconds, while Parrish placed fourth in the 110 hurdles with a time of 16.08 seconds.
Senior Ryan Wenninger scored points as well for the red, white and blue by finishing seventh in the 400 dash (54.24) while senior Owen Manz narrowly missed a state berth, recording fifth place in the 800 run with a time of 2:02.79.
The Raider 3200 relay quartet of Ryan Wenninger, Cameron Sinn, Jeremiah Molitor and Owen Manz placed seventh in 8:31.45.
Schweller also placed in the Division II 300-meter hurdles for the Lady Panthers, finishing seventh with a time of 49.91 seconds.
Division III events at the state meet will be held at Westerville North High School on Friday, June 4, and Saturday, June 5.
Pollock will open the day for local athletes by taking part in the discus finals at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, June 4.
Wayne Trace’s girls 3200 relay team will run at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, June 4, while Sinn will take part in the 400 dash semifinals at 4:15 p.m. that same day. The Lady Raider 1600 relay team is scheduled to run at 5:30 p.m. on June 4.
Parrish will take part in his 110 hurdle semifinals at 2:45 p.m. and Treece is slated to run in the 400 dash semifinals at 4:30 p.m.
The Division II state meet will be hosted by Pickerington North High School with Schweller taking part in the pole vault on Saturday, June 5, at 10:00 a.m.
