Trojan teams each place third at Cooper Tire Invite

FINDLAY – Due to some fickle weather patterns, it's been a hit or miss season for Findlay High's track teams.FHS coaches Brian Rosengarten and Mark Gleason classified Friday's Cooper Tire Invitational as more of the "hit" than the "miss" variety."We had four meets canceled this season, three Tuesday night meet and one Friday," said Gleason, the FHS girls coach."In my 33 years here, I've never seen anything like it. Our 4-by-1 (400-meter relay) broke the school record, though, and the girls are running well. Hopefully now we can get some warm weather and get some practices in.""We ran in four meets, but we also lost four," said boys coach Rosendale."I feel bad for our young kids because they haven't had a chance to run a lot (in meets). That's where they get their experience; that's where they get excited about running track and field."When you train for three months and run in only three meets, it's kind of a bummer. Tonight was beautiful, though, and we had some really good times."Both Findlay teams finished third among the 14 schools in the meet. Anthony Wayne (135), Fremont Ross (107.5) and Findlay went 1-2-3 in the final girls standings. Ross won the boys title with 95 points; Tiffin Columbian (67) edged Findlay (65), the meet champion the past three years for second.Natalie Gutman was a triple winner for Findlay's girls team. A junior, Gutman won the 800- (2:23.68) and 1,600-meter (5:17.65) runs and ran a leg on the first place 1,600 relay (4:10.24) with Josey Weihrauch, Mya Hammer and Lilly Zaciewski.Weihrauch and Hammer were on two second place relays with Olivia Gayhart and Lainie Clevenger, the 400 (49.82) and the 800 (1:45.78). Findlay's 3,200 relay was fourth (10:29.23).Lexie Steffen doubled up in the hurdles, placing second in the 100 highs (16.47) and seventh in the 300s (50.58).Weihrauch was fourth (1:01.76) and Clevenger sixth (1:04.61) in the 400, Abanna Dotson was fifth in the 800 (2:30.25) and Hammer was seventh in the 100 dash (13.30).Findlay also scored well by doubling up in the field events. Gayhart was third (5-1) and Sidney Myers fifth (4-10) in the high jump, and Neeti Borat was second (10-0) and Steffen third (10-0) in the pole vault. Katelyn Carpenter placed sixth in the long jump (15-3¼).Adrian Stechschulte led Findlay's boys team, winning the 800-meter run and breaking his own meet record with a time of 1:56.00."My first two years I did the mile (1,600) and two-mile (3,200)," said Stechschulte."My junior year, after I got a little bigger, I found the 800 was my best event. A lot of good 800 runners are pretty tall. I think that helps, especially when you have to go at the end of the race."Stechschulte did just that, running with an easy stride the first lap, then surging ahead and setting a pace that had him hitting the tape almost three seconds ahead pf his nearest challenger. "In the 4-by-4 (1,600 relay), I think I went out way too fast. I could just feel it," Stechschulte said of Trojans, who placed third in that event (3:29.44). (In the 800), I knew when I heard that bell that I had more in me to give, and that I had to go right now."Israel Moore, Dominic Smith, Greyson Geiser and Jacob Ragland were a close second to Toledo foursomes in two relay races, finishing behind Start 43.37 to 43.84 in the 400 and to Rogers, 1:30.30 to 1:30.54 in the 800.Ragland was third in the 100 (11.08), Conner Hermiller was sixth in the 400 (51.87), Tyler Strabley was seventh in the 800 (2:03.90) and the Trojans got eighth-place finishes from Moore in the 200 (23.31) and Dominic Burkett in the 300 hurdles (44.04).In the distance events, John Paul Gray, Phat Tran, Andrew Custer and Carlos Ceballos won the 3,200 relay (8:13.59) and Russell Stine IV was fourth (9:5.335) and Lucas Parnell seventh (10:14.87) in the 3,200 run. Jadyn Marquis was sixth (15-11) and Nathan Brooks seventh (120-3) in the discus.A number of area athletes also competed in the meet, and did exceptionally well, with Liberty-Benton polevaulter Stefan Kolan clearing 14-7 to win that event and set a meet record in the process"It wasn't quite what I was expecting to get at this time in the season," said Kolan, who set a personal best leap of 16-2 at last year's regional meet."Overall I'm doing pretty good, but when it comes down to vaulting it's really a mental thing. If one thing changes, even just a little bit, the whole vault can feel off."McComb's Elijah Gibbs had an impressive meet as well, winning the shot put with a throw of 53-3½ and placing second in the discus with a mark of 142-4."It's nice to come here and compete against some of the bigger schools," said Gibbs, who set the school record with a throw of 54 feel earlier this season, then broke that record with a heave of 55-1 in a meet this past week with Van Buren and Cory-Rawson.McComb's Carter Frater was second (15.38) in the 100 hurdles and sixth in the long jump (19-3¼), and Haiden Ebright was fourth in the 200 (23.01). Liberty-Benton's Donovan Stripe was fourth in the pole vault (11-6), and McComb finished fourth in the 800 relay (1:50.48) and seventh in the 400 relay 45.29).In the girls meet, McComb's Delaney Weaver was fourth in the shot (31-9¾) and Bella Franks seventh (15-2¾) in the long jump.