Coaches optimistic as Trojans ready for NLL meets

FINDLAY – It was a drizzly, cooler-than-normal day at the Cooper Tire Track & Field Complex on Friday.As the annual Findlay High/Cooper Tire Invitational was winding down, though, some bright skies appeared to the west and tried pushing their way toward the stadium.The symbolism wasn't lost on Findlay High girls track coach Mark Gleason."We're trying to get ready for the league meet (May 13, 15 at Napoleon) and then the regional," Gleason said with one eye on the scurrying clouds and the other on the future."Obviously, you've got Fremont (Ross) and Perrysburg, they're the two main teams, and Anthony Wayne with their sprints …. But I think it (the Northern Lakes League meet) is wide open this year, a four-team race."If things break our way – it'd be nice to get some good weather – possibly first or second. That's our goal, especially in this league which is so solid top to bottom."Two of the teams Gleason mentioned – Fremont Ross and Anthony Wayne – battled to the wire on Friday. Ross won the girls title with 137 points, finishing just ahead of Anthony Wayne in the final event, the 1,600 relay, to edge the Generals by 1.5 points in the final standings. Findlay place third (95.5) ahead of Tiffin Columbian (84.5), Sylvania Northview (54), Bowling Green (44), Toledo Scott (37), Toledo Rogers (36.5), Elida (25) and Lima Senior (4).Fremont Ross won the boys portion of the meet as well, but by a greater cushion. The Little Giants had 131 points, Scott was second with 95 and Sylvania Northview had 80.5. Findlay (77) edged Anthony Wayne (74) for fourth, followed by Elida (62), Bowling Green (57.5), Toledo Rogers (51) and Tiffin Columbian (23). Liberty-Benton pole vaulter Parker Martien competed in the meet as an individual, placing third (11-6) and earning six points in the team standings.Findlay's girls team placed fourth in two big meets early in the season, then dominated the field in winning the Lima Shawnee Invitation last week."We've got nice sprint relays, we've got hurdlers, we got distance (runners), we got field events … yeah, we've got a nice team this year, one of the deeper teams we've had in a while," Gleason said."We've been pretty good the last couple of years. But this year, we've been able to put the pieces together that maybe we didn't have before."Findlay's girls won just two races, but scored in 12 of the 17 events and doubled up in five.Findlay's wins came in the distance relays, with Josey Weihrauch, Olivia Gayhart, Mya Hammer and Anika Helms placing first in the 1,600 relay (4:08.92), and Abanna Dotson, Gabby Brankamp, Kayla Moyer and Natalie Gutman taking the tape in the 3,200 relay (9:58.16).Weihrauch, Gayhart, Hammer and Katelynn Carpenter placed third in the 800 relay (1:46.53).Weihrauch also placed second (1:00.26) and Helms fourth (1:03.75) in the 400-meter run, Dotson was third (2:30.29) and Megan Guthrie eighth (2:34.90) in the 800, and Brankamp was sixth (5:38.93) and Moyer seventh (5:43.41) in the 1,600.Lexi Steffen was second in the 100 hurdles (16.42) and fourth in the 300s (51.64). Baylee LaMaster was seventh in the 200 (27.95) and Kelsey Ferguson was seventh in the 100 hurdles (18.33).In the field events, Gayhart was second (4-10) and Addison Lobb fourth in the high jump. Aviana Howell was second in the shot (32-6) and Carpenter placed third in the long jump (15-8 ¾).In the boys meet, Russell Stine was the meet champion in the 3,200 run (9:41.72) and led off the runner-up 3,200 relay (8:25.42) that included Camden Stechschulte, Lucas Parnell and Tyler Strabley.Strabley placed in three other events, finishing fourth in the 1,600 (4:35.61), sixth in the 800 (2:01.31) and third in the 1,600 relay (3:38.32) with a group that included Jack Zoll, Maysen Hetrick and Abel Powell.Zoll and Hetrick also teamed with Greyson Geiser and Jediah Scott on the third-place 800 relay (1:31.53), while Geiser, Scott, Dominic Smith and Soni Hines were second in the 400 relay (43.49)."Our strength is our distance crew, and our sprint relays are really solid," said FHS boys coach Brian Rosendale."We got some injuries here and there, but we're pretty good on the track."Charlie Ernst placed fifth in the 300 hurdles (43.24) and sixth in the 110s (17.10), Hines was sixth in the 100 (11.60) and Geiser was eighth in the 200 (23.63).In the field events, Izaac Abdul-Zahir was fourth (18-8) and Hetrick seventh (18-4) in the long jump, Jadyn Marquis was fifth (131-6) and Tate Richards eighth (118-1) in the discus, and Will Cook finished eighth in the shot (39-5½).Now it's on to the NLL meet next week, then a regional format that Rosendale admits has him scratching his head."It's crazy," Rosendale said of a new system that not only has expanded track from three to five divisions, but has also divided Division I schools into four super-regionals."We have to go down there (Huber Heights Wayne, near Dayton) like on the 18th and do prelims, then go back almost a week-and-a-half-later and do semifinals, then you have the finals … it's like three different meets."It's a tough regional. It's going to be a buzzsaw."