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MANSFIELD – One of the first people to congratulate Shelby senior Ava Bowman after she set the school record in the 200 meter dash at Saturday’s 92nd Mehock Relays was star quarterback Brayden DeVito.
He probably figured he owed her that much after she confided in him that it was going to happen.
“I’ve been eyeing it for a while,” Bowman admitted after winning in 25.57. “Since my sophomore year.”
ONTARIO RELAYS: Colonel Crawford, Crestview rise to the challenge at Ontario Relays
After all she’s been through, that must seem like eons ago. A two-time state medalist in 2023, Bowman’s junior season was essentially wiped out by injury. But it’s safe to say her hamstring issues are a speck in her rearview mirror … sort of like her competition Saturday.
Bowman won three Mehock gold medals and was part of a banner day by her Whippets as Shelby held off Ashland by a 137-131.5 margin to win the 21-team Relays at Mehock Field.
Bowman swept the short sprints, coming out of a one-hour rain and lightning delay to win the 100 dash in 12.23, just off the 12.18 she ran for fifth place at state as a 10th grader. She also ran a leg on the first place 4x100 relay team (49.76), collaborating with Princess Timko, Ashley Montgomery and Madison Henkel. That same crew set the school record (49.30) two days earlier at the Ontario Relays.
“After missing last year, being able to run this year is just such a blessing,” Bowman said. “And to be able to run every day, we’re just so excited. We have some big goals. I worked really hard in the off-season and it’s shaping up now.”
Henkel is reassessing how she wants to approach next off-season after her fast start this spring. Long-jumping for just the second time this season, she successfully defended her Mehock crown with a leap of 18-7.25.
To put that in perspective, that easily eclipsed her jump of 18-2.75 for third place at last year’s state meet and flirted with her winning mark of 18-9 in last year’s Mehock.
“I feel like I’m right there,” the Shelby junior said about cracking 19 feet. “I’ve played club volleyball in the winter, but track’s been on my mind more recently.
“I definitely want to work with a coach on long jumping since I’ve never really worked with anybody before. I think next year I’m not going to play volleyball. I’ll work on track all winter long and hopefully keep getting better my senior year.”
Henkel added the high jump to her workload last week for the first time since eighth grade and cleared 5-1 in her first meet. But her main focus will always be on the long jump.
“I think I need to work on my speed and get faster,” she said. “There’s a lot of little stuff, technique-wise, I need to get better at.”
Timko, like Henkel, walked away as a double gold medalist for the Whippets. In addition to her leg on the 4x1, she also won the 300 hurdles in 47.70.
A sprinter at heart, Timko finished third (12.62) going head-to-head with Bowman in the 100. A repeat duel in the 200 would have been the safe way for Shelby to go, but Timko took on the hurdles for the first time this season to see if it might result in even more points for the Whippets than just doubling up in an event.
“I wanted to try it because it helps out the team,” Timko said. “I think it’s good for Ava to get points in the 200 and then for me to run the hurdles makes us better as a team. I like the adrenaline of racing everybody to the first hurdle.”
Also winning Mehock gold for the champs was sophomore Anna Will. She took first in the 1600 with a time of 5:36.6.
Led by senior Vivian Walter, Ashland’s girls kept the pressure on Shelby the entire meet. Walker won the 100 hurdles (15.4), matched the winning height (10-6) in the pole vault en route to runner-up honors, ran a leg on the second place 4x1 relay and took fourth in the 300 hurdles.
Walter’s PR in the hurdles is 15.34, so she was right there. Her goal is to break 15 seconds.
“I’ve been waiting for a good race this year and I finally feel like I had one today,” she said. “I think the humidity is all I needed and I stayed focused instead of worrying about some of the adversaries from the weather.”
Walter achieved a PR in the pole vault and her winning time in the hurdles was nearly a second faster than her first place showing (16.1) one week earlier in the Ray Mitchell Lexington Invitational.
Ashland junior Kelsey Kaeser swept the weights, winning the shot put (34-9) and discus (110-3). The Arrows kicked off the running finals with back-to-back wins, with Walter’s victory coming right after a first-place time of 10:28.8 by the 4x800 team of Bailey Hartman, Ava Cline, Elena Haynes and Aliviah Sauder.
Sauder, a sophomore, added a second Mehock gold by winning the 800 in 2:28.23.
For a team with only one senior on their roster, the Clear Fork girls did some nice work, winning two sprint relays and getting a first from sophomore Asia Bechtel in the high jump (5-2).
Bechtel was also part of the first place 4x200 relay (1:48.7), joined by Elli Pelkey, Taylor Richmond and Taylor Bly.
Clear Fork’s 4x400 crew of Bly, Richmond, Pelky and Quinn Stover closed out the meet in style, winning in 4:18.75. That helped the Colts lock down third in the team standings, seven points ahead of Sandusky.
Richmond, who won the long jump a week earlier at the Lexington Invitational, took fifth in the event Saturday while Bechtel was eighth. Richmond was also third in the high jump, two inches off Bechel’s winning mark.
It was a very promising showing from a young squad in a field that in addition to its strong local flavor featured teams from the north (Sandusky, Cleveland Central Catholic) and south (Columbus Walnut Ridge and Columbus Africentric) as well as a team with a strong track and field tradition in Seneca East.
Bechtel took advantage of the sun making a rare appearance while she was jumping to achieve a PR by two inches. Her sights are set on her mother, Brittany’s, school record of 5-6.75.
“I think she said her sophomore year she got 5-3, so I’m only an inch away from that,” said Bechtel, whose mom is also her jumps coach. Records are meant to be broken, so she wants me to get hers.”
Bechtel’s 5-2 Saturday bettered her best in last year’s Mehock by eight inches, but she isn’t going to get too far ahead of herself.
“I don’t have any set goals this season,” she said. “I just want to get better one inch and one meet at a time.”
Colonel Crawford had three Mehock champs: Gabby Roston, a returning state medalist, repeated in the pole vault (106), Mira Holt won the 400 (1:00.87) and, on the boys, Luke Christman won the discus (151-10).
Karter Boggs took the boys mile for Bucyrus, winning in 4:31.7.
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Shelby girls ride six firsts to team title in 92nd Mehock Relays
Continue reading...
He probably figured he owed her that much after she confided in him that it was going to happen.
“I’ve been eyeing it for a while,” Bowman admitted after winning in 25.57. “Since my sophomore year.”
ONTARIO RELAYS: Colonel Crawford, Crestview rise to the challenge at Ontario Relays
After all she’s been through, that must seem like eons ago. A two-time state medalist in 2023, Bowman’s junior season was essentially wiped out by injury. But it’s safe to say her hamstring issues are a speck in her rearview mirror … sort of like her competition Saturday.
Bowman won three Mehock gold medals and was part of a banner day by her Whippets as Shelby held off Ashland by a 137-131.5 margin to win the 21-team Relays at Mehock Field.
Bowman swept the short sprints, coming out of a one-hour rain and lightning delay to win the 100 dash in 12.23, just off the 12.18 she ran for fifth place at state as a 10th grader. She also ran a leg on the first place 4x100 relay team (49.76), collaborating with Princess Timko, Ashley Montgomery and Madison Henkel. That same crew set the school record (49.30) two days earlier at the Ontario Relays.
“After missing last year, being able to run this year is just such a blessing,” Bowman said. “And to be able to run every day, we’re just so excited. We have some big goals. I worked really hard in the off-season and it’s shaping up now.”
Henkel is reassessing how she wants to approach next off-season after her fast start this spring. Long-jumping for just the second time this season, she successfully defended her Mehock crown with a leap of 18-7.25.
To put that in perspective, that easily eclipsed her jump of 18-2.75 for third place at last year’s state meet and flirted with her winning mark of 18-9 in last year’s Mehock.
“I feel like I’m right there,” the Shelby junior said about cracking 19 feet. “I’ve played club volleyball in the winter, but track’s been on my mind more recently.
“I definitely want to work with a coach on long jumping since I’ve never really worked with anybody before. I think next year I’m not going to play volleyball. I’ll work on track all winter long and hopefully keep getting better my senior year.”
Henkel added the high jump to her workload last week for the first time since eighth grade and cleared 5-1 in her first meet. But her main focus will always be on the long jump.
“I think I need to work on my speed and get faster,” she said. “There’s a lot of little stuff, technique-wise, I need to get better at.”
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Timko, like Henkel, walked away as a double gold medalist for the Whippets. In addition to her leg on the 4x1, she also won the 300 hurdles in 47.70.
A sprinter at heart, Timko finished third (12.62) going head-to-head with Bowman in the 100. A repeat duel in the 200 would have been the safe way for Shelby to go, but Timko took on the hurdles for the first time this season to see if it might result in even more points for the Whippets than just doubling up in an event.
“I wanted to try it because it helps out the team,” Timko said. “I think it’s good for Ava to get points in the 200 and then for me to run the hurdles makes us better as a team. I like the adrenaline of racing everybody to the first hurdle.”
Also winning Mehock gold for the champs was sophomore Anna Will. She took first in the 1600 with a time of 5:36.6.
Five firsts for the Arrows
Led by senior Vivian Walter, Ashland’s girls kept the pressure on Shelby the entire meet. Walker won the 100 hurdles (15.4), matched the winning height (10-6) in the pole vault en route to runner-up honors, ran a leg on the second place 4x1 relay and took fourth in the 300 hurdles.
Walter’s PR in the hurdles is 15.34, so she was right there. Her goal is to break 15 seconds.
“I’ve been waiting for a good race this year and I finally feel like I had one today,” she said. “I think the humidity is all I needed and I stayed focused instead of worrying about some of the adversaries from the weather.”
Walter achieved a PR in the pole vault and her winning time in the hurdles was nearly a second faster than her first place showing (16.1) one week earlier in the Ray Mitchell Lexington Invitational.
Ashland junior Kelsey Kaeser swept the weights, winning the shot put (34-9) and discus (110-3). The Arrows kicked off the running finals with back-to-back wins, with Walter’s victory coming right after a first-place time of 10:28.8 by the 4x800 team of Bailey Hartman, Ava Cline, Elena Haynes and Aliviah Sauder.
Sauder, a sophomore, added a second Mehock gold by winning the 800 in 2:28.23.
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Only one senior? No problem for Colts
For a team with only one senior on their roster, the Clear Fork girls did some nice work, winning two sprint relays and getting a first from sophomore Asia Bechtel in the high jump (5-2).
Bechtel was also part of the first place 4x200 relay (1:48.7), joined by Elli Pelkey, Taylor Richmond and Taylor Bly.
Clear Fork’s 4x400 crew of Bly, Richmond, Pelky and Quinn Stover closed out the meet in style, winning in 4:18.75. That helped the Colts lock down third in the team standings, seven points ahead of Sandusky.
Richmond, who won the long jump a week earlier at the Lexington Invitational, took fifth in the event Saturday while Bechtel was eighth. Richmond was also third in the high jump, two inches off Bechel’s winning mark.
It was a very promising showing from a young squad in a field that in addition to its strong local flavor featured teams from the north (Sandusky, Cleveland Central Catholic) and south (Columbus Walnut Ridge and Columbus Africentric) as well as a team with a strong track and field tradition in Seneca East.
Bechtel took advantage of the sun making a rare appearance while she was jumping to achieve a PR by two inches. Her sights are set on her mother, Brittany’s, school record of 5-6.75.
“I think she said her sophomore year she got 5-3, so I’m only an inch away from that,” said Bechtel, whose mom is also her jumps coach. Records are meant to be broken, so she wants me to get hers.”
Bechtel’s 5-2 Saturday bettered her best in last year’s Mehock by eight inches, but she isn’t going to get too far ahead of herself.
“I don’t have any set goals this season,” she said. “I just want to get better one inch and one meet at a time.”
Four champs rep Crawford County
Colonel Crawford had three Mehock champs: Gabby Roston, a returning state medalist, repeated in the pole vault (106), Mira Holt won the 400 (1:00.87) and, on the boys, Luke Christman won the discus (151-10).
Karter Boggs took the boys mile for Bucyrus, winning in 4:31.7.
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Shelby girls ride six firsts to team title in 92nd Mehock Relays
Continue reading...
