Area thinclads reach finals
• Ohio D3 regional track and field action opens at Massillon Jackson
MASSILLON — Nary an area competitor has punched a ticket to the Division III State Track and Field Championship … yet.
Several put themselves on the brink of a trip to Columbus during qualifying rounds of the regional at Jackson High School Wednesday evening.
Action resumes here Friday with remaining field events at 5 and running finals commencing at 6.
The majority of the qualifiers are on the boys’ side and only four schools — Barnesville, Bellaire, Steubenville Central and Union Local — have punched a ticket to the finals.
Breaking it down a step further, the majority of the qualifying occurred in the hurdles as three area athletes advanced in both the high and intermediates.
Bellaire’s Justyn Keyser — an all-Ohioan last season — advanced in the highs with the second-fastest time at 15.20. He then posted a 40.70 to earn the third-fastest qualifying spot in the intermediates.
Barnesville’s Kohl Campbell advanced in both, running impressive times in the process. He posted a 15.70 in the highs as the third qualifier and then notched a 40.89, which is seeded fourth entering the championship run.
Steubenville Central’s Sylis Fitzgerald advanced as the fifth qualifier in the highs in 15.96 and came back a short-time later to skim eight timbers in 41.22 for the fifth-best time.
In the 400, two area competitors are seeded second and third, respectively. Union Local’s Aaron Prout ran a 51.47, while Barnesville’s Matthew Burkhart broke the tape in 51.56.
Bellaire and Barnesville both qualified for another run in the 4×200. The Big Reds posted a 1:31.90, which is the second best time. The Shamrocks, meanwhile, ran a 1:32.48 for the sixth seed.
Barnesville turned in the second-fastest qualifying time in the 4×400 relay with a 3:29.68. The Big Reds’ 4×4 team finished second in its heat to automatically advance to the final with a time of 3:32.48.
Steubenville Central’s 4×1 team paced the qualifying round with a time of 44.90. The Crusaders’ 4×2 is seeded seventh in 1:32.53.
Crusaders’ speedster Justin Hartzell also advanced in the 100 and 200 meter dashes, posting an 11.54 to earn the sixth seed. In the longer sprint, he posted a 23.37, which was the sixth-best time.
Only two area female individuals qualified for the finals.
Steubenville Central high hurdler Theresa Duff was the eighth qualifier in 17.12.
Toronto’s Jozaeyah Jordan posted the seventh-best qualifying time in 27.05.
Steubenville Central’s 4×1 team owns the sixth-best time in 53.41.
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