Fairview boys 4×8 relay earns state wild

AUSTINTOWN — There's a saying that the worst place to finish at the regional track and field meet is fifth, just one spot out of qualifying for the state meet.

It certainly can be heartbreaking finishing so close to accomplishing the ultimate goal, but fifth place can also be exhilarating. Just ask the boys from Fairview, who placed fifth in the 4×800 relay at the Division II regional meet at Austintown Fitch High School May 25.

The Warriors didn't earn one of the four automatic bids to next week's state meet, but their time was fast enough to earn one of two wild-card spots given to the top two performances across the state that didn't earn a top four spot.

"I’m feeling great," said senior Ben Myers. "It's a huge win for a small school. We’re not very big even for a D-II school, so it was a big win for us. We weren't the strongest throughout the year, but coming here and competing, it was great."

Myers, the lone senior on the squad, led off in 1:58.4 to put Fairview in second place. Owen Darnell then handed off in sixth after a 2:05.2 split, and Ryan Hinojosa ran 2:09.4 to put the Warriors in fifth. Anchor Tyson Crandall went out very hard, covering his first lap in 56 seconds. Fairview was firmly in fifth place, but the Warriors knew they had a shot at a wild-card spot, so every second would count.

Crandall, who is still recovering from some sickness a few weeks back, struggled to the line in the final 100, but his split of 1:59.0 put the team at 8:12.08, good enough for a trip next week to Columbus. The Warriors won their district meet in 8:23.23, the 11th-ranked time entering the meet. But Myers was confident he and his mates would step up to the competition.

"Our district meet was a slow meet all across the district," he said. "I trust my teammates to run fast when it counts. We did that and we’re state bound now."

Two other area athletes finished in fifth place, with sophomore Jessica Linden of Keystone clearing 5-0 to take fifth, and Brookside junior Zuriah Radeff Koonce taking fifth in the shot put with a 37-5 effort. At least Radeff Koonce still has two more chances to earn a spot in the state meet, as she qualified fifth in the 200 dash and also will be competing in the long jump May 27.

Keystone's Ryne Shackelford continues to be an intriguing story this postseason, as he competed in four events, something he hasn't been able to do much this season because of hamstring issues. He started the day by winning the long jump with a leap of 23-1 despite having issues with the pit.

"I thought long jump went as well as it could have," he said. "I have no clue what was wrong with the sand, but I kept slipping. I couldn't dig my heels into the sand to have my butt finish where my feet were. On my finish, my heels would hit and I would slide, and then I put my hands back because I didn't want to fall back and hit my head. But I’m pretty happy with 23-1, especially at Austintown."

Shackelford then competed in the preliminaries of the 100 dash, placing third in his heat and earning a spot in the finals. He is the defending state champion in both the long jump and the 100.

"In the 100, I was just thinking too much," he said. "I was looking around, and I definitely shouldn't do that on Saturday. But I’m coming back. The hammy's feeling better. Hopefully I run better on Saturday."

The senior was inserted into Keystone's two sprint relays with varied results. He led off the 4×200 relay and midway through the race the Wildcats were in front of Glenville, the defending state champs in the event. However, a botched exchange between Logan Nagle and Zach Shackelford slowed Keystone down quite a bit, and when the race was over, they were disqualified for an exchange zone violation.

"I videotaped the race, and I’ve watched it over and over in slow motion," said Coach Jeff Holzhauer. "It looks like we might have been out, but you could make an argument we were in. But that's me watching in slow motion. The baton was in Zach's hand behind the (triangle). The exchange happened right on top of the (triangle). My argument is, if it's that close, I just don't see at this stage how you don't side with the kids. It was close. It was so close."

The same foursome that was disqualified in the 4×200 came back in the 4×400 relay to earn a spot in the final. In addition, Logan Nagle qualified into the final in the open 400.

Perhaps the most exciting finish by an area athlete came in the boys long jump, as Brookside's Lincoln Barnhart popped a big jump on his sixth and final attempt to move from sixth place to second place with an effort of 20-10¾. Prior to his final jump, his best had been 20-6¼.

"I was pretty nervous," he said. "I was third going into the finals, but I was sixth going into my final jump. I knew the pressure was definitely on. I didn't try to change anything. I just went and I jumped. I didn't feel like it was my best, so I turned my back to the tape and just opened up my ears. I’m very happy and I can't wait until next week."

Barnhart had a similar experience at the indoor state meet when he popped a long jump on his final attempt to move from ninth place to sixth place.

"This is not the first time it's happened," he said. "The two best conditions for my best jumps are super-hot weather or when the pressure is at its highest. I envisioned this all week. I’ve made that jump 1,000 times in my head already. So, it was like living it all over again."

Keystone's Aubrey Cindia had the highest finish among area girls, taking second in the high jump with an effort of 5-1. Last year, the junior came on late in the season to earn a surprise berth at the state meet with what was then a PR of 5-0.

"I’m so happy," she said. "Last year, I got fourth, so I’m really excited to get second. I’m hoping I can PR next week and jump 5-5, but if I tie my PR and jump 5-4, I’ll still be really happy. I didn't jump well at all last year at the state meet. It was a big learning experience. I wasn't even supposed to make regionals, and I ended up going to state. It was scary."

Other area athletes will have chances to earn a trip to Columbus in the remaining finals on May 27. Firelands sophomore Ariannah Floyd qualified to the finals in both hurdles races and in the low hurdles she had the fourth best time. Bay's boys had the fifth-best time in the 4×100 relay, and freshman Jayden Perrine earned a spot in the final in the open 200, sitting sixth. Fairview's girls ran the fifth-fastest time in the preliminaries of the 4×400 relay.

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