Nine All-ohioans highlight Shelby’s weekend at State
What a weekend for Shelby athletes at the Division II state track and field championships at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
In total, Shelby brought home 9 AllOhioans and broke 4 school records during the state championships on a hot and sunny weekend in Columbus.
Kayla Gonzales led the Whippet all-ohio brigade with 4th (3200) and 5th (1600) place finishes to finish as all-ohio in two individual events.
Ava Bowman and Madison Henkel also earned double All-ohio honors. Bowman placed 5th in the 100 meter dash and Henkel finished 5th in the long jump. Both teamed with Jaleeza Zehner and Alainah Carmel to place 6th in the 4x100 and secure a spot on the All-ohio podium.
The boys 4x800 relay team of Marshall Moore, Huck Finnegan, Indy Mayer and Luke Dininger had the best finish of Shelby participants, finishing 3rd to earn Allohio honors.
The girls’ performances led Shelby to an 8th place team finish in Division II with 20 points. A total of 71 teams scored points.
Gonzales, a senior, capped her outstanding Shelby career by finishing the 3200 with a time of 11:14.49. Gonzales set a new school record in the 1600, clocking at 5:02.38.
“I was happy with my placement in both the mile and two mile. I wanted my times to be a little quicker, but the heat definitely was a factor,” said the senior Allohioan. “Overall, I had a really amazing experience with Shelby’s running program. The coaches and team make it a solid program and I have learned so much from everyone. I am excited to see our team next year, we have a lot of young talent so I hope to see them continue to get better and keep achieving big goals.”
Shelby girls coach Patience Lewis spoke about her star distance runner.
“I remember when Kayla was at her first state track meet, she struggled in the heat. Now as a senior she has taken on the heat with the addition of a second individual event, new school 1600 record and double podium performances. That’s a great way to end her HS career.”
Bowman, a sophomore, qualified as a wildcard from regionals. But she showed up big time for the weekend. Bowman ran a new PR and school record 12.18 seconds in the prelims to qualify for Saturday’s finals. Then she ran a 5th best, 12.19 in the finals to earn a spot on the podium.
A first time state qualifier, Bowman felt the competition brought the best out in her performance.
“Getting a huge PR in the 100 prelims on Friday gave me a ton of momentum and confidence for the finals on Saturday, and being able to compete with the best girls on the biggest stage gave me a huge boost. Competing at state is always a season goal for me and something I have been working towards. Being able to do that as a sophomore was a very rewarding feeling.”
Lewis spoke about the improvement Bowman made in a season.
“Ava went from last year’s 100 best of 13.22 to the state meet PR 12.18 prelim and 12.19 finals podium finish. She’s one determined young lady.”
Henkel, a freshman, set a new school long jump record with a jump of 179.75 to earn 5th place.
“We have Madison, a freshman, breaking the school record at the state meet,” said Lewis. “It’s really cool to see the Henkel long jump tradition continue.”
Henkel was excited about her individual performance.
“Individually, it felt great to podium this year as a freshman. I also broke the school record which was a season goal of mine. Competing at state was unforgettable. There are some crazy athletes there, and tons of records being broken. Overall, running and jumping against some of the greatest athletes in the state was a very exciting and rewarding experience.”
The girls 4x100 team, made up of 2 juniors (Carmel and Zehner), a sophomore (Bowman) and a freshman (Henkel) set a school record, placing 6th in the relay event. Henkel and Bowman have high hopes for next year’s relay team.
“I feel lucky to be part of a relay team with really fast and hard working girls,” said Henkel. “We were proud of the outcome this weekend, and hope to build on our successes next year.”
“This year was the first in a long time that we have brought so many girls to state individually and with our 4x100, which shows how special our team is,” she added. “We also have everyone on the sprints side returning and some talented girls coming up, so we are all working hard towards next year and hoping to be able to compete at that level again.”
Coach Lewis also spoke about her relay team and next year’s expectations.
“We have Alainah and Jaleeza who have focused on the relays to get them to state. There’s an added excitement to relays for athletes in “individual” sports. As much as these kids love to compete, working together in relays with their teammates makes the success so much sweeter. They push harder for each other and I’m so proud of them and their accomplishments this season. I’m looking forward to next season and all its potential.”
The boys’ 4x800 team had a stellar performance Friday afternoon to grab a 3rd place finish and a spot on the All-ohio podium. The boys ran the 2-mile event in 7:56.87.
Senior Huck Finnegan spoke about his relay team’s performance.
“Team-wise we were very surprised but we also knew we were fit and had to show up and did just that on the right occasion. Marshall put me in a great position in fifth place. Then I told myself to stay calm and comfortable. I did that and then it came to the last 200 and I was feeling good in third place. Then I started to kick and I handed off in first. Indy did a great job as the third leg to keep us in contention in second. Then Luke got the baton and had to run against some legit runners and kept us in third.”
Shelby boys’ coach Chris Zuercher spoke about his team’s performance and a lineup change they made for state competition.
“Extremely happy about our 4x8. We had a rough race last week at Lex. We moved Huck from anchor to second man and Luke Dininger 2nd man to anchor and it paid off. We got out strong with Marshall leading off then huck got up into the second spot at hand off. Indy Mayer took the lead on three man and we held the lead for about 400 meters. Luke D. did a great job anchoring. Marlington is the defending champions and I knew they would be tough to beat. But we were in the battle for second and I’m so proud of those guys. We showed
a ton of heart. “It’s always a great experience to get kids at state and have All-ohioans. I thought Shelby athletes showed just how good they are this weekend. I’m proud of all the kids.”
Finnegan finished his stellar track career with a 9th place finish in the 3200, narrowly missing All-ohio honors. Finnegan ran the 2-mile event in 9:37.87.
“I did my best to stay with the top pack to get All-ohio but came up short for 9th place. I ran smart but didn’t have it in the 93 degree weather. Still a good race and very happy with my career.
“I had a successful high school career, but I definitely wanted a little
more,” he continued. “I will always say that is just how I am. Satisfied but unsatisfied. This makes me want more and to push myself to become a better runner. Cross country and track will always have a place in my heart and I will remember all the fun things we did as a team. Excited for my future but sad to end my running career with Shelby track and cross country.”
The girls 4x800 team ran Friday, finishing 15th at 9:57.05. Channon Cundiff, Kailyn Schwall, Emma Montgomery and Gonzales made up the SHS team. Cundiff also competed in the 800, finishing with a time of 2:26.31.