Newell places 10th in high jump

Carey high jumper Dana Newell goes over the bar during Friday’s Division III state track and field meet at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. After failing to clear opening height as a freshman, she cleared 5-0 to place 10th overall this time around.

COLUMBUS — Dana Newell came up two spots short of placing, but the Carey high jumper was still fairly pleased with what she accomplished Friday in Division III competition at the state track and field meet at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
Newell cleared 5-0 and finished 10th for a better showing than two years ago as a freshman in the state meet.
“I’m very happy because I did better than I did my freshman year,” she said. “My freshman year I only cleared 5 feet. This year I cleared 5 feet, but I got 10th and I’m closer (to placing).”
Because of damp, chilly weather, all the jumpers seemed to struggle more than usual. Only three girls were able to go higher than their regional-qualifying mark.
“(It affected me) just a little because your muscles get a little cold and you have to re-stretch them,” Newell said.
Columbus Grove’s Riley Eversole was the event winner by clearing 5-5. That height was matched by Parkway’s Bailey King, who lost a jump-off for the championship.
One competitor went out on the opening height and two more were eliminated at 5-0. Newell cleared both of those on her first attempt, giving her the highest place among the four jumpers unable to clear 5-2.
“With this colder air, she just didn’t quite have her arch,” Carey coach John Knickel said. “She was getting high enough. … That happens when the muscles get a little tight and a little cold.”
None of her attempts at 5-2 missed by much and her third and final try was exceptionally close.
“A number of them just made that 5-2 and we just nicked it on the last jump,” Knickel said. “It’s been so warm here lately and once it got colder here it takes a little bit of the limberness out.”
Newell topped 5-3 in the regional meet in Tiffin to qualify for state, but she and her coach agreed her form was a bit lacking in Columbus. It is something she will work on as she said she hopes to make the top eight and land a spot on the podium next year.
“Some days she’s got it really good,” Knickel said. “Today she just wasn’t quite following through on the final part of it to make that total arch. She had the height; she just didn’t have the right arch.”
Rootstown’s Ashleigh Pickens had the top regional height of 5-7.5 but settled for third in the state meet by clearing 5-4. Fourth place went to Miami East’s Leah Dunivan, also at 5-4.
Knickel said he things Newell’s senior season will bring even better results.
“I think she’ll do much better next year,” he said. “We’ll get more work on the form.”
Results
High jump: 1. Eversole (Columbus Grove), 5-5; 2. King (Parkway), 5-5; 3. Pickens (Rootstown), 5-4; 4. Dunivan (Miami East), 5-4; 5. Hynes (Lowellsville), 5-4; 6. Guagenti (Bluffton), 5-2; 7. Vosteen (Steubenville Catholic), 5-2; 8. Timko (Columbus Academy), 5-2; 9. Kaufman (Ottoville), 5-2; 10. Newell (Carey), 5-0; 11. Huston (Stryker), Knowles (East Canton), 5-0; 13. Webster (Fredericktown), 5-0; 14. Rigsby (Reedsville Eastern), 4-10; 15. Kanwar (Columbus Academy), 4-10; Boggs (Delphos Jefferson), NH.

By LONNIE McMILLAN
Sports editor

Posted by Daily Chief on June 2, 2012. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry