Today is Saturday, May 31| The 152nd day of 2008

Daily Chief-Union/Brandon Drake
Regional champion
Mohawk’s Andrew Trusty (second from right) maintains his position toward the front of the pack in the beginning of the 3200 run Friday. Trusty ended up winning the race and will move on to Columbus next weekend.

Trusty wins 3200 run championship
By BRANDON DRAKE
Staff writer
TIFFIN — As the gun sounded signaling the final lap of the 3200 run, Mohawk’s Andrew Trusty stepped it up another notch with a shot of qualifying for state hanging in the balance.
Trusty shot past lead runner Tiffin Calvert’s Zach Szablewski on the back stretch and never looked back as he captured the regional title in a time of 9:57.28. His time was more than six seconds faster than his seed time and four seconds quicker than Szablewski’s second place time of 10:01.42.
Winning the race was an unbelievable feeling for the Warrior freshman.
(Refer to page 6 of today's Daily Chief-Union)
FRIDAY MAY 30, 2008
Daily Chief-Union/Brandon Drake
Dashing to the finish
Kevin Brodman of Upper Sandusky runs in the preliminary heat of the 400 dash in Thursday's Division II regional track and field meet at Lexington. Brodman, despite running in lane eight, posted the sixth fastest preliminary time but missed out on a chance to advance to the finals.
Rams hitting stride
By BRANDON DRAKE
Staff writer
LEXINGTON - The Upper Sandusky boys track and field team appears to be hitting its stride at the right time after a solid performance on the first day of competition at the Division II regional meet at Lexington High School on Thursday.
Despite not turning in their best performances of the season, the Rams flourished in the preliminary heats and will have an opportunity to earn a chance to go to state after Jason Beidelschies in the 110 hurdles and the 1600 relay team consisting of Alex Falk, Beidelschies, Josh Thammarat and Kevin Brodman advance to Saturday's finals.
"They're all excited because they all get to come back Saturday," Upper Sandusky boys coach Preston Foy said. "The 4x4, I really think they have a good chance of making it out. It is tough for these kids because none of these boys have ever been here before and this can be a very intimating place. There is some fast kids here. This is the toughest region in Division II without a doubt."
(Refer to page 6 of today's Daily Chief-Union)
Daily Chief-Union/Brandon Drake
Taking the baton
Ashleigh Kline passes off the baton to Lynzi Daughenbaugh in a preliminary heat of the 400 relay in Thursday's Division II track and field meet. The team finished with the second-best time after crossing the line in 50.834.
Upper relays continue tradition
By BRANDON DRAKE
Staff writer
LEXINGTON - Upper Sandusky has developed a fine tradition of succeeding in the relay events over the years.
That did not change on the first day of competition at the Division II regional meet at Lexington High School on Thursday, as the three Rams' relay squads stormed through the preliminary heats.
"I'm estatic for the girls," Upper Sandusky girls coach Tim Pohlman said. "I can't ask for anything more from them than what they're giving right now. They're a great group of kids, they work hard, they have high expectations for themselves, we have high expectations for them, and they strive to meet those.
"The girls, they always, I don't care what meet we're at, regional, district, the regular season, they always give everything that they have. They perform well in meets because they know what the level of competition is and they're among the top anywhere they go. So they know that, they perform at that level, and here it's just another meet. We have a certain expectation and they know they can live up to it," he said.
(Refer to page 6 of today's Daily Chief-Union)
THURSDAY MAY 29, 2008
Daily Chief-Union/Lonnie McMillan
Hurdling it
Wynford's Jena Lilly (right) stays ahead of Riverdale's Kayla Brown in the 100 hurdles on Wednesday. Lilly finished sixth in the event and will advance to race in the finals at Tiffin Columbian on Friday.
Brown posts top 300 hurdles time; Lewis 6th in HJ
By BRANDON DRAKE
Staff writer
TIFFIN - A little competition did nothing to hurt Riverdale's Kayla Brown's performance in the 300 hurdles on Wednesday.
Brown, who was the state runner-up in the event last season, posted the quickest time in the preliminaries at the Division III regional track and field meet at Tiffin Columbian High School after crossing the finish line in 45.33. Her time was more than a second faster than second-place finisher Jessica Thomas of Sandusky St. Mary's (46.63).
"She finally had a competitive time, and I really think that makes her push herself even harder," Riverdale girls coach Kim Rall said. "It usually works for her benefit if she sees there's actually competition for her, so that really helped her out (Wednesday)."
The competitive desire also showed in the 1600 relay, as Brown teamed with Shaye Eatherton, Kylie Brown and Vanessa Stewart to post the second-best preliminary time in the event in 4:06.01. They finished one second behind Columbus Grove's relay team of Paige Heffner, Ella Diller, Grace Needler and Jaimie Lewis, who finished in 4:05.05.
Rall said a large part of the team's success is based on its ability to work together.
(Refer to page 6 of today's Daily Chief-Union)
Daily Chief-Union/Lonnie McMillan
Hand off
Mohawk's Alec Shock reaches back to grab the baton from Kent Fredritz in the 400 relay at the Tiffin Columbian's Division III regional track and field meet. The relay squad finished third in the event and will run in the finals Friday.
Warriors boys 400 relay team strong in preliminary
By LONNIE McMILLAN
Sports editor
TIFFIN - The Mohawk boys 400 relay team is in good position to become a state qualifier after a third-place preliminary time of 44.81 at the Division III regional track and field meet at Tiffin's Frost-Kalnow Stadium on Wednesday.
Kent Fredritz, Alec Shock, Marcus Mewhorter and Tyler Hogan finished third in their heat and third overall in 44.81, putting them in Friday's finals. The top four teams qualify for state.
The same team finished one spot out of the finals in the 800 relay, finishing ninth in 1:34.42.
"We ran pretty competitively in our heat," Mohawk boys track and field coach Josh Fortney said. "We had some fast people on both sides of us, and they pushed us pretty good. I'm happy with how we did in the 4x2 and I'm happy with how we did in the 4x1."
(Refer to page 6 of today's Daily Chief-Union)