Seventh in the state

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Five feet, 4 inches.
As the state meet unfolded, it became clear, as expected, that it would be the height to separate the best in Ohio from the rest of the field.
After two misses at that height, Holly Brunswick’s trip to Columbus came down to one jump.
If she made it, she would guarantee herself a top-seven finish. If she missed, she’d walk away empty-handed.
She returned to Fort Recovery with a state medal around her neck.
Brunswick matched her own school record — 5 feet, 4 inches — at Friday’s OHSAA Division III Girls Track and Field State Finals to finish in seventh place and earn a state medal for the second straight season.
“It’s an awesome feeling,” said Brunswick, who tied for eighth in the state in the event last season. “Not many people get to go to state. To go back-to-back, and to go this year since it was my goal since the end of last year, is pretty sweet.”
After Brunswick was one of nine athletes to clear the bar on her first attempt at the opening height — 5 feet even — she missed on each of her first two tries at 5 feet, 2 inches. But she was able to keep her season alive by making it over on her final attempt, putting her ninth out of the 11 jumpers remaining.
Five feet, 4 inches proved to be the make-or-break height, with each of the first seven competitors missing on their first attempt. Brunswick missed again on her second try, once again leaving her season riding on a single jump.
Clearing the bar meant a state medal. Knocking it to the ground would leave her in ninth place, at best.
“By the time I got to 5-4 and it was my third attempt, I was thinking, ‘I’ve done this before. I don’t want to go out not getting it,’” she said. “I had to put all of my effort into that last jump, and that’s what I did.”
That extra effort sent her soaring smoothly over the bar, locking up a spot on the state podium for the second straight season.
“I think it was just that last little push,” Brunswick said. “I just kept thinking, ‘I have to get up.’ … It was that last push that got me over.”
“I think it was pure want and desire to get on the podium and do better than last year,” added FRHS assistant coach Jackie (Kaup) Briscoe, who shares the school record with Brunswick. “You go back to the basics. You run hard, you jump over the bar, no matter what it takes.
“I was so excited she cleared 5-4. That is what she wanted to do here, no matter the place. … We couldn’t have asked for much better.”
Brunswick made a solid run at 5 feet, 5 inches on her first attempt, barely knocking the bar free, and then came up short again on her final two attempts.
She was one of five athletes to finish at 5 feet, 4 inches, and took seventh place based on the tiebreaker. Meghann Wright of Berkshire cleared the height on her first attempt to take third place, Midwest Athletic Conference champion Tiffany Geise of St. John’s was fourth, and Jackie Henney of Seneca East and Lydia Guagenti of Bluffton tied for fifth.
Four-time medalist Jordan Moxley of Maplewood successfully defended her title with a leap of 5 feet, 6 inches to win by 1 inch over runner-up Ashleigh Pickens of Rootstown.
“I’m real happy for her about making her personal best today at state with all the pressure,” said FRHS coach Brent Niekamp of Brunswick. “She’s got to be happy. ... I think it was a great performance.”
The effort capped a career in which Brunswick was a three-sport star for Fort Recovery.
She helped the Tribe volleyball team to its first sectional title in 15 years as a junior, and was its top attacker this season. She was the Indian girls basketball team’s leader in scoring and rebounding, powering the squad to the state final four.
And in addition to her pair of state medals, she holds school records in three events. She shares the high jump mark with Briscoe, holds the long jump record at 16 feet, 6 inches and set the mark in the 4x100-meter relay record with teammates Kylie Kahlig, Kelsey Fiely and Abby May at 52.5 seconds.
“There are very few people who get a chance to play on a state team and go to state in track,” said Niekamp. “And then you throw in those records. That puts her in a pretty elite group. To hold three is pretty special.
“If I know Holly, she’s probably worried about the fact that she didn’t make 5-5 today. But time is going to put all that into perspective for her. She’s going to be able to look at this in a few years and realize just how neat all those accomplishments are.”[[In-content Ad]]