Two from FR earn medals (06/04/07)

COLUMBUS, Ohio - One Indian finished her outstanding career with a state medal. Another burst onto the state scene with one of his own.

Fort Recovery senior Holly Stein, a state qualifier five times over her final three seasons, placed seventh in the girls discus in Division III at the OHSAA Track and Field State Finals at The Ohio State University's Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. Junior Matt Vagedes soared all the way up to third place in the boys pole vault in his first state appearance.

"I'm very pleased. We really couldn't be happier," said FRHS coach Jason Grieshop of taking two athletes to the state meet and walking away with a pair of state medals. "Both kids had their best of the year and set new school records. They had remarkable improvement towards the end of the year, which is what you like to see."

It was the perfect way to cap a career for Stein, who finished just 11/4 inches short of a state medal in the shot put a year ago.

Stein set the tone for her day on her first throw, clearing the 120-foot mark for the first time in her career with a toss of 121 feet even. That was good enough to break her school record of 119 feet, 2 inches set at the 2006 regional meet, but she was far from finished.

She cleared 120 feet again on her second throw, then shattered her record once more on her final throw of the preliminary round. Her toss of 125, eight inches secured the No. 3 spot in her flight behind sisters Emily and Erin Pendleton of Elmore Woodmore.

She was seventh overall after the second flight in the preliminary round and held that spot through the finals 125 feet, 8 inches stood as her top mark. Emily Pendleton won the title at 163 feet, 4 inches.

"It was neat to see her not only get the school record, but to see her get herself onto the podium," said Grieshop of Stein, who also placed 12th in the shot put with a toss of 36 feet, 51/4 inches. "She started off the day wonderful (in the discus). She got a school record on her very first throw. It was kind of reminiscent of what she did last year at regionals.

"It was just an absolute pleasure to watch her have that success. ... For somebody who has worked so hard to try to get there, it was really neat to see."

Stein, who was the No. 12 seed in the discus entering the state meet, leaves Fort Recovery having bettered the school record by nearly 25 feet over the course of her final three seasons. The mark prior to her efforts was set by Barb Hull at 101 feet, 3 inches in 1991.

"I feel good. I threw my best, so I think regardless of whether I got on the podium or not I did well," said Stein as she awaited the presentation of her seventh-place medal. "I think getting the first one out there and already doing better than I have in the past took off a lot of pressure."

Vagedes took a different path to his state medal, getting off to a slow start in the pole vault. After passing to 13 feet, it took him all three tries to clear his opening height in his state debut. But, he was just getting warmed up.

Having gotten one good vault in, Vagedes soared over the bar on his first try at 13 feet, 4 inches. He took two tries to clear 13 feet, 8 inches, which matched his school record and guaranteed him a top-eight finish and a spot on the state podium.

Vagedes went over the bar again at 14 feet even, then secured a top three spot by shattering his school record for the third time in four weeks at 14 feet, 4 inches.

"I knew I had a chance to do well," said Vagedes, who was in a three-way tie for the No. 5 seed going into the meet. "I'm thrilled, excited.

"I just wanted to give it all and do the best I could. It just all came together."

Vagedes followed fellow juniors Heath Nickles of Columbus Grove and Gray Horn of Waynesfield-Goshen, who each cleared the bar at 15 feet, 4 inches. Nickles took the title over Horn, the defending champion, because he needed only one attempt at the final height while Horn took two.

Prior to the season Vagedes held the FRHS pole vault record at 12 feet even. He raised it to 13 feet, 6 inches at the Midwest Athletic Conference Championships and added another two inches at the regional meet before extending it once again Saturday.

"(Matt has) just been making incredible improvements," said Grieshop, noting that Vagedes has used different poles in each of his final three meets. "It's been absolutely incredible to watch, because I've never seen anybody switch their approach each week ... It just shows the kind of athleticism and talent this kid really has."

The pair became the first Fort Recovery athletes to earn state medals since Tyler Niekamp finished third in the high jump in 2003.

Grieshop said the most impressive thing was that they both exceeded expectations.

"With both Vagedes and Holly, you've got to hand it to them," he said. "They came in seeded a certain position and they performed well above it. Going in, we're just thinking about getting on the podium."[[In-content Ad]]