Robby runs to the podium

COLUMBUS, Ohio — As the only freshman in the field, Robby LeFevre had already made a statement.
He had the fourth-fastest time during preliminaries on Friday.
During the finals on Saturday, LeFevre wasn’t able to repeat the feat.
But he still returned home with a medal around his neck.
LeFevre became the first Fort Recovery High School state medalist since 2011, finishing tied for seventh Saturday in the OHSAA Division II Boys Track and Field State Finals at Ohio State University’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
“I’m a little disappointed,” said LeFevre, who crossed the finish line in 22.589 seconds, the exact moment Xavier Bailey of Brookfield did too. “I ran a lot slower than I did (Friday).
“I had a great day and I ran three events. (Saturday) I ran one event and I did worse.”
Although LeFevre was critical of his performance, coach Nick Kallas had other thoughts, praising the youngster for what he was able to do on the state’s biggest stage.
“Robby had one of the best performances I have ever seen from a freshman,” said Kallas, who is leaving as coach of Fort Recovery to become a graduate assistant cross country and track coach for Ohio Valley University. “His poise to handle prelims and finals from the Mercer County Invite through to the state meet has been on an elite level. It’s something you cannot teach an athlete. It’s innate by nature.
“He’s a competitor and the state meet showed that.”
Running in lane three next to Mason Warnimot of Cory-Rawson and Toledo Christian’s Isaac Urban, LeFevre was near the front coming off the turn and on to the backstretch. Warnimot, the top-seeded runner and eventual state champion, started to pull away from the Fort Recovery freshman.
Urban’s stride gave him a slight edge over LeFevre — Urban finished fifth in 22.52 seconds, Warnimot had a time of 22.05 — who said as he was sprinting toward the finish line he said his form started to break.
“It got me seventh instead of where I should have been,” he said.
LeFevre’s finals time was slower than the school-record of 22.35 he set during prelims, and he blamed the difference on his pre-run routine, that he didn’t warm up quite as much as he could have despite not having run multiple races like he did the day before.
“That just shows how much he expects out of himself,” Kallas said. “I don’t think he should have thought that way, but I understand. He wanted to be top four, but he has to remember he’s going up against young men who have had two to three more years of experience at that level.
“He performed extremely well in my opinion and I was happy with the outcome.”
And it’s an accomplishment LeFevre himself didn’t think he would achieve.
“I didn’t expect to make it to state in the 200,” said LeFevre, who also qualified in the 100 dash and as part of a 4x200 relay. “That was a surprise. I am happy to be here and I am happy I got a medal.
“The only reason I am disappointed is because I did better (in prelims). If I got ninth (in prelims) and seventh (in the finals) I would have been ecstatic. It is what it is.”