Tribe set for state

The Indians have generally focused on getting a relay to the state finals.

It wasn’t quite in the cards this year, as the 4x200-meter relay team missed qualifying for state by one spot.

But the Indians will still be represented at state.

Fort Recovery High School freshman Mara Pearson as well as juniors Whitley Rammel and Abbie Francis will test their wits at the OHSAA Division III Track and Field State Championships on Friday and Saturday at McCann Stadium on the campus of Westerville North, northeast of Columbus.

“The fact they’re all underclassmen is big,” said FRHS coach Christy Diller. “Given that we lost last year for Abbie and Whitley is big because they don’t quite have the experience.

“It’s a big deal. Our girls program has been down, I would say, for a few years. I feel like we’re going in the right direction. To get three individuals instead of a relay, which is what we’ve done in the past, I think is good progression.”

Francis will run in the 100-meter dash preliminaries at 3 p.m. Friday. The top two in each of the three heats plus the next two fastest times advance to the 2:10 p.m. final Saturday.

Pearson (long jump) and Rammel (shot put) will compete beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Under the direction of throwing coach Holly Gann, Rammel has solidified herself as the school’s best in shot put by beating Gann’s school-record toss. Rammel has since bested herself with a put of 41 feet, 1.25 inches, a distance she used to place second in the regional meet May 26 at Troy.

At state, Rammel is seeded third, the best for any Indian.

“She’s peaking at the right time,” Diller said. “Obviously having coach Gann here helps that. They are very close and they get along well. 

“Coach Gann can read her very well and knows just the right cues to give her. It’s usually something very small … and just that little adjustment makes a big difference.”

Hamler Patrick Henry senior Trista Fintel, who was third in the state as a sophomore in 2019, is the No. 1 seed in the event with a distance of 44 feet, 5.75 inches. (The 2020 season was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.)

Pearson was a long shot to just finish in the top eight during the regional meet. Having leaped 17 feet, 1 inch, earlier in the season to set a new school record, the youngster was seeded 11th with a district leap of 16 feet, 0.25 inches.

On her final regional jump, she matched her school record to place third and qualify for state.

“It was tricky because the area for us to run (at Troy) isn’t long enough for me so I started in the turf,” she said. “So I was just hoping to get to finals, so I eyeballed it and tried to get a different mark. On my last jump I did it. I was pretty excited.”

Saturday, Pearson is seeded fifth. (The top eight in each event earn state medals and All-Ohio recognition.) 

Katie Ruffener, a Colonel Crawford senior who was a state qualifier in the 100 and 300 hurdle events as a sophomore, holds the top seed at 18 feet, 3.5 inches.

“Right now I’m seeded fifth so it’s really close,” she said. “Right now I just want to (beat my career best) and do what I have been doing. It’s really just feeling comfortable and hoping everything works out.”

Diller has the same expectations for both Person and Rammel.

“I think a good goal for them is to make finals for sure,” she said. “I absolutely think they can get top five, both of them. I think making finals is a good goal for them.

“I think they will see it is a successful trip if they make finals.”

Francis, who was part of the state-qualifying 4x400 relay as a freshman, has a tougher road if she wishes to stand on the podium this year.

With a career-best time of 12.63 seconds — Diller holds the school record of 12.6 set in 1996 — Francis is seeded 16th with her regional time of 13.15 seconds.

Crooksville senior Greta Barker, who was eighth as a sophomore, holds the top seed at 12.28 seconds. 

Warren John F. Kennedy junior Chloe Coates is seeded eighth at 12.67 seconds.

“Just try my best,” Francis said of her expectations for Friday. “I’m proud that I got here. If I don’t make (finals) that’s OK. I still have one year left.

“If I make it to finals I will be pleased with it, yeah, but if I don’t and I run a fairly decent time I will still be pleased with that. It doesn’t matter to me.”

Diller still feels the junior has a shot.

“Maybe on paper it doesn’t look that great but she can definitely make finals,” she said. “She’s got more in there. I hope she knows it, she has more in there. There are places to clean up; we can clean her start, we can clean her finish up. Some of her mechanics … she has room for improvement.

“There’s speed in there, we just need to pull it out.”