Podium ownership

TROY, Ohio — Anna Roessner was a triple state medalist during her junior season. 

Through her tournament run, though, she never had the honor of standing at the top of the podium.

On Friday night, she owned that small square of real estate a step above every other sprinter in the southwest quarter of the state.

Roessner, a Fort Recovery High School senior, was a lot more than just a step faster than her competition, turning in another dominant effort as she won championships in the 100-meter dash, 200 dash and 400 dash during the Division III regional track meet at Troy.

“I’m pretty happy,” said Roessner, a 2024 state medalist last season in the 100 dash and 200 dash individually and as part of the FRHS 4x100 relay team. “I got to win everything. That’s my first time standing on a podium for first place. … It was definitely fun.”

Her effort led the Indian girls to a sixth-place finish out of 35 scoring teams with 33 points. Karlie Niekamp scored the only other Indian points in the discus as she came up just short of earning her own trip to Columbus. (The top four athletes in each event and the next two best performances from all regionals move on to the state meet that will be contested June 6 and 7 at Ohio State University’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.)

“It went pretty well,” said FRHS coach Christy Diller, chuckling. “She continues to do Anna things. … What do you say? She did exactly what she set out to do. It’s pretty insane to get three medals.”

The Indian boys were unable to tack on any more points Friday after Isaac Roessner, Anna’s brother, got them on the board Wednesday with a fifth-place finish in the long jump. His four points put FRHS in a three-way tie for 34th out of 44 scoring teams.

After blazing her way to three district records six days earlier at Piqua, Anna Roessner again refused to let any of her opponents be much of a factor Friday night. She left them with the same view as most others have seen all year — her back as she pulled away down the home stretch.

The senior set the tone in the 100 dash, separating herself from the field in the first 20 meters. By the time she reached the finish line in 12.03 seconds, just a tenth of a second off of the meet record, she had stretched to a 0.28 margin of victory over West Liberty-Salem’s Chloe Griffith.

    Karlie Niekamp, a Fort Recovery senior, spins through the circle during the regional discus competition. She cleared the 120-foot mark four times during the meet, finishing in sixth place and narrowly missing a call back to compete in the state finals. (The Commercial Review/Ray Cooney)
  

She got a bit more of a push in the 400 dash, as it took her until the final steps of the second curve to make up the stagger on Cole Thompson. But the Newton Local freshman had nothing left to try to match Roessner as they zoomed in front of the home stands. The win came in 56.77 while no one else was able to reach the 59-second mark.

“It was definitely nice having her,” said Roessner, referencing the challenge from Thompson. “I could just hear her behind me and I’m like, ‘All right, gotta go.’ I was definitely dying a little bit in the 400, but it happened.”

No one was able to touch Roessner in the 200 dash either, as she again broke for home alone and rolled to a nearly one-second victory over Fort Loramie’s Taylor Schmitmeyer in 24.82.

When it comes time for the award ceremonies at the regional, the coach of the winning athlete hands out all of the medals. Roessner got to receive one from each of her coaches — Diller and assistants Charlie Vasey and Kierra Wendel.

“That’s pretty neat,” said Diller. “For me, that is big, to be able to put that on my own niece. …

“I just cannot believe. I know she was seeded to do that, but then to come in … and be so confident about it, that’s crazy.”

Niekamp had a career day in the discus to give herself a chance at a state berth, clearing the 120-foot mark four times.

As the first competitor in the second flight of the preliminaries Friday, she launched her first throw 120 feet, 11 inches. It was the start of something special, as each of the next four athletes also surpassed their district marks by at least 3 feet.

That initial throw had Niekamp in seventh place. She continued and surpassed 120 feet on her third, fourth and fifth throws, with the last of those a career-best 122 feet, 3 inches.

“It was just good to have a good day today,” said Niekamp. “I had a really good series, consistent 120s. And that’s what I knew I would have to throw going into today.”

“This week, in practice, I really focused on my form, my technique, and not my marks, not my distance,” she added. “So by focusing on more form and staying smooth in the ring, that allowed me to get out those big throws.”

Her fifth toss moved her into sixth place and left hope of getting a call back for the state meet. It was about an hour later that results came in from other regional meets indicating that she had come up just short.

“She was in the zone today,” said Diller. “A couple of her warm ups were bombs. It’s pretty neat to see. She just came in and was very calm. She was very confident today. … She just delivered.”

Carson Fullenkamp also competed for the Indians Friday, finished 14th in the boys shot put. He was unable to reach the levels he had in qualifying through the district, posting a distance of 41 feet, 8 3/4 inches.