Clays, Gemmer, Henry, Korte All-Ohio

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

COLUMBUS — Van Wert brought back one state champion, a runner up, third, fourth and fifth place finishes, and a 16th place finish from the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s State Track and Field Tournament held Friday and Saturday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus.

Junior Kirsten Clay won the Division II discus throw (145-08) on Friday, while older brother Austin Clay closed his high school career with a third place finish in the shot put (57-00.25).

“After not doing great last year, I’m happy to bounce back and finish my season on a high note with third,” Austin Clay said. It was a great weekend for my sister and it was a great weekend for the Cougar track team with Blake Henry and Jill Gemmer.”

On Saturday, Gemmer, a junior, finished as the Division II shot put runner up with a toss of 41-11.00, second only to Indian Valley’s Ashton Warner (42-07). Clay placed fifth in the same event (40-01.25), giving her All-Ohio honors in two events.

“This weekend was very special for me, my brother, my family, teammates, coaches and friends,” Kirsten Clay said. “I knew I could be state disc champ but also knew I had to be on my ‘A’ game. It was amazing to win state champ but to go out there and get a 5 foot personal record and break school record was phenomenal.”

“At the end of the day I was exhausted, but I knew I had to be ready for shot the next day. After the first 2 throws in shot, I was in 10th and on verge of not making finals. The crowd and family was cheering me on and that helped me throw over 40 feet to move to fifth and make finals. That feeling of making it was something I will never forget.”

“As I told Jill, we will celebrate the unforgettable weekend, but will need to continue working hard in the weight room and in our throws and repeat and do better next year.”

“I would just like to thank the Van Wert community for all the support this season and I am very happy with how my season went with multiple personal records and ending as state runner up in shot,” Gemmer said. “Celebrating all of the accomplishments this weekend has been absolutely amazing but now it is time to get back to work to bring home some gold next year.”

The top eight placers in each event are named All-Ohio, and senior Blake Henry also earned that distinction with a fourth place finish in the high jump (6-05).

“It was a great experience to jump in front of a huge crowd at state with perfect jumping conditions and end my sporting career on top of the podium,” Henry said. “It was my goal to be in the top six and make it on the wall at the high school.”

Junior Caylee Phillips finished recorded a time of 2:25.29 in the 800 meter run and finished 16th overall.

With 22 points, the Lady Cougars finished an impressive seventh out of 70 teams in the final Division II standings, while the Cougars (11) finished 17th out of 76 teams in the Division II standings. Indian Hill won the girls team title and Shelby won the boys team title.

Brad Korte was Van Wert County’s highest placer in Division III, finishing fifth in Friday’s long jump with a school record 21-10.50), and the junior speedster set another school record in the 200 meter dash (22.72) on Friday, good enough for an 11th place finish in the preliminaries.

Lincolnview’s 4×200 meter relay team of Logan Williams, Dylan Schimmoeller, Camden Miller and Korte notched a 14th place finish (1:32.98), and the 4×800 team of Jacob Keysor, Karter Tow, Joe Sadowski and Alek Bowersock finished 11th with a time of 8:14.97.

Crestview’s 4×100 meter relay team of Darrin Nihiser, Jordan Perrott, Caylib Pruett and Wade Sheets finished the season on Friday with an 11th place finish in the preliminaries with a personal record time of 44.49.

East Canton won the Division III boys title, while Lincolnview finished 43rd out of 78 teams. West Liberty Salem won the girls team title.