COLUMBUS – Collin Perry’s final jump in Thursday’s long jump finals at the Division V Jesse Owens State Track and Field Championships was so good he didn’t know what to do.
“I was flying in the air, and I think that’s why I messed up my landing — I’m not used to getting that high — it was just such a good jump,” the Buckeye Central junior said. “The clap I had was loud, the crowd was going, I was all hyped up.”
He was sitting tenth after his second jump in preliminaries before climbing to fourth entering finals. Perry fouled his fourth jump, regressed his fifth, and then leapt a foot further than he ever has before to place third with a 22-6, just two-and-a-quarter inches off first.
“I told coach (Joe Wiles) — you’re lucky having Corbin (Bloomfield) then me — that’s three years in a row for long jump, it’s like we’re long jump university,” Perry said. “He’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever had for anything.”
Bloomfield was state runner-up in 2024 as a junior and fourth as a senior last spring, he still holds the school record by three-quarters of an inch. Perry also advanced to Friday’s finals in the 100-meter dash with the top-seeded time of 11.0 and the 200-meter dash (22.76) where he’s seeded ninth.
Not long after Perry stepped off the podium, Bucyrus sophomore Ivan Pirnstill took his place above the “3” after breaking his own school record in the pole vault clearing 14-8 clean, he then missed all three attempts at 15-0.
“It’s a really big day,” Pirnstill said. “I had a good day, came out good, jumped good, everything went well. I’ve worked for this since eighth grade, three times a week, it really showed out today.”
It was the best finish the Redmen have had in pole vault since the late Mike Pensinger won a Class AA state title in 1971, and the highest anyone has placed since Sarah Henize won the 800-meter run in 2004.
And to think one year ago he didn’t even make it to the second weekend of the postseason.
“Last year I was already thinking I was going to go to state, then I ended up getting knocked out at districts,” Pirnstill said. “This year, I’ve just been taking it a little bit at a time … I’ve been more in the present instead of (thinking about) the future.”
The way he jumped Thursday, feeding off the biggest crowd he has ever competed in front of, he doesn’t need to worry too much about what ifs in the future.
“When I got here I took the first 20 minutes to just take it all in,” Pirnstill said. “It’s crazy, there’s so many people here. I came last year just to watch, but competing is just different.
“I came in hoping for top eight, I knew there was going to be two good jumpers that would get top two.”
The only negative about Thursday is the fact both vaulters ahead of him were only juniors, one of which was Cincinnati Country Day’s Luke Schnieber who cleared 17-5 for a new state record across all divisions, stadium record, and put him 10th in the nation among high schoolers.
“He had his best day on the day he needed it,” Bucyrus vault coach Dave Jones said. “He’s got huge upside, but nobody puts in more work than him. He has earned everything he has received at this point — the future is bright.”
South Central’s Ingram, Hillsdale’s McFadden jump on the podium
Lauren Ingram loves being an underdog.
It started back in the winter when the South Central senior was seeded ninth at indoor state in the high jump, she went on to place fifth clearing 4-8.
Thursday she came in seeded 15th out of 18 competitors after placing third at regionals. Little did she know she would need just two jumps to earn a spot on the podium.
“I started out getting All-Ohio in indoor, which is a lot less competition,” Ingram said. “I really wasn’t sure if I would make the podium today, so I was kind of nervous about that. But once I cleared the 5-2 jump, I was happy.”
On her third and final attempt, Ingram soared over the bar to clinch no worse than seventh in the Division V high jump finals. She went on to tie for sixth with Paint Valley’s Whitney Utz.
Ingram also qualified for Friday’s finals as part of the 4×100 relay alongside Autumn Fry, Kalli Ingram, and Falynn Schumacher; they’re seeded fourth with a school-record time of 50.01.
Also occupying the spot above “6” on the podium Thursday afternoon was Hillsdale’s Hayden McFadden whose jump of 22-1¾ on his third attempt in preliminaries was enough to advance him to finals and hold on for sixth despite fouling twice in finals.
“Being in the first flight was a little frustrating knowing you have to beat 10 other people to get into the finals,” McFadden said. “Coming in with that, I knew I had to (jump well) to get in the final and I knew I could do that. I was feeling good today, just fouled a couple times, but that’s the sport.”
McFadden missed finals with the 4×200 relay but bounced back to run the fourth-fastest time in preliminaries in the 200-meter dash.
zholden@gannett.com | 419-617-6018 | Twitter/X: @Zachary_Holden
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Buckeye Central’s Perry, Bucyrus’ Pirnstill nab bronze at state track
Reporting by Zachary Holden, Mansfield News Journal / Mansfield News Journal
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By Zachary Holden, Mansfield News Journal | USA TODAY Network
