COLUMBUS — The bar was raised a little higher for future Fairless High School boys track and field teams.
The Falcons won two more state titles at the OHSAA Track and Field Championships on June 5 and finished third overall in Division IV. Their three wins this year are the most at a single state meet in team history. They came in with five state titles.
Brice Fuller won the 1,600 meters in 4:12.69 and Bradlee Keehn won the 800 in 1:55.77. Andrew Hearn also ran the 1,600 and finished fifth in 4:18.54.
Fuller, Keehn and Hearn also ran with Nolan Kutz on Fairless’ 3,200 relay, which won a state title on the meet’s first day. Fuller’s first day didn’t end on a great note a few hours later. As a No. 1 seed, he finished fifth in the 3,200.
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“It was great to have a short memory,” Fuller said. “I still had a shot to do my best in the next race the next day. It gave me something to look forward to.”
Fuller said he pushed himself hard in the 3,200 relay. Rested for his only race on the second day, he ran a personal best. A 1:00.41 over the final 400 helped him hold off Rock Hill’s Nixon Snavely by just over a second.
“Just that good night sleep I had and being able to compete the next day, it was great,” Fuller said.
Make no mistake, this was a race Hearn was aiming for, too. He and Fuller were 1-2 at last week’s Austintown Fitch regional. Hearn edged his sophomore teammate by four-tenths of a second.
“I felt amazing and really good,” Hearn said. “My thing was that my positioning and getting off the line was not how I would want it. Our coach always tells to not think about planning for the race and to just go out and do it. I kind of thought too much about it and put myself in a bad position. I came into the last lap and reeled in as much as I could to get fifth.
“Obviously if I could have it back, I would redo it, but I’m happy with how I placed at the end of the day.”
Keehn’s win completed the Falcons’ memorable run in Columbus. He came in as the No. 1 seed and lived up to it in his final high school race.
“It was very important to me that I was able to have a good season and finish it out strong,” Keehn said.
Keehn held off Rittman’s Luke Snyder by half a second. Tusky Valley’s Cade Conrad was also within reach before finishing third.
“It was pretty stressful being seeded first,” Keehn said. ” … I knew I was going to have a lot of competition. Many of the top seeds were from the same region as me. I knew their capabilities.
“I have to admit I went out a lot harder than I meant to, but I was able to keep strong and pull through until the very end.”
Keehn’s win helped the Falcons finish third overall in Division IV, just six points behind state champion Margaretta and two behind runner-up Gilmour Academy.
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This article originally appeared on The Repository: Fairless adds two titles successful OHSAA state track and field meet
Reporting by Mike Popovich, Canton Repository / The Repository
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By Mike Popovich, Canton Repository | USA TODAY Network
