COLUMBUS — The storms that buffeted the OHSAA state track and field meet gave way to hot summer conditions June 7 at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
Two Tallmadge seniors proved they could thrive in the heat.
Tallmadge’s Allison Hay and Anthony Bontempo each won an individual state title at the Division II state meet. They were joined by the Wadsworth girls 800-meter relay and the Twinsburg girls 1,600 relay on top of the podium.
Hay’s victory was the culmination of a dominant season in the 800.
Coming in as the top seed, Hay took the lead after 300 meters and never looked back. She claimed the state title in 2:12.21, more than a second ahead of the field.
“I’m really excited,” Hay said. “I was throwing up before the race. I’m glad it all came together. I think it’s always my mindset to make up that stagger. I concentrated on 400 and 800 my first few years, so I always seem to have that drive to get out first.”
A few minutes after Hay’s win, another Blue Devil jumped atop the podium.
Bontempo came in among the favorites in the boys high jump, and lived up those expectations. He said the key was making all of his early jumps, as he did not have any misses until the bar moved to 6 feet, 10 inches.
In the end, Bontempo cleared 6-8 along with Cincinnati Northwest’s Khaylen Cotton, but won the title because he needed fewer jumps to clear it.
“I’m really satisfied. That was probably one of my two best performances all year,” Bontempo said. “I had no misses until the bar was at 6-feet-10, which I should have cleared as well, but I won anyways. It was a bit difficult because I just watched all my teammates yesterday and I didn’t have an event.”
The two relay champions took different paths to their titles.
In the girls 800 relay, Wadsworth’s quartet of Jessica Stoops, Ashley Valatka, Brooke Haude and Hailey Otradovec came into the finals as the top seed.
The Grizzlies took command in the second half of the race, as Otradovec lengthened the lead over runner-up Columbus Bishop Watterson, winning in a time of 1:39.67.
“I’m so excited to get out, and the first race is a first-place race,” Otradovec said. “I’m happy because the girls did so great and I’m out there running for the last time with them.”
Otradovec almost followed up the relay another state title in the 400. She had the lead heading into the home stretch, but was nipped at the line by Loveland’s Caroline Murnan and finished second in 55.51.
“It was a really hard race,” Otradovec said. “I just left it all on the track. I felt some pain afterwards, but otherwise it felt good to race my last 400.”
Meanwhile, Twinsburg’s final was a bit different. The Tigers had to run a timed final, as the preliminaries on June 6 were rained out.
Given the top seed in the second heat, the Tigers team of Nicole Smith, Autumn Besett, Brooke Jones and Teighlor Humbert left no doubt. Humbert smoked the final leg in 57.88, running away from the field and winning in 3:53.83.
“We believe in each other and we believe in our abilities,” Humbert said. “It worked out for us. I’ve been doing this for four years. I expected things to be the same, but I’m happy to say I was surprised.”
In the field events, Hudson thrower Drake Vander Cica set a school record with a heave of 62-½ in the shot put. He finished as state runner-up behind Avon’s Maximus Hauck (63-½).
“I felt I did pretty well, PRing by a little more than a foot,” Vander Cica said. “The competition was definitely steep. Obviously, [Hauck] has a big PR, too. I just want to keep throwing further and win a state championship.”
After a bumpy meet, Nordonia hurdler Joseph Filisky finished his career in style. In the 300 hurdles, Filisky had to run on the first heat because of seeding time and then had to sweat out the second heat.
In the end, Filisky’s time of 38.32 was good for second place, trailing only Zanesville’s Cameron Willett (37.91).
“I will say this heat has been getting to me all day,” Filisky said. “I’ll say I’m glad there was only one timed final, because if I would’ve had to run yesterday, I would have been so tired. The lane draw wasn’t the best, going on lane 2 on the inside. But I was able to make the most of it.”
Greater Akron scores bunches of All-Ohio honors at Division II OHSAA state track meet
It was a big day for Greater Akron throughout Division II. Here’s the list of other All-Ohio performances:
Michael Leonard can be reached at mleonard@recordpub.com
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Tallmadge’s Allison Hay, Anthony Bontempo win OHSAA state track titles
Reporting by Michael Leonard, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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By Michael Leonard, Akron Beacon Journal | USA TODAY Network
