Shelby strikes relay gold at state meet

COLUMBUS — Blake Lucius took the baton and began to accelerate away from the exchange zone before pumping the brakes.

The anchor runner of Shelby’s 4×800 relay team, Lucius wanted to give the competition a fair chance Saturday afternoon.

“I got the baton and … let him do the work,” Lucius said through a broad smile afterward. “I was waiting for him to catch up with me.

“I knew I had another race (Saturday) so I was like, ‘Let’s just chill and get the championship. That’s all we need.’ ”

That’s just what the foursome of Lucius, Sam Logan, Sam Swanger and Caleb Brown did on the opening day of the weather-delayed state track and field championships at Ohio State’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.

Shelby raced to the title in 7 minutes, 45.15 seconds. The Whippets finished more than two full seconds ahead of runner-up Warren (7:47.60) and broke their own school record by a whopping six seconds.

Logan, who had mono earlier in the spring and is just getting over a cold, ran the opening leg and was buried in the back half of the field before making his move on the second lap. He handed off to fellow senior Swanger, who picked off a few more runners before giving way to Brown, the only underclassman of the group. By the time Brown handed off to Lucius, the Whippets had a comfortable lead.

“I’m feeling better than before, but still a little rough,” Logan said. “I went to the doctor and he said there was nothing I could do except keep training.”

Brown, who is the top seed in both the 1,600 and 3,200, never doubted his teammate.

“He can be as sick as possible and still run insane,” Brown said.

The same foursome won an indoor state title earlier this year. So which is better?

“Outdoor,” Swanger said. “Indoor is more fun because there’s no pressure.”

The victory was the first step toward what Shelby hopes is a team title this weekend. The Whippets are among a handful of teams expected to challenge for the crown.

“Coach (Chris Zuercher) had deep faith in us and that actually did propel us all season,” Lucius said. “Every day we knew when we walked in the locker room it was going to be a good day.”

Relay Success: The 4×800 relay was the only track final run on opening day and the area shined in both boys and girls action. Ashland’s boys team of Sam Boyer, Daniel Arimi, Josh Hawley and Kaden Mendenhall was fourth in 7:50.75, while the Crestview boys team of Leo Ringler, Ian Trent, Ross Kuhn and James Barber was eighth in 8:11.86.

Ashland was in the middle of the pack when Arimi took the baton for the second leg and quickly worked his way through the field. Anchor man Mendenhall picked off two more runners on the final leg.

“I knew at state everybody was going to go out fast,” Arimi said. “I wanted to make sure I didn’t get caught up in that and then die on the second lap. I started catching people in the final stretch and we went from there.”

On the girls side, the Ontario team of Anna Gregg, Ariah Reuer, Ellie Maurer and Grace Maurer finished third in 9:26.47 in the Division II race.

“It was exciting,” said Gregg, the only senior of the bunch. “It was fun to have competition.”

The Warriors came in with the fifth-fastest qualifying time, but tried not to pay attention to the seeds.

“If you know what you’re seeded, in the back of your mind, you’re like ‘Man, I probably shouldn’t go around those people,’” said Grace Maurer, the anchor runner. “If you’re ignorant to it, you don’t have those limitations put on you. You have full confidence and go for it.”

The Lexington foursome of Tessa Gerhardt, Lily Weeks, Halle Hamilton and Joanna Halfhill placed 13th in 9:21.94.