| State Track: Elmwood's Reiser finishes second in discus, Smithey advances to 300 hurdles final (6-1-12) |
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| Written by Kevin Gordon Sentinel Assistant Sports Editor | ||||
| Friday, 01 June 2012 20:05 | ||||
But the Elmwood discus thrower made a change in her mechanics. The adjustment paid off. PHOTO GALLERY Reiser finished second in her specialty Friday morning during the Division II state meet at Ohio State University’s Jesse Owens Stadium. The senior threw 138-1 to finish as the runnerup to Liberty-Benton senior Alyssa Gary, who won with a throw of 150-5. Gary was second in Division III last season. Gary had the best regional throw of the 16 state qualifiers with a distance of 149-8 to win at Lexington High School. Reiser finished second at Lexington at 142-4, also the second-best of the state qualifiers. The prelims were held in rainy conditions and eventually delayed because of the rain. The top eight finishers stand on the awards podium and earn All-Ohio honors. “I was most definitely shooting for that second spot,” Reiser said. “I wanted to throw my best. I’m perfectly fine with (second place). “In the middle of the season, I didn’t even imagine that I would be on the podium, let alone second in the state. I’m extremely happy.” Reiser finished fifth in the Division III regional last season with a distance of 123-0 and she began the season with hopes of qualifying for state. Elmwood and L-B both moved up to Division II this season. Reiser began this season throwing only in the 125-0 range. She then made the change to keep her eyes up, instead of her looking down, when she was spinning on her throws. She credited Elmwood assistant coach Jim Hill and Woodmore assistant coach Mike Pendleton for the change. Reiser eventually threw 142-7 to beat Gary at the Fostoria Invitational April 21. Shortly after that, she had her personal-best of 148-7. “I was thrilled at that point and I knew I had a chance to get to state and place at state,” said Reiser, who will throw collegiately at Bowling Green. “My form has definitely gotten better.” Reiser’s sister, Katie, also earned All-Ohio honors. Katie Reiser, who is running at Kent State, won Division III state titles in the 100 and the 200 in 2010. She finished second in both in 2009 after finishing fifth in the 100 and sixth in the 200 in 2008. “Every time I came down to state and watched her, if definitely helped me and motivated me,” Reiser said. When Kori Reiser watched her sister compete at state, she took pictures of Katie on the awards stand and of an empty podium. The empty podium became the background on her cell phone. “That motivated me,” Reiser said.
His semifinal time of 39.69 was the second-fastest of the nine finalists. The top two finishers in each semifinal and next five fastest times overall advanced. The 300 race came after Smithey didn’t qualify for the finals of the 110 hurdles and the 800 relay. “There was a little bit more urgency, but I knew the first two races were going to be tough to get out,” said Smithey, who finished sixth in the 300 race last season. “I stayed calm and not think about it too much, and just throw up a decent time to make it to the finals.” Tyler Gittins of Gahanna Columbus Academy ran the fastest semifinal time, 39.13. Smithey, one of the favorites to win the event, had the third-fastest regional time of the state qualifiers at 38.88. Toledo Christian senior Rowan Shaw, who was third in the state last season, was unable to run because of a hamstring injury. The injury happened during after last week’s regional in a freak non-track accident. The Division III running semifinals were held despite a rain that was heavy at times. Smithey’s feet were soaked by the time his three races were over. “My time wasn’t terrible, so I’m happy with my time,” he said. “I ran clean for the most part. I still attacked the hurdles as hard as I could. The biggest thing is my feet feel heavy from the rain.” The University of Findlay-bound Smithey had a time of 15.92 in the 110 hurdles. The 800 relay team of sophomore Aaron Arnold, senior Trey Wilhelm, junior Derick Mobus and Smithey had a time of 1:33.89. |
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| Last Updated on Saturday, 02 June 2012 08:07 |
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