OATCCC State Meet Recap: Shelby Distance Boys Go 4-for-4

D2/3 Boys

Shelby Boys Go 4-for-4 in Distance Events, Take Second as a Team

Heading into Saturday's D2/3 State Meet, we had an idea that Shelby could possibly end up with gold medals in all four distance events.

We were right.

The Whippets kicked off the meet with a dominant victory in the 4x800, winning by over 9 seconds. The stellar trio of Blake Lucius, Caleb Brown, and Samuel Logan was joined by Sam Swanger to secure the win in the fastest time of the season by a D2/3 squad.

Watch the 4x800 Finals:

The day was far from over for the Shelby boys, though, as Logan would turn it into a winning streak in the 1600. The second seed heading into the race, Logan sat behind Garfield's Tyler Klouda for much of the race before taking the lead with about 200 meters to go and holding on for the state title in an indoor lifetime best of 4:24.04. It was his first individual state victory after taking third in the 800 last winter and second in the Division 2 1600 last spring. He should now enter as the favorite for the 1600 title this outdoor season. 

Watch the D2/3 1600 Here: 

Next up was Blake Lucius in the 800 Meter Run. The showdown between Lucius and Fairfield-Leesburg's Brandtson Duffie was well-hyped heading into the race and ended up living up to the hype. 

Lucius got boxed in off the start and settled into fifth as Duffie shot out to the lead. Settling in that spot for the 200, Lucius used the third turn to slingshot to the front of the pack. Duffie then fell back to fourth as Dunbar's Derrick Corley and Perkins's Parker Brown pulled ahead of him, but then Duffie, as Lucius began to pull away, used his long stride to power back to the front of the pack. In the blink of an eye, it became a two-horse race with Lucius and Duffie leaving the group with 150 meters to go. Lucius would seal the victory 1:57.86 as Duffie staggered across the line in 1:58.21 just behind him, just barely running out of gas and real estate. This was also the first state title for Lucius as Shelby continued to rack up gold medals. 

Watch the D2/3 800 here:

It was up to Caleb Brown to complete the quadruple and, after having shown his 3200 meter prowess at the SPIRE Showcase three weeks ago, there was little doubt that he would be able to do it, even when he settled in to the back of the pack off the hop. Looking more relaxed than ever, Brown sat behind the leaders, letting them do most of the work, before taking over with a little over a mile to go and never looking back.

The 9:07.56 2-miler would easily secure his first individual state championship, capping off a historic day for the Whippets by running 9:12.55. After finishing second in Division 2 this fall, Brown has shown that he is one of the top distance runners in the entire state and will return for his senior year in 2019-2020 as a frontrunner in whatever race he enters. Salem's Hunter Christopher would finish second in 9:29.88, 17 seconds back of Brown, and 4 seconds ahead of Ayersville's Noah Fisher.

If Saturday's meet was any indication, the Shelby distance boys are going to be a scary group in Division 2 this spring and should compete for a state team title if they continue their winning ways. 

Watch the D2/3 3200 here:

The four boys single-handedly took second overall as a team behind Dayton Dunbar. 

Tucker Blows Away the Field in 60m Dash

There was little doubt that Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy's Tre Tucker was going to secure the victory in the D2/3 60m dash, but the manner in which the senior did it was wholly impressive.

Running out of lane 5, Tucker was in the lead directly after the sound of the gun, benefiting from a perfect start. 6.84 seconds later, he was leaning across the line for the victory. Kalida's Josh Verhoff would finish second in 7.02 with Fort Recovery's Robby Lefevre edging out Wickliffe's Brandon Berry for third. 

Tucker, who went 6.80 in the prelims, capped off his senior indoor season with six marks at 6.91 or better - the second fastest performer in the D2/3 60m dash this winter was 6.96.

Watch the D2/3 60m Dash Finals here:

Verhoff Runs State Meet Record, US No. 25 21.68 200

After bringing home silver in the 60 dash, Kalida's Josh Verhoff erupted out of the blocks, immediately made up the stagger, put the pedal to the metal, and never looked back in the 200 to secure a gold medal of his own.

His D2/3 state record of 21.68 was a lifetime personal best (ahead of his 21.71 outdoor best) and nearly a half second faster than his previous indoor mark of 22.17 from 2017. It was a stellar finale to the senior's indoor track campaign and should boost him into a frontrunner position in the outdoor 200. He finished 6th in Division 3 in 2018. 

Chaminade Julienne's Calvin Hatcher earned the silver in this one, finishing in 22.17 and Robby Lefevre grabbed his second third place medal of the day, running 22.31 to finish ahead of high jump champion Robie Glass (Shawnee Springfield).

Watch Josh Verhoff take the 200 in Heat 3:

Youngblood Takes Long Jump, 400

In a unique double attempt, Dunbar's Zamir Youngblood was able to secure gold medals on Saturday in his two best events: the long jump and the 400 meter dash. 

After leaping to an indoor personal best 21-11 earlier this season, Youngblood finished either first or second at all six meets in which he competed, with one of those first place finishes coming this weekend. His 21-5 mark, posted on his second attempt, was a mere half inch ahead of Philo's Carson Scottsberry. The nail biter long jump was his first career state championship and the first of two on the day. 

In the 400, the Dunbar senior came across in second behind Meadowdale's Javon Poole. Poole came across in 49.33, but would be disqualified due to a break line violation and Youngblood's 49.87 was good enough for a second state title. After running 49.98 for his first career sub-50 performance, Youngblood improved his career best time again in this one to secure another gold. 

Watch the D2/3 Boys 400m Dash, Heat 3:

Shellhaas Clears 15-6, Narrowly Misses at 16-0.5

Ansonia's Brock Shellhaas kept with the theme of the day by bringing home his first career state title in the pole vault. It was also his fifth career state medal in the event.

Shellhaas went a lifetime best 15-7 at his final state tune-up meet last weekend and, after clearing 15-6 to secure the victory on Saturday, decided it was time to attempt a 16-0 clearance. The bar bumped up to 16-0.5, which would have been a D2/3 state record, but Shellhaas was unable to clear the height and settled for the win at 15-6. 

Now the junior will shift to the outdoor circuit with a clear path to more gold and should be a 16-0 clearance candidate.