High school track and field: Deja wow ... Avon's Molly Radcliffe wins shot put state title to go along with discus championship she won a day earlier

HILLIARD — All it took was one throw for Molly Radcliffe to make history. The Avon senior's throw of 46 feet, 7.5 inches was enough to make her a two-time state champion as she won the Division I shot put championship a day after winning the the discus at Hilliard Darby High School. "It's unbelievable," said Radcliffe, a Youngstown state commit. "I've been doing this since seventh grade, so six years of throwing and lifting and all that hard work is paying off." Radcliffe become only the second Lorain County girl to win state in the shot put, joining Elyria's Alexis McCall (2002). She also became the second Lorain County athlete to win both the shot put and the discus, joining Mike D'Andrea, who won both in his senior year at Avon Lake. "I really didn't feel pressure today, I just felt excited," Radcliffe said. "If you think, 'I'm excited, I know I can do this, I got it,' you're going to get a more positive result. I've made hundreds of throws so I just kept thinking, 'Why is this any different?'" Radcliffe finished 10th in both events as a sophomore at the 2019 state tournament. She would have likely missed the 2020 meet with a foot injury suffered before COVID-19 shut down last year's spring sports seasons. "COVID was awful but having the season canceled was a relief to me because I was in a boot anyhow," Radcliffe said. "Finished 10th my sophomore year in both and then coming back and winning both as a senior is just unbelievable." Radcliffe's closet competition came from a familiar foe, Avon Lake's Brooke Lumpkin, whose third throw of 45 feet, 1.75 inches earned her second place. Lumpkin, a senior, finished 15th in the shot put at state in 2019. "I didn't have the outcome I wanted but I'm still proud of the results," Lumpkn said. "Molly didn't a great job and I'm really proud of her and I'm excited to see what we can both do in college. I'm glad to be on the podium but in the past when I've made it to state I've never really been in a position to make podium. It's sad that it's my last competition here but I'm going to keep working hard and hopefully I'll make it big someday." Radcliffe's two wins earned Avon a sixth-place team finish. The Eagles boys finished 16th. Pickerington North won the boys team title and Mentor the girls. Elyria's Perryion Benton and Avon's Colin Kaufmann and Jett Wieber had the top finishes for local runners, each finishing fourth in their respective events. Benton, a senior, ran the 300-meter hurdles in a time of 38:75. Considering Benton entered Friday's semifinals with the 12th best time of the 18 semifinalists it's safe to say he exceeded expectations this weekend. "I felt good today but I hit the homestretch and that wind hit me," Benton said. "But I can't be mad. I came into this race ranked seventh so I had a chip on my shoulder. I'm happy to finish fourth." Kaufmann finished fourth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.86 in his first appearance at the state tournament. "I felt like I could have done better but I just like being here, it's a great experience," Kaufmann said. "I'm proud of myself just to get here." There were only two seniors among the eight runners who placed in the 100 so Kaufmann may have a chance to face many of them again next June. "I took away from today that I don't like losing so I'm going to come back next year and win this thing," Kaufmann said. Wieber's time of 4:13.78 was good enough for fourth and All-Ohio honors in the 1,600 meters. Later in the day he finished 16th in the 800 in 1:59.15. Lorain's Mikiya Hermon was the area's lone girls runner to advance to Saturday's final. She finished eighth with a time of 12.51. "I didn't get the start I wanted," she said. "I'm happy I just had the chance to be in the race. I slipped in the blocks and I stumbled out. It's a disappointing way to finish." North Ridgeville junior Veronica Waugaman cleared 11-6 in the pole vault to finish 10th. Contact Todd Shapiro at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Boys Team standings (Top 10): Pickerington North 43, Westerville Central 30, Cincinnati St. Xavier 28, Cincinnati Turpin 35, Canal Winchester 24, Granville 21, Hilliard Darby 19, Mount Vernon 18, Brunswick 18, Pickerington Central 18. Local teams: Avon 10, Elyria 5, Avon Lake 2 110-meter hurdles: 1. Silas Kayuha, Dublin Jerome, 14.36; 2. Erich Rhodeback, Mount Vernon, 14.39; 3. Zemen Siyoum, Pickerington North, 14.46 100: 1. Justin Braun, Westerville Central, 10.47; 2. Brandon White, Cincinnati Moeller, 10.64, 3. Troy Lane, Pickerington Central, 10.78 800 relay: 1. Pickerington North 1:25.96, 2. Gahanna Lincoln 1:26.38, 3. Massillon Washington 1:26.43 1,600: 1. Nathan Mountain, Cincinnati St. Xavier, 4:06.84; 2. Seth Elking, Miamisburg, 4:13.29, 3. Connor Ackley, Hilliard Davidson, 4:13.45 400 relay: 1. Cincinnati Lasalle 41.64; 2. Gahanna Lincoln 41.72; 3. Marion Harding 42.06 400: 1. Justin Braun, Westerville Central, 46.14; 2. Korbin Martino, Canal Winchester, 47.04; 3. Steve McElroy, Pickerington North 47.86 300 hurdles: 1. Erich Rhodeback, Mount Vernon, 37.95; 2. Jayden Douglas, Beechcroft, 38.24; 3. Isaac Brooks, Mansfield Madison, 38.32. 800: 1. Nick Plant, Canfield, 1:49.79; 2. Alex Justus, Kings, 1:51.23; 3. Evan Alten, Berea-Midpark, 1:53.09 200: 1. Justin Braun, Westerville Central, 21.13; 2. Steven McElroy, Pickerington North, 21.50; 3. Carlton Landingham, St. Edward, 21.85 3,200: 1, Nathan Moore, Lake, 9:00.88; 2. William Zegarski, Little Miami, 9:05.93, 3. Takumi Ford, Bellbrook, 9:05.94 1,600 relay: 1. Pickerington North, 3:15.56; 2. Cincinnati St. Xavier, 3:17.68; 3. Clayton Northmont, 3:18.10 Discus: 1. Thomas Rimac, Brunswick, 175-11; 2. Owen Wendl, Highland, 171-01; 3. Emmanuel Powell, Canton McKinley, 169-06. High jump: 1. Joey Farthing, Dover, 6-07; 2. Nate Leskovac, Austintown Fitch, 6-06; 3. Riley Murphy, Tallmadge, 6-05. Girls Team standings (Top 10): Mentor 70, Gahanna Lincoln 36, Bishop Watterson 33, Huber Heights Wayne 28, Euclid 22, Cincinnati Princeton 20, Avon 20, Bedford 16, Hilliard Davidson 16, Lakota East 15, Cincinnati Mercy McAuley 15. Local teams: Avon Lake 8, Lorain 1 110-meter hurdles: 1. Marissa Saunders, Westerville South, 14;05; 2. Camden Bentley, Gahanna Lincoln, 14.15; 3. Andrea Filote, Highland, 14.86 100: 1. Paige Floriea, Mentor, 11.93; 2. Kaira Granger, Bedford, 12.03; 3. Azariyah Bryant, Lakota East, 12.05 800 relay: 1. Bishop Watterson, 1:39.68; 2. Euclid, 1:39.73; 3. Gahanna Lincoln, 1:40.51. 1,600: 1. Emma Butcher, Centerville, 4:45.89; 2. Alexandria Bauer, Lake, 4:51.41; 3. Julianna Williams, Beavercreek, 4:53.49 400 relay: 1. Huber Heights Wayne, 47.48; 2. Pickerington Central, 48.21; 3. Cincinnati Princeton, 48.21 400: 1. Paige Floriea, Mentor, 54.25; 2. Emma Potter, Mentor, 55.24; 3. Alexis Cain, Euclid, 55.93 300 hurdles: 1. Camden Bentley, Gahanna Lincoln, 43.18; 2. Sydney Burrs, Olentangty, 44.17; 3. Myah Boze, Fremont Ross, 44.53. 800: 1. Lindsay Stull, Hilliard Davidson, 2:10.35; 2. Morgan Monesmith, Hathaway Brown, 2:11.00; 3. Jayla Atkinson, Stow, 2:11.69 200: 1. Paige Floriea, Mentor, 24.17; 2. Kaira Granger, Bedford, 24.50; 3. Gianna Cameron, Huber Heights Wayne, 25.11 3,200: 1. Alyssa Shope, Gahanna Lincoln, 10:32.42, 2. Olivia Gang, Green, 10:45.23; 3. Alexandria Bauer, Lake, 10:49.75 1,600 relay: 1. Bishop Watterson, 3:50.10; 2. Cincinnati Mercy McAuley, 3:50.58; 3. Euclid, 3:53.85 Long jump: 1. Paige Floriea, Mentor, 19-10.25; 2. Madison Roshelle, Cincinnati Princeton, 19-01.5; 3. Amara Okpaloka, Pickerington North, 18-02.25 Shot put: 1. Molly Radcliffe, Avon, 46-07.5; 2. Brooke Lumpkin, Avon Lake, 45-01.75; 3. Alexis Boykin, Clayton Northmont, 44-05.25 Pole vault: 1. Abby Knouff, Walsh Jesuit, 12-08; 2. Grace Conway, Greenville, 12-08; 3. Kendal Fisher, Massillon Perry, 12-08.