Regional Track and Field: Avon's Colin Kaufmann qualifies to state meet in four events

This story has been edited to correct the Avon boys' 400 relay time at the district meet. It was 42.32 seconds. FINDLAY — Senior Colin Kaufmann and the Avon boys track team had another fantastic day. Kaufmann led the way for Lorain County on Friday as he qualified to next week's Division I state meet in four events at the regional meet at Findlay High School. Kaufmann won the 100 meters and took third in the 200 and was a member of two state-qualifying relays. "It's hard to put into words how much this means doing this my senior year," said Kaufmann. "Last year I made it to state in only one event (fourth at state in the 100). Now I'm the first Avon boy to make it to state in four different events. It's unbelievable. I'm so blessed to have such great teammates and such great coaches." Tommy Ptacek, Tim Conwell and Drew Lindsay joined Kaufmann on the school-record 400 relay (41.93). The old mark was 42.32, set a week earlier at the district. The same four were members of the 800 relay which placed third in a school-record 1:27.99. "We had a goal in mind and we executed it today," said Lindsay, the anchor for the 400 relay. "We did a good job in both relays, good handoffs. We have Kaufmann out there (second leg of the 400 relay). My job is basically not to get caught. "They all ran great, starting with Tommy coming out of the blocks ran great, came out firing. Kaufmann does what he does and then Timmy ran that curve very nice. He gave it to me with enough of a lead." Right behind the Avon boys in the 400 relay was Elyria, as Jaden Gilbert, Mateo Medina, Isaiah Johnson and Andrew Palos finished second in 42.29 to advance to state. The Elyria sprinters bounced back after barely missing a state berth in the 800 relay, taking fifth in 1:30.68. "We're still proud of the 800 relay," said Palos. "We lose as a team, win as a team. We punched our tickets to Columbus that we've been preaching all year. That's what we wanted to do and we made it happen. Our stickwork worked. That's why we're going to Columbus." Lorain junior Nakeya Hermon won the 100, following in the footsteps of her sister Mikiya, a two-time state qualifier for the Titans. Hermon edged Springfield's Maira Scott 12.21 to 12.23. "I'm a little shocked," said Hermon. "I competed against some very good girls, the top of the top. I didn't know I won. I was just running my race, just focusing on myself because I can't control the people next to me. I got out of the blocks very well. My sister just told me to just make sure to get my drive phase right. I'm not usually a very confident person but this makes me very confident." The Avon Lake girls continued the postseason tear as the 400 relay of Julia Hurd, Elizabeth Manly, Taylor Firment and Olivia Lengel set a school record for the third straight weekend in winning the event. "I'm really shocked. I'm very happy," said Lengel. "Our goal was to beat 49 seconds and we got 48.8. We just stayed focused on our handoffs. We knew we needed to make them all good and fast. The award stand ceremony was special. I'm very proud of my teammates." Manly earlier advanced to state in the 100 hurdles with a second-place time of 15.09. North Ridgeville senior Gemma Kilgore earned the Ranger girls' first state berth in the 400 in more than 30 years as she held off Amherst junior Ella Baker to win it, 56.31 to 56.36. It helped Kilgore atone for last year when she finished fifth at regionals and missed state by a spot. "I was very, very tired at the end. The last 10 meters was really tough," said Kilgore, who was also a regional finalist in the 100 and 200. "It feels very good, but I'm feeling very tired right now. Winning is a nice reward. It's something I've been striving for since freshman year." Led by Baker, the Amherst girls advanced to state in three events, including Baker's second in the 400. The 800 relay of Megan Ciura, Alanna Woodworth, Annabelle Stewart and Baker was third of the four qualifiers in 1:44.12. The 1,600 relay of Baker, Stewart, Aurora Wilson and Catherine Turner advanced with a fourth-place finish in a season-best 4:00.13. "I'm just happy I can be on a team," said Baker. "It's nice to make such a big accomplishment. A lot of us are juniors. It's been a hard season. Most of us do indoors, so it's been a very, very long season. We've long waited for this." North Ridgeville senior Veronica Waugaman earned her second straight trip to state in pole vault as she placed third at 11-8. "It was very stressful, but I made it," said Waugaman. "It took me three attempts to make both 11-4 and 11-8." Contact Paul Heyse at 329-7135 or ctsports@chronicle.com. BoysTeam scores1, St. Ignatius, 58; 2. Toledo St. John, 57.5; 3. St. Edward, 46; 4. Avon, 45; 5. Medina, 39; 20. Elyria, 12; 21. Avon Lake, 19 Top 4 finishers advance to state, June 3-4100 meters: 1. Colin Kaufmann (Avon), 10.75; 3. Ki Upshaw (Lima Shawnee), 10.79; 3. Mike Bissler (St. Edward), 10.83; 4. Adam Quinn (Wadsworth), 10.85200 meters: 1. Ki Upshaw (Lima Shawnee), 22.02; 2. Javon Fletcher-Johnson (Springfield), 22:02; 3. Kaufmann (Avon), 22.05; 4. Caleb Kelly (St. John), 22.16400 meters: 1. Joseph Taylor (St. John), 48.19; 2. Ben Ireland (Findlay), 48.65; 3. Jackson Herbert (Wadsworth), 49.19; 4. Keontez Bradley (Mansfield), 49.20800 meters: 1. Santino Ross (Medina), 1:56.37; 3. John Corrigan (St. Ignatius), 1:56.53; 3. Lukah Will (Ashland), 1:56.86; 4. Matt Henry (Avon Lake), 1:56.981,600 meters: 1. Keller (Brunswick), 4:18.56; 2. Luka Bork (St. Edward), 4:128.65; 3. Cope (St. Francis), 4:18.79; 4. Long (Wayne), 4:19.23; 7. Luke Bowlsby (Amherst), 4:23.473,200 meters: 1. Jarold (Brunswick), 9:09.36; 2. Evan Bork (St. Edward), 9:31.23; 3. Keller (Brunswick), 9:33.07; 4. Uhran (St. Ignatius), 9:33.60110 hurdles: 1. Damon Frabotta (St. Ignatius), 14.45; 2. Isaac Brooks (Mansfield), 14.49; 3. Ty Allen (Whitmer), 15.81; 4. Cameron Derkacs (Strongsville), 15.30300 hurdles: 1. Frabotta (St. Ignatius), 37.84; 2. Brooks (Mansfield), 387.84; 3. Horvath (Defiance), 39.25; 4. Derkacs (Strongsville), 39.57; 6. Lindsay (Avon), 40.20400-meter relay: 1. Avon (Tommy Ptacek, Kaufmann, Tim Conwell, Drew Lindsay), 41.93; 2. Elyria (Jaden Gilbert, Mateo Medina, Isaiah Johnson, Andrew Palos), 42.29; 3. Wadsworth, 42.58; 4. Medina, 42.58800-meter relay: 1. St. John, 1:26.99; 3. St. Edward, 1:27.95; 3. Avon (Ptacek, Lindsay, Conwell), 1:27.99; 4. Berea-Midpark, 1:28.52; 5. Elyria (Gilbert, Medina, Johnson, Palos), 1:30.681,600-meter relay: 1. St. John, 3:18.24; 2. St. Ignatius, 3:18.83; 3. Westlake, 3:22.21; 4. Wadsworth, 3:22.953,200-meter relay: 1. St. Ignatius, 7:56.86; 2. Brunswick, 7:57.04; 3. Cloverleaf, 7:58.07; 4. St. Edward, 7:58.72; 7. Avon Lake (Bradan Schnabel, Matt Henry, Adam Dixon, Liam Noss), 8:04.25Shot put: 1. Kevin Hornbeak (Whitmer), 58-11.75; 2. Nicholas Manley (Medina), 56-5.25; 3. Tyler Babb (St. John), 55-5.5; 4. Evan Wilson (St. John), 55-2.75; 6. Luke Hamilton (Avon), 54-9.25; 7. Evan Schakel (Avon), 53-0.75Discus: 1. Chris Vance (Padua), 162-8; 2. Zach Harshman (Southview), 159-3; 3. Carter Newman (Lexington), 150-0; 4. Dima Ermakov (Berea-Midpark), 149-2; 9. Evan Schakel (Avon), 140-3; 10. Luke Hamilton (Avon), 139-8; 16. Tim Kemer (Avon Lake), 127-5High jump: 1. Ami Upchurch (Mansfield), 6-6; 2. Maurice Ware (Mansfield), 6-6; 3. Caleb Prater (Bowling Green), 6-5; 4. Jack Buzzard (Highland), 6-5Long jump: 1. Trey Miller (St. John), 22-2.25; 1. Adonis Shelby (Westlake), 21-11.25; 3. Logan Hawe (Southview), 21-9.75; 4. Kaymen Marshall (Buckeye), 21-9.5; 12. Mike Yeager (Avon), 19-11.25; 16. Steve Hawkins (Midview), 19-6.75Pole vault: 1. Jacob Niedzwiecki (Whitmer), 15-0; 2. Connor Douglass (Elida), 14-8; 3. Ben Silva (Berea-Midpark), 14-4; 4. Hunter Maxey (Avon), 14-0; 6. Quinn Kroneker (Avon Lake), 13-8 GirlsTeam scores1, Westlake, 64; 2. Medina, 53; 11. Avon Lake, 24; 17. Amherst, 19; 19. Lorain, 15; 28. Avon, 8.5; 27. Elyria, 6 Top 4 finishers advance to state, June 3-4100 meters: 1. Nakeya Hermon (Lorain), 12.21; 2. Maira Scott (Springfield), 12.23; 3. Sophia Kontak (Westlake), 12.41; 4. Kernnedy Griffin (Strongsville), 12.52; 7. Gemma Kilgore (North Ridgeville), 12.86200 meters: 1. Scott (Springfield), 24.65; 2. Riley Evans (Cloverleaf), 25.48; 3. Kontak (Westlake), 25.52; 4. Griffin (Strongsville), 25.68; 5. Kilgore (North Ridgeville), 25.89400 meters: 1. Gemma Kilgore (North Ridgeville), 56.31; 2. Ella Baker (Amherst), 56.36; 3. Evans (Cloverleaf), 56.99; 4. Scott (Springfield), 57.37800 meters: 1. Ava Beeks (Perrysburg), 2:15.70; 2. Mia Heine (Medina), 2:16.36; 3. Harper Brighty (Northview), 2:165.63; 4. Natalie Sanders (Perrysburg), 2:16.81; 10. Aurora Wilson (Amherst), 2:20.74; 11. Rachel Sheehan (Avon Lake), 2:21.641,600 meters: 1. Clute (Olmsted Falls), 4:49.55; 2. Sarah Peer (Westlake), 4:54.50; 3. Samantha Coleman (Rocky River), 4:59.59; 4. Ana Karmol (Wayne), 5:03.963,200 meters: 1. Katie Clute (Olmsted Falls), 11:42.35; 2. Julie Isham (Strongsville), 10:50.21; 3. Lillie Katsaras (Olmsted Falls), 11:01.66; 4. Alyssa Stoner (Cloverleaf), 11:07.98; 5. Liz White (Avon), 11:12.56100 hurdles: 1. Faith Kingsley (Berea-Midpark), 14.81; 2. Elizabeth Manly (Avon Lake), 15.09; 3. Matthews (Sandusky), 15.10; 4. Dawson (Medina), 15.12300 hurdles: 1. Emma Hennessey (Westlake), 45.18l 2. Myasia Matthews (Sandusky), 45.59; 3. Azuria Garrett (Whitmer), 46.24; 4. Faith Kingsley (Berea-Midpark), 46.25400-meter relay: 1. Avon Lake (Julia Hurd, Elizabeth Manly, Taylor Firment, Olivia Lengel), 48.83; 2. Strongsville, 49.11; 3. Medina, 49.22; 4. Anthony Wayne, 49.90800-meter relay: 1. Westlake, 1:42.31; 2. Medina, 1:43.11; 3. Amherst (Ciura, Woodworth, Stewart, Baker), 1:44.12; 4. Cloverleaf, 1:44.761,600-meter relay: 1. Southview, 3:54.58; 2. Westlake, 3:54.81; 3. Brunswick, 3:56.76; 4. Amherst (Wilson, Annabelle Stewart, Catherine Turner, Ella Baker), 4:00.133,200-meter relay: 1. Medina, 9:18.74; 2. Westlake, 9:21.40; 3. Perrysburg, 9:24.80; 4. Olmsted Falls, 9:28.08; 8. Avon Lake (Kate Leininger, Madeline Betz, Erin Boland, Rachel Sheehan), 9:48.28Shot put: 1, Sierra Polodan (Highland), 40-6; 2. Madison Wyatt (Brunswick), 39-10.5; 3. Lia Rivers (Whitmer), 39-9; 4. Samone Whitt (Lorain), 39-4.75; 15. Ava Luczak (Avon Lake), 32-9Discus: 1. Wyatt (Brunswick), 138-2; 2. Brianna Nichols (Findlay), 137-0; 3. Ellen Fuller (Highland), 131-10; 4. Macy Brennan (Westlake), 129-1; 5. Rania Brown (Avon), 122-713. Kate Radca (Avon Lake), 98-11High jump: 1. Madison Miller (Magnificat), 5-5; 2. Alexi Weber (Midview), 5-5; 3. Ella Bochenek (Magnificat), 5-3; 4. Julianne D'Acunzo (Avon Lake), 5-3Long jump: 1. Kennedy Griffin (Strongsville), 18-5.75; 2. Faith Kingsley (Berea-Midpark), 17-9.25; 3. Morgyn Cruz (Rocky River), 17-7.5; 4. Myranda Bottles (Northview), 17-7; 5. Weber (Midview), 17-2Pole vault: 1. Allison Taylor (Fremont Ross), 12-0; 2. Finley Devins (Berea-Midpark), 11-8; 3. Veronica Waugaman (North Ridgeville), 11-8; 4. Diana Burban (North Royalton), 11-4; 8. Sarah Connor (Avon), 10-0; 11. Tia Miller (Avon), 10-0