High school track and field: Oberlin girls qualify everyone to finals at Division III state meet

COLUMBUS — The mission was straightforward. The Oberlin girls accomplished it. Oberlin set out Friday to advance at the Division III state meet at Ohio State, and did just that. Led by juniors Olivia Hudson and Alyssa Webb in their individual events, along with three sprint relays, all advanced to the finals today, starting at 9:30 a.m. Hudson earned the No. 3 seed for the final in the 200 meters (25.49 seconds) and No. 4 seed in the 400 (57.39). Webb earned the No. 6 seed for the 100 in 12.59. The 800-meter relay of Webb, junior Aubrey Abeyta, freshman Jasmine McDearmon and Hudson earned the No. 1 seed with a time of 1:43.19. The 400 relay of Webb, McDearmon, Abeyta and freshman Cayman Noble captured the No. 2 seed (49.59) behind Columbus Grove (49.41). Oberlin's 1,600 relay of McDearmon, junior Melody Cyrus, Abeyta and Hudson also earned a No. 2 seed (4:01.60) behind defending state champ Coldwater (3:58.33). "It was a pretty busy morning," Hudson said. "It was prelims so it was running to qualify. I ran what I needed to do. I feel good. I think I ran it pretty smart just to qualify. I tried to run each race just right so that I would have enough for the next race right behind it. I think I did it pretty well. It's tough but I think my training has set me up for it." With no distance events interspersed during state prelims, sprinters covering multiple events are really tested, particularly sprinters such as Hudson and Webb. Hudson had 30 minutes between the 800 relay and the 400, then 40 minutes between the 400 and 200 and only 20 minutes between the 400 and 1,600 relay. Webb had five minutes between the 100 and the 400 relay and 20 minutes between the 800 relay and 400 relay. "It feels very good," Webb said. "It was hard with my events being right next to each other. All three of my events were in a row today. Everything felt good. I was a little tired for the 800 relay coming off of the 100, but I think for Saturday I can run even better. We just need to eat well tonight and just rest up as much as possible." Oberlin coach Rodney Hooks was pleased with how the busy day unfolded. "They give what they normally do," he said. "I'm very proud of them. We've made it to the second day. That's the most important thing. "The timeframe and the competition, the first day is very fast. Some of our athletes have to run multiple events inside of 30 minutes. That's what we're built for and that's what we try to sustain. It may be a little nerve-racking to them, but it is what it is. Everybody has to do it. Just step up and do what you can do." Noble came back later in the meet and finished 16th in long jump with a leap of 16 feet. Coldwater senior Isabella Zahn defended her state title with a jump of 18-8.5. Open Door sophomore Paige Pachinger finished 11th in the 100 with a personal-record 12.78. She is the Patriots' first girls state qualifier for the event. Contact Paul Heyse at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.