(May 12th, 2015) – ARCHBOLD: With an event as massive as the annual North Western Ohio Athletic League (NWOAL) track meet, one day is simply not enough time to fit in everything. Therefore, a preliminary round, consisting of all the specialty events and the 4X800 meter relay, was held three days before the rest of the events.
The competition was stiff, yet Wauseon was still able to pull out into first place with a score of 58 points. Montpelier’s early score netted them a respectable fifth place showing, as they put up 22 points.
Earning third place in the 4X800 meter relay was the Indian squad of Tyler Wilson, Aaron Beck, Owen Newlove, and Christian Suarez. The group completed the team run in 8:32.61, roughly 12 seconds behind first place finisher Archbold. For Montpelier, a unit consisting of Jake Dewire, Nate McCord, Austin Miller, and Michael Blake finished in sixth place, running an 8:59.07.
Austin Bachman netted Wauseon a third place finish in the high jump, clearing a height of 5’10” to do so. Evan Friend, of Montpelier, came in fifth place, leaping over the bar at 5’08”, while his teammate, Alex Matzinger, earned seventh place by jumping reaching 5’06”.
Montpelier’s Dylan Snyder used a horizontal leap of 22’01.25” to claim first place in the long jump. Wauseon’s Bachman jumped a distance of 20’7.25” for second place, while fellow Indian Leo Rendon finished in fifth at 19’3.75”. Friend was the tenth best jumper in the event, giving Montpelier a decent showing with his jump of 18’2.75”.
Wauseon pole vaulter Danny Hench locked up fifth place in the event, clearing the bar at a height of 11′. In sixth place, Montpelier’s Zac Mason also made a vault of 11′. Joe Richer represented the Indians well with a ninth place performance of 10’6”, while Loco boy Logan Hutchinson came in tenth place at 9’06”.
Noah Castle laid claim to first place in both the shot put and the discus events, throwing for 51’09.5” in the former and 161’11” in the latter. His teammate, Anthony Werder, took home fifth place in the shot with a toss of 44’11.75”. Montpelier throwers Justin Musser and Austin Cook had solid throws of the shot as well, at 39’08.5” and 33’11” respectively.
Taking third place in the discus was Castle’s teammate Noah Stickley, who threw for 140′ to earn the distinction. Locomotive thrower Austin Cook let the disc fly for 115’02”, good for tenth place. Max Hulbert also competed for Montpeleir, adding a toss of 97’10”.
Wauseon successfully spring boarded themselves into first place in the preliminary round, setting themselves up for the remainder of the meet quite nicely. A few great performances from Montpelier allowed for them to stay in the hunt, keeping their own hopes of an NWOAL title alive.