COLUMBUS — The state track and field meet here can be very intimidating, especially for a freshman.
But Bellefontaine’s Kelsie Snapp handled the atmosphere with the mettle of a seasoned veteran Friday.
Snapp finished third in the discus at the Division II state meet at the Jesse Owens facility on the campus of the Ohio State University.
“I am very excited,” said Snapp. “I just wanted to compete as best as I could and get my PR. For that to happen, it’s really exciting.
“I felt so many nerves today, but I just tried to remember all of the training and preparation I have done, and I just relied on that.”
Snapp was part of the second flight Friday and tossed a personal-best of 129-9 to advance to the finals.
Her throw held up for a third-place finish.
“We’ve really been focusing on mental toughness,” said Bellefontaine throws coach Jim Robinson. “I am very proud of Kelsie to handle all of this the way she did.
“It takes a consistent, dedicated mindset to be at your best at this time of the season, on a stage like this. That’s so important when you get to May, because there are so many distractions going on involving the end of the school year. You have to stay dedicated in your mindset with all of that going on, and Kelsie has been able to do that.”
Snapp cleared her previous best distance by almost a foot.
“I felt really good coming in about both Kelsie and Lexi (Robinson),” said Jim Robinson.
“I thought they were both capable of getting on the podium. Unfortunately, Lexi tweaked a back injury and wasn’t able to perform like normal. But I am very proud of both of them.”
Snapp doesn’t have a lot of time to celebrate her third-place finish as she is back in action this morning in the Division II shot put competition.
“I am feeling good,” said Snapp. “Today gave me a lot of confidence and it will help me relax (going into the shot put.)”
Robinson, a junior, finished 15th with a throw of 102-9.
Manns gets PR in shot put
While Snapp and Robinson were competing in the discus Friday morning, Bellefontaine’s Sullivan Ashcraft and Haiden Manns were nearby as they participated in the Division II boys shot put competition.
Neither Manns or Ashcraft was able to get into the finals in a very challenging field of throwers, but Robinson was pleased with their showing.
Manns, a junior, threw a PR of 51-3.50 to finish 11th and Ashcraft was 16th with a throw of 49-4 in his final meet as a Chieftain.
“I feel good about both of those guys,” said Robinson. “They had a good week of practice and they were both really focused on what they had to do.
“Sully has had a great career for us. He is one of the best shot putters we’ve ever had. Haiden came down here and beat his PR by a foot. That puts him in a great position going into next year.”
Chiefs qualify for three running finals
In a busy day for the Chieftain track and field program Friday, sophomores Kylie Adams and Ava Reeves survived qualifying heats to advance to the running finals today.
The top two finishers in each heat, along with the next five best times, earned berths in the finals.
Adams had the sixth-fastest time in the 100 hurdles (14.99) to advance through to the finals.
In the 300 hurdles, Adams qualified eighth with a time of 46.47.
Adams will compete in the long jump at 9:30 a.m. this morning and will later come back in the afternoon for the finals of the 100 hurdles (1 p.m.) and 300 hurdles (2:15 p.m.).
Reeves advanced to the finals in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.31. That qualified her eighth going into today.
Reeves will also join Adams in the long jump competition this morning.
Also competing Friday for the Chiefs but not advancing to the finals were Callie Shumaker in the 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles and the girls 400 relay team.
The Chiefs’ Tony Stewart will run in the 3,200 at 2:45 p.m. today.