Twin Valley South junior Griffin Roell (left) enters a turn in the 800 meter run state final hot on the heels of eventual sixth place finisher Weston Blair of Whiteoak.
Ron Nunnari | The Register-Herald
DAYTON — Thirty-eight hundredths of a second was all that separated Griffin Roell from placing in the 800 meter run in Division III state track meet Friday at Perc Welcome Stadium.
The Twin Valley South junior crossed the finishing line in 1:56.89 just behind eighth place finisher Andrew Young of Lake Ridge Academy who clocked 1:56.51. Jack Gentile of Fisher Catholic took first place in 1:54.80 in the tightly contested race.
Even though he didn’t earn a place on the podium, Roell was aware of his achievement of being among only 18 runners in Ohio to qualify for the finals at the state meet in the 800.
“It was a tough race against good competition,” Roell said. “I was looking for that eighth spot and couldn’t quite get it. Overall, I am pretty happy with my performance. I had a PR (personal record) so I thought that was pretty good to keep my head up for next year.”
Roell said he hopes to compete in a few other events during his senior year.
“I just focused on the 800 this year, so we will see how next season goes,” Roell added.
State placers in the 800 included:
1. Jack Gentile, Fisher Catholic, 1:54.80.
2. Ryan Halpin, Minster, 1:54.94.
3. Beau Hesler, North Adams, 1:55.46.
4. Jack Grieshop, Minster, 1:55.52.
5. Luke Buxton, East Canton, 1:56.07.
6. Weston Blair, Whiteoak, 1:56.12.
7. Andrew Donaldson, Maplewood, 1:56.44.
8. Andrew Young, Lake Ridge Academy, 1:56.51.
Reach Ron Nunnari at (937) 684-9124 or email [email protected].
