COLUMBUS - Western Reserve senior Darren Johnson's second day at the 2011 State Track and Field Championships has already been more successful than his first day.

Johnson defended his high jump title, by winning the event again in Division II with a jump of 6-feet, 8-inches. Johnson said his goal was to reach seven feet, but he failed on his three attempts.

After failing to place in the long jump on Friday, Johnson seems to be back on track. He still has to run the 200 and 400 later on Saturday.

Here's how some other athletes have fared early on Day 2 of the 2011 State Track and Field Championships at Jesse Memorial Owens Stadium:

Division II

Boys discus - Junior Michael Ebert (Perkins) 4th place, 162-11.

Girls long jump - Sophomore Brittany Gates (Keystone) 11th place, 16-03.25.

Girls shot put - Junior Amelia Strickler (Bay) 14th place, 37-00.


Division III

Girls 400 - Senior Ashten Robson (Western Reserve) 5th place, 58.75.

Elyria Catholic freshman Lucas Ball made his debut at the 2011 State Track and Field Championships in the Division II pole vault.

Ball tied his personal-best height of 13-feet, 6-inches but couldn't clear 14 feet and finished 10th in the event.

Ball seemed to be catching his stride as he cleared 13-06 on his first attempt, but failed on his first two attempts at 14, then DQ'ed on his final attempt.

Bay junior Marek Mutch finished 11th, as he also cleared 13-06.

Bellevue sophomore Matt Rowland won the event, clearing a height of 14-09.

Friday night was a big night for a couple of teams trying to take control of their conference.

In Sandusky, the Edison Chargers took on the Perkins Pirates. Both teams came into the game with 7-1 records in the Sandusky Bay Conference.

The Chargers erased 40-32 deficit early in the fourth quarter to defeat the Pirates 47-44.



Edison's seniors made the difference down the stretch as Mike Yost and Ryan Reber came up with huge plays on both ends of the floor.

With 21 seconds left, Yost score on an offensive rebound to put the Chargers up by one.

On the Pirates next possession, Brandon Smith drove to the basket for the go-ahead score, but Reber stepped in to take a charge to preserve the win.

The Chargers now own the tie-breaker and control their own destiny to win the SBC for the second time in three years.

In another marquee matchup, the Avon Eagles took on the Bay Rockets in a battle of top West Shore Conference teams.

John Urwin scored a game-high 25 points, but R.J. Kauffman (20 points) and Claude Gray (21 points) were too much as the Eagles won 69-61.



The Eagles now are 9-3 overall and 6-1 in the WSC and have control of the conference.

It's been a rough week for Bay, who were 8-1 and 4-1 in the WSC before the week began, but lost to Rocky River last Tuesday and followed that with its loss to Avon.

Both teams were picked to finish in the top of the conference, but it looks like Bay might need some luck if they are going to catch the Eagles.

The teams will meet in the regular-season finale on Feb. 25th, and if Avon stumbles it could be for the conference title.