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.

The 2010 OHSAA Track and Field Championships, held at Jesse Memorial Stadium on June 4-5, in Columbus turned out to be a pretty successful for a few of our area athletes.
On Day 1, Keystone senior Corry Sprouse shocked a lot of people, including myself by winning the boys high jump competition in Division II.
I wasn't shocked because I didn't think he was capable of winning. I was shocked because it was the first time that Sprouse, who will play football for Notre Dame College, participated on the track team.
He ended up winning with a jump of 22 feet, 9 inches, narrowly defeating Edison senior Brady Gelvin, who jumped 22-8 1/2.
The fact that Sprouse won a state title in his first year of track was a pretty amazing feat for anyone.
Day 1 also saw the end of Perkins senior Matt Hoty's reign as shot put champion. Hoty, who will attend the University of Tennessee, came in as the two-time Division II champion and was defeated by Pemberville senior Justin Welch.
Hoty threw a record distance of 62-9 3/4, but Welch threw a 62-11 3/4 on the final throw of the day to win the title.
Hoty had to battle a fractured right wrist during the season, which might played a part why he didn't win for a third consecutive time.
Regardless, two first place and a second place finish at state is still a very impressive accomplishment for Hoty.
Day 2 at the state track meet belong to the Southview Saints.
The school had three state placers in Division I in their final appearance as a high school. Next year Southview and Admiral King will join forces to form the Lorain High Titans.
The highest finisher for the Saints was sophomore Christian Nogueras, who took third in the long jump with a distance of 22-9 3/4.
Sophomore Melody Farris finished fifth in 100 hurdles with a school record time of 43.91, while junior Shanique Ogle took sixth place in the shot put with a throw of 40-11.
Southview might be gone, but those athletes will always have those memories forever.
Lorain County got its second state champion of the weekend from Elyria Catholic senior Marty Coolidge.
Coolidge won the 3200 with a time of 9:03.11, which set the record at Owens Stadium, defeating Bay junior Michael Brajdic.
The victory was a long time coming for Coolidge, who finished third in 2008 and second in 2009 in the 3200.
Other notable placers were Vermilion sophomore Emily Cunningham, who took second in the 200 with a time of 24.93 and fifth in the 100. It was Cunningham's second trip in a row to the state track meet.
Edison's 400 relay of Seth Battle, Dylan Howard, Gelvin and Mike Yost almost came home with the gold.
The Chargers ran 42.58 but lost to Columbus Bishop Hartley, who finished first with a time of 42.57. The race was the most exciting of the weekend, unfortunately Edison fell a little short.
Overall the weekend went well. It was a long couple of days, but I got to watch some very special athletes give some very special performances on the biggest stage of the track season.

Norwalk remained perfect in the Northern Ohio League with its 25-11, 25-10, 25-11 sweep over Upper Sandusky. The Truckers were led by Celeste Duncan (12-for-15, seven kills) and Kayla Freriks (10-for-11, four kills) hitting attack. Taylor Smith led setting with 15 assists (35-for-35), while Mackenzie Hall added five assists (15-for-15). Norwalk improved to 5-2 overall and 4-0 in the NOL.

In Sandusky Bay Conference action, Edison swept Oak Harbor on the road, 25-11, 25-15, 25-3, improving to 5-0 overall and 4-0 in the SBC. Emily Stewart led the attack with nine kills, while Brittany Moyer added 13 assists and five digs. Amanda Blodgett led from the service line with 17 points and seven aces. Stewart also added six points and five aces.

Also in SBC play, Huron swept Perkins, 25-17, 25-16, 25-15 led by Jesse Miedema, who went 28-for-32 hitting with 12 kills. Devon Grendow went 33-for-34 setting with 15 assists. Adriana Deluca led from the service line, going 14-for-15 with three aces.

Amherst improved to 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the Southwestern Conference with its 25-4, 25-5, 25-19 win over Midpark. Deme Morales continues to impress. Morales led hitting (14-for-18, nine kills), serving (seven aces), digs (seven) and blocks (nine), while Marissa Harned went 45-for-45 setting with 16 assists.

Avon and Vermilion went five sets with the Eagles coming out on top. The scores were 19-25, 25-23, 25-10, 21-25, 25-11 in Avon’s favor. Allison Lieghty led Avon with 17 kills, while Sara Ladegaard added 15. Kenzie Berkheimer led Avon’s setting, going 49-for-49 with 19 assists. Julia Clark led Vermilion with 14 kills, while Andrea Rini led Vermilion’s setting, going 110-for-113 with 29 assists.

Keystone swept Wellington, 25-7, 26-24, 25-15 in Patriot Athletic Conference action. Casidy Gregory went 28-for-32 hitting with 13 kills to lead the Wildcats. Ashley Lenzer went 30-for-30 setting and added 13 assists, while also serving 18-for-19 with three aces.

Admiral King evened its record at 4-4 and 2-0 in the Lake Erie League with its 25-20, 25-9, 25-10 sweep over Bedford. Ashleigh Neely went 11-for-11 with six kills, while Tierra Thompson led setting with nine assists (27-for-28). Asia Chishom led from the service line, going 16-for-16 with three aces.

St. Paul swept South Central, 25-11, 25-3, 25-13 in Firelands Conference action, led by Amber Welfle, who led the attack with 13 kills (19-for-22). Kaylee Bundschuh went 67-for-69 setting and added 39 assists.