The Community Post

New Knoxville will be on the map at championships

By TONY ARNOLD

TROY — The town of New Knoxville will be on the map this coming weekend at the OHSAA Division 3 State Track and Field Championships in Columbus. The small town Rangers had a strong showing at the Regional meet in Troy and will be will represented in the biggest event of the high school track and field season.

“The New Knoxville community has shown such support for our athletes. From the hyped sendoff to regionals, signs down the highway, and all the messages of pride and encouragement the kids have received. The NK community knows state runs aren’t just handed to athletes, they are worked for. This is a special time for these kids and something they will never forget,” said New Knoxville Coach Sam Fledderjohann.

Jay Schroeder placed fourth in the 300 meter hurdles in 40.97 to qualify for the state meet.

“We knew at the beginning of the season that sophomore Jay Schroeder had a high probability of being a contender. He’s had a couple of set back with some injury, but no one is willing to work more than Jay to get himself healthy and practice hard until he gets where he wants to be. That injury slowed him down at MAC, but with some therapy and his natural tenacity, he got where he’s wanted to be all season,” said Fledderjohann.

Addi Albers punched her ticket for the state meet in the high jump. Albers cleared 5-2 for fourth place.

Freshman Addi Albers had to pause her high jump training a few weeks ago due to injury. She had her first full and successful practice the Monday before and was feeling excited to jump on Wednesday. Knowing that she would need to make 5’2” to advance, Addi was determined to do that and when Addi decides she wants something she is going to make it happen,” said Fledderjohann.

The girls 4x400 meter relay third at the regional meet to advance to the state championship. The 4x400 team consists of Albers, Sannah Chede, Brynn Egbert, and Ariyah Pfenning. Chede who runs the anchor for the Rangers broke the school record in the open 400 earlier this season.

“The girls 4x400 was the youngest team to make the regional finals. We are running three freshmen and a sophomore. The girls knew they had to run the race like they’ve never run. There is a lot of fight in these girls and they run as a team, completely believing in each other. The team has taken over 30 seconds off their first 4x400 of the season, each decreasing their split time almost every meet. They ran to near perfection Friday night but they know they can still shave some time off that impressive run,” said Fledderjohann.

The OHSAA State Track and Field Championships will be held on June 2-3 at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium at The Ohio State University.

“Getting to run/compete at Jesse Owens is always the ultimate goal for any OHSAA track athlete. Sending three events from our small team will hopefully entice incoming high-schoolers to track and field a try,” said Fledderjohann.

Sports

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2023-05-30T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-05-30T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://thecommunitypost.pressreader.com/article/281603834846290

Alberta Newspaper Group