Chipp pair finishes on podium
Jared Gay placed sixth in the boys shot put Photo by NICK FALZERANO
Sarah Cannon and Jared Gay both wound up the way they hoped they would. Their goals were accomplished and their careers ended on high notes.
Both Chippewa senior throwers made the awards podium at the state track meet at Jessie Owens Memorial Stadium on June 2, earning All-Ohio honors in the process. Gay placed sixth in the boys shot put, while Cannon finished eighth in the girls discus.
“It’s awesome,” Gay said. “Last year I was fifth place at districts. I didn’t even get a shot to advance out of Orrville. This year I got to make it all the way to Columbus and make it on the podium.”
Gay was consistent throughout. His six throws resulted in no fouls and all landed within a range of about 18 inches.
His best throw came in his third one, the last in the preliminary round. The toss of 50 feet, 2.5 inches had him ranked sixth heading into the finals, so nothing changed from that point. Sam Meece of Napoleon won with a best of 59 feet, 0.75 inches.
“It wasn’t the greatest day, distance-wise, even though I made it on the podium,” Gay said. “But if you look at the results last week (at the Lexington Regional), I still would have gotten sixth, so I can’t really be that mad about it.”
Gay threw 54-2 at Lexington. Nate Stidham of Reading finished fifth at 54-6.5 in Columbus. So Gay indeed seemed destined for sixth place.
“After my first three, I knew I’d have to get higher,” he said. “They didn’t go as far as maybe I would have liked, but you can’t be too mad about sixth place in the state.”
Cannon finished in eighth place with a throw of 126 feet, 9 inches. Eighth gets you the last spot on the podium, so that was plenty good for her.
“I’m pretty proud of myself,” Cannon said. “I know eighth place, most people wouldn’t be proud of that, but coming from 10th place last year, it’s a big accomplishment for me, moving up two places.”
Cannon’s top throw came on her second effort, which easily propelled her into the finals with 9 inches to spare. From there she essentially threw for fun. She hit all six of her tosses, going foul-free.
Lauren Jones of Garrettsville Garfield won with a toss of 157-9.
Having a year of state competition under her belt made a ton of difference for Cannon. This year the meet almost seemed like no big deal.
“Last year I was kind of nervous and kind of got sick in the morning,” she said. “Then I came here and didn’t really do the best and didn’t even make finals. This year I was more relaxed and knew what I had to do going into the finals. Last year was just getting my feet wet, getting in the groove of things. This year I was determined to get on the podium. I was aiming for a higher place, obviously, but I think I did pretty good overall.”
Cannon’s career trajectory was nothing but consistent. She made it to regionals as a sophomore, state as a junior and the finals as a senior, always getting a bit better along the way.
“It’s mostly my love of the sport,” she said. “I play basketball and I love the sport, but I don’t love it as much as track. I know I want to improve as much as I can. I train harder every year. I work harder. I focused a little more every year.”
In the girls long jump, Kyle Fletcher wrapped her career with a 15th-place finish. She hit all her preliminary jumps, topping out at 15 feet-8 inches on her first try. The left her roughly a foot shy of advancing from the finals, though her expectations ahead of time were not for much more. Upon qualifying from the Lexington Regional after misses the prior two seasons, Fletcher said she had achieved her goal for the season.
Both Chippewa senior throwers made the awards podium at the state track meet at Jessie Owens Memorial Stadium on June 2, earning All-Ohio honors in the process. Gay placed sixth in the boys shot put, while Cannon finished eighth in the girls discus.
“It’s awesome,” Gay said. “Last year I was fifth place at districts. I didn’t even get a shot to advance out of Orrville. This year I got to make it all the way to Columbus and make it on the podium.”
Gay was consistent throughout. His six throws resulted in no fouls and all landed within a range of about 18 inches.
His best throw came in his third one, the last in the preliminary round. The toss of 50 feet, 2.5 inches had him ranked sixth heading into the finals, so nothing changed from that point. Sam Meece of Napoleon won with a best of 59 feet, 0.75 inches.
“It wasn’t the greatest day, distance-wise, even though I made it on the podium,” Gay said. “But if you look at the results last week (at the Lexington Regional), I still would have gotten sixth, so I can’t really be that mad about it.”
Gay threw 54-2 at Lexington. Nate Stidham of Reading finished fifth at 54-6.5 in Columbus. So Gay indeed seemed destined for sixth place.
“After my first three, I knew I’d have to get higher,” he said. “They didn’t go as far as maybe I would have liked, but you can’t be too mad about sixth place in the state.”
Cannon finished in eighth place with a throw of 126 feet, 9 inches. Eighth gets you the last spot on the podium, so that was plenty good for her.
“I’m pretty proud of myself,” Cannon said. “I know eighth place, most people wouldn’t be proud of that, but coming from 10th place last year, it’s a big accomplishment for me, moving up two places.”
Cannon’s top throw came on her second effort, which easily propelled her into the finals with 9 inches to spare. From there she essentially threw for fun. She hit all six of her tosses, going foul-free.
Lauren Jones of Garrettsville Garfield won with a toss of 157-9.
Having a year of state competition under her belt made a ton of difference for Cannon. This year the meet almost seemed like no big deal.
“Last year I was kind of nervous and kind of got sick in the morning,” she said. “Then I came here and didn’t really do the best and didn’t even make finals. This year I was more relaxed and knew what I had to do going into the finals. Last year was just getting my feet wet, getting in the groove of things. This year I was determined to get on the podium. I was aiming for a higher place, obviously, but I think I did pretty good overall.”
Cannon’s career trajectory was nothing but consistent. She made it to regionals as a sophomore, state as a junior and the finals as a senior, always getting a bit better along the way.
“It’s mostly my love of the sport,” she said. “I play basketball and I love the sport, but I don’t love it as much as track. I know I want to improve as much as I can. I train harder every year. I work harder. I focused a little more every year.”
In the girls long jump, Kyle Fletcher wrapped her career with a 15th-place finish. She hit all her preliminary jumps, topping out at 15 feet-8 inches on her first try. The left her roughly a foot shy of advancing from the finals, though her expectations ahead of time were not for much more. Upon qualifying from the Lexington Regional after misses the prior two seasons, Fletcher said she had achieved her goal for the season.