May 21, 2000

Woodmore dominates competition

By Matt Steiner
Sports Writer

PEMBERVILLE &emdash; The Hopewell-Loudon girls qualified four individuals and two relay teams for the regional meet Saturday. The Chieftains finished fourth with 59 points, behind Woodmore, St. Mary's and Fremont St. Joe.

Woodmore dominated the competition scoring 136 points. St. Mary's was the closest competitor with 76 points.

Briana Popenberg paced H-L, winning the 100 hurdles (16.3), taking second in the 300 hurdles (47.9) and joining teammates Staci Jones, Nikki Jones and Danielle Reynolds on the fourth place 4 x 400 team (4:13.4).

"I struggled all year to find the best four girls to put together on the 4 x 400 and I think I found the best four," Chieftain coach Tom Weaver said.

Jones won a berth in the regionals with her fourth place finish in the 1600 (5:30.7), finishing behind third place teammate Amy Jacobs (5:27.5). Reynolds added an individual qualifying finishing by taking second in the 300 hurdles (47.9).

The 4 x 800 team of Jacobs, Nikki Jones, Leah Miller and Ashley Miller also advance to Fostoria.

Weaver feels the regional meet will challenge all of the Chieftains who qualified.

"Our regional is really tough, and traditionally the four who qualify in the regional usually place in the state," Weaver said. "They did well this week, but they're going to have to do even better next week to advance on to state."

St. Wendelin fared well also, finishing sixth at the meet with 53 points.

The best finish for SW came in the 4 x 100. Emily Whitman, Jackie Bouillon, Leslie Yoakum and Dawn Kresser passed the baton to a second place finish in 52.2.

Yoakum, Madeleine Dy and the Mohawks' 4 x 200 team each came in third. Yoakum ran the 100 hurdles in 17.3 and Dy sprinted the 300 hurdles in 49.4. The relay team of Bouillon, Kresser, Yoakum and Cara Fry finished in 1:51.4.

Kresser and Jenni Yost took fourth in the 200 (27.9) and 3200 (12:12.6) respectively.

Seventh place went to Calvert with 47 points.

"I'm very pleased with how we did today," Calvert coach Stewart Behm said. "We had a couple of outstanding performances and got out more kids than I thought would get out."

Freshman Laurie Ehrenfried led the way for the Senecas. Ehrenfried won the long jump (15-6) and earned a personal best in the 400 with a second place finish (1:00.9).

"Realistically Laurie has got a chance (at regionals) in the long jump and the 400," Behm said.

Lindsay Flechtner qualified in the long jump (15-1), finishing third and took fourth in the 300 hurdles (50.2).

Mohawk finished ninth with 29 points. Nicole Clouse had the best finish for the Warriors, qualifying with a second place in the high jump (4-10).

Dana Johns also moved on with a fourth place finish in the 100 (13.3). The other berth for Mohawk came in the 4 x 100. Clouse, Abby Ward, Tiffany Karcher and Dana Johns finished third in 52.9.

New Riegel grabbed 11th and Bettsville took 13th place with 18 and 8 points respectively.

The Blue Jackets had a third place finish from Leslie Reinhart in the 800 (2:25.00). Alana Margraf earned a regional berth finishing just behind her (2:25.5).

Bettsville's Jenna DeVanna just missed giving her team a qualifier with fifths in the long jump (14-11) and 100 (13.4).

Fourteenth place went to Old Fort which did not score.

Other fifth place finishes included Hopewell-Loudon's Staci Jones (high jump, 4-8) and Nikki Jones (high jump, 4-8), St. Wendelin's Jennifer Isbell (shot put, 33-4 1/4), Mohawk's Clouse (200, 27.9), New Riegel's 4 x 400 team of Margraf, Reinhart, Jami Rosier and Jacquie Clouse (4:16.7) and Old Fort's Levenda Meade (200, 28.9).

Sixth place finishes went to Hopewell-Loudon's Michelle Miley (long jump, 14-9 1/2) and Rachel Hoover (3200, 12:38.1), St. Wendelin's Jamie Frederick (300 hurdles, 51.4), 4 x 800 team of Krupp, Yost, Dy and Audra Reinhart (10:39.8) and the 4 x 400 team of Jamie Frederick, Jolene Faeth, Fry and Dy (4:19.2). Calvert's Andrea Weber (discus, 97-0), 4 x 200 team of Flechtner, Ehrenfried, Andrea Weber and Carrie Weber (1:53.3) and Ehrenfried (200, 28.5) and New Riegel's Clouse (100, 13.4) also finished sixth.

Finishing seventh were Hopewell-Loudon's Ashley Miller (800, 2:32.5), St. Wendelin's Reinhart (3200, 12:49.9), Calvert's 4 x 800 team of Allie Pastorella, Sarah Kuebler, Lisa Vela and Sara Sacksteder (10:41.1), Carrie Weber (400, 1:06.2) and 4 x 400 team of Andrea Weber, Julie Ehrenfried, Carrie Weber and Laurie Ehrenfried (4:30.5), along with Mohawk's Tiffany Archer 100 (13.5).

Eighth place finishers were St. Wendelin's Kresser (100, 13.7) and Reinhart (1600, 5:52.1), Calvert's Katie Cahill (discus, 94-7), 4 x 100 team of Flechtner, Sabrina Seitz, Angie Gruss and Andrea Weber (55.3) and Angie Pastorella (800, 2:34.6), Mohawk's 4 x 800 team of Emily Ruffing, Megan Ruffing, Brandi Weininger and Ashley Clifton (11:00.1), Hilary Close (100, 18.4), 4 x 200 team of Clouse, Calli McClain, Leah Tanner and Tiffany Karcher (1:57.6) and Abby Ward (400, 1:06.6).