Photo by Seth Staskey Union Local’s Johnny Sabinsky launches his shot put during Friday’s OHSAA State Track Meet in Columbus.

COLUMBUS — Two area shot putters are waking up this morning as All-Ohioans and several other local Division II track and field athletes find themselves on the brink of the awards podium.

Union Local sophomore Johnny Sabinski and Bellaire’s Colt Sechrest placed fifth and sixth, respectively, in the shot put during Friday’s opening day of the OHSAA State Track and Field Championship at sun-drenched Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium at Ohio State University.

Sabinski took a few minutes, standing on the turf of the Jesse Owens Stadium to look up at the thousands of fans on hand, to think about the winter workouts that he went through long before official track practice began in late February.

“This has just been a crazy experience,” Sabinski said. “I was throwing 42 feet last year and (Friday), I throw 55. I mean a 13-foot improvement is just crazy.”

Those extra workouts paid dividends all season. Sabinski has the the top shot putter in Belmont County basically all season and extended his reign with a mark of 55-2 1/2, which is a foot better than his previous best.

“I was throwing when it was snowing outside and putting in extra work in the weight room to be ready for this season,” Sabinski said.

Sabinski set the tone for the day with a 54-4 mark to open the competition and then launched it to his mark that carried through.

“I was excited to get a good mark early because then you can really calm down and just let it fly from there,” Sabinski said.

Sabsinki will compete in the discus this morning where he’s seeded inside the top eight. He also has some added motivation for today’s competition.

“I am going to try to get a better place (in disc),” Sabinski said. “My dad bet me $500 if I can get a third place, so I am excited to see what I can do.”

Sechrest, who has his eyes firmly planted on this morning’s discus competition where he’s seeded second and the defending state runnerup, was excited to earn All-Ohio in an event in which he hasn’t concentrated on as long as he has the discus.

Sechrest, who is headed to play football at Youngstown State, set the tone for the morning on his first throw when he launched the shot to 53-7 1/4, which is a personal-best toss.

“After the first mark, I felt pretty confident about making the finals, so I was just kind of going for it,” Sechrest said. “This was a great experience.”

Sechrest, who had never competed at Jesse Owens Stadium, believes the shot put effort will calm any nerves he might have had and let him simply go out and compete one final time.

He enters the discus competition as the second seed.

St. Clairsville’s Emma Henry continued her break-out campaign by turning in another personal-best time to advance. With a solid tailwind, Henry posted a 12.21 to advance in the 100 meter dash with the fifth-best time.

In the 200, Henry posted a 25.78 and advanced to the championship run this afternoon with the seventh-best time.

Senior pole vaulter Emily Thompson will compete in her specialty this morning, starting at 9:30.

Steubenville’s girls had a solid day. Their 4×2 team advanced with a 1:44.25. The team consists of Mya Stackhouse, Madalyn Criss, Isabella Yetts and Sabria Jones.

The same foursome returned to the track in the 4×1 and advanced with a 49.68. Both teams are seeded fifth.

Jones will long jump this morning and senior Amya Livingston will compete in the shot put at the same time. Both are defending state runnerup.

The Big Red boys were also solid with senior standout Brenton “Inky” Jones leading the way. He’s qualified for the state final in the 400 with a 50.33 effort, which is the fourth-best time in today’s final.

In the high hurdles, Micah Mitchell qualified with a 15.02, which is seventh best.

Barnesville’s Tyler Jenkins and Martins Ferry’s Francis Toohey will make their state track debuts today in the 3200 and 800 meter runs, respectively.

DIVISION III

Day one of the Ohio High School Athletic Association wasn’t extremely kind to area Division III competitors Friday at sun-drenched Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University.

Only Barnesville’s Anna Yater reached the awards podium and just Shadyside’s Mason VanNest and Steubenville Catholic Central’s Clara Symington advanced to today’s championship finals.

Yater nearly found herself without a spot on the podium and then she almost found herself with a spot she didn’t earn.

Starting with the eighth-place finish she put forth with a mark of 38-8, it marks the first time in Yater’s illustrious career that she reached the podium in the state meet.

“I wanted to make the most of my last time competing (at the state),” Yater said after waiting along with the other shot put placers for upwards of 50 minutes due to a clerical error in the results. “I just missed placing last year and I didn’t want to experience that feeling again.”

Yater’s teammate, Marah Bethel, will compete in the 800 meter run today.

On the track, VanNest led the area contingent.

The Shadyside speedster, who is in his first season as both a baseball and track athlete, extended his prep career to the final day.

Steubenville Catholic’s Clara Symington is in the state finals in both the high and low hurdles. She posted a 15.22, which is the sixth-best time entering this morning’s title run. She squeezed into the low final with a 46.36, which is good enough for the eighth-best time in the final.