Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Gibsonburg’s Mckenzie Montgomery capped her junior campaign with a third-place finish in the Division V pole vault completion at the Jesse Owens OHSAA State Track & Field Championships on June 6.
“She went from not even knowing she was going to compete at districts to placing third at state,” Gibsonburg head coach Shane Dyer said. “In a matter of three weeks, she went from ‘I don't even know if I'm going to be able to compete’ to finishing third, so her resiliency and toughness is a pretty commendable.”
Montgomery is no stranger to the state pole vault competition. As a freshman, she also finished third, and she came in fourth last year. Both of those came in the Division III competition before this year’s expansion to five divisions.
Dyer said the credit for her continued excellence is the pole vault coaches she goes to in Bellevue and Liberty-Benton.
“They do a lot of nice work with her over there,” he said. “That helps quite a bit. Sometimes these kids get specialization from other coaches, and they do a super job. Mckenzie just has a great attitude. She's got a lot of faith in herself and in God, and it seemed to help her. She's a leader in her own way, and it's interesting to watch her. It's fun.”
WASSERMAN FINISHES 12TH IN SHOT PUT
Montgomery wasn’t alone in repping Gibsonburg at the state championships as Hunter Wasserman didn’t qualify for the finals, but he finished 12th among 18 shot put competitors in Division V, throwing 50-10.
Dyer said the junior was in a very, very tough district and region, which makes it all the more impressive that he even made the state competition.
“When we left regionals, he was sitting seventh,” Dyer said. “They take the top five, and they take the next three best throws, and the next three best throws in shot and disc were from our region. It's very strong in throws, so he had some great competition. He performed well at districts and regionals. He didn't quite hit the mark he wanted to at state, but he would have had to hit another school record to even make the podium up there.”
SMALL TEAM EXCELS
Dyer, who said he didn’t have any seniors on the girls team this year and a limited number of senior boys, was pleased with how well his team did overall considering those factors.
“Just having a small team, it was young, so (it was about) getting these kids back and trying to get them back in on the track and getting stronger and faster and jumping higher and throwing farther,” Dyer said. “That's just the thing.”
Some of those student athletes were still able to go down to Columbus and witness the state competition in person.
“They were excited,” Dyer said. “They had never seen what state track is, and to be able to see what state track is (is eye-opening). One of my throwers, Zach Fruth, was there and looks at me and goes, ‘Coach, this is cool.’ He hadn't been there 20 minutes, and said ‘Coach, this is cool.’ I said, ‘You haven't seen nothing yet, buddy.’
“The performance these kids put on is something special. And it's fun to watch them cheer each other on. I think that's the greatest thing about track. You watch the kid who's in the lead, he'll cheer the other one on to see if he can't throw a better throw or jump a higher height, and Mckenzie and Hunter are both that way. They're always cheering the other throwers and jumpers on, and that's a good thing to say about your kids.”
