Division II track and field: Avon’s Hauck completes double with state shot put title (original) (raw)

COLUMBUS – He has a pair of football state championships, and now Avon’s Max Hauck has added a pair of throwing state titles to his collection, completing the double by winning the Division II shot put on June 7 with a personal best throw of 63-0 1/2.

Hauck also won a state title in the discus on June 6, and in both competitions, he stepped in the circle for his final throw with the title already in hand.

“It was so unreal,” Hauck said. “Being able to take in my last throw, my last year doing shot, and my last throw ever. Just to be the best competitor I can be, and come out on top, that’s all I can ask for.”

Hauck was joined on the podium by teammate Jacob Abfall, who placed fifth with a throw of 58-0 1/4.

Those rankings in the shot put brought Avon up to 39 points as a team, good for third place, two points behind New Philadelphia and Big Walnut.

“It was more about the team today,” Hauck said. “We had a shot to go and get first place as a team, so I just had to go out and do this one for Avon.”

What makes Avon’s finish all the more impressive is that they only had athletes competing in the field events, and all of their points came from just three events: Discus, shot put and long jump.

The Eagles were so close to capturing a second straight state title, as high jumper Jackson Hughes just missed the podium, finishing in a tie for 10th, and pole vaulter Thomas Smith, who entered the state meet as the seventh seed, was forced to pull out with an injury.

Additionally, Avon’s 4×100 and 4×200 teams both ranked among the top teams in the state, but failed to qualify for the state meet after senior Sam Ulery was injured at the regional meet.

Avon Lake’s Rileigh Scarvelli came close to matching Hauck’s double, following up her state title in the shot put on June 6 with a second-place finish in the discus on a throw of 136-09.

“It wasn’t my best throw today, but my goal coming in was to score more points for the team, which I did,” Scarvelli said. “I just took my mind off the shot after yesterday and focused on the discus, because I knew I was second coming in.”

Avon Lake's Rileigh Scarvelli prepares for an attempt in the discus on day two of the DII state track meet in Columbus on June 7. (Carson Zoller - For the Morning Journal)

Scarvelli is a sophomore and has finished on the podium in both throwing events two years in a row. She will likely be back next year for another attempt at the double.

One athlete who will not be back next year is Amherst senior Ben Thompson, who anchored the 4×200 and 4×400 relay teams.

The 4×200 team, which set a state record in the prelims on June 6, was flying through two legs before a botched exchange caused them to be disqualified, but the 4×400 team, featuring three of the same runners, bounced back with a third-place finish.

“This was my last race, and I just gave it my all,” Thompson said. “I was third place for the taking, so I took it. As I came around the curve, I was just thinking that if I don’t pass this guy, my season’s over and this is it. It just came down to how we handled the disappointment of the 4×2, and I feel like we handled it the best we could.”

The Comets were languishing near the bottom after the first two legs, but Carter Boone ran a split of 48.54 to get them back in the mix, then Thompson exploded with an anchor leg of 47.08 to end his career on a high note.

“There was just this anger, this fierceness that I had because of the race beforehand,” Thompson said. “And I owe it all to my teammates and my coaches, they’ve stuck with me and believed in me all the way. I love this sport, and I’m so happy that I got to spend a wonderful four years breaking records.”

One of those teammates is pole vaulter Alex Sixbey, who became the second Comet to make the podium in the pole vault this year, joining Grady Pellittieri, after she cleared 11-10 to earn a fourth-place finish.

There were three other podium finishes for area athletes on the final day of the state meet, with two of them coming from Bay’s Maya Gonzalez, who took second in the 1,600 with a personal best time of 4:54.90, then finished fourth in the 800 with a time of 2:14.38.

“I’m just so proud of myself,” Gonzalez said. “I’m so happy with my placement as a freshman, and I believe I can do many great things in the future. The 800 was kind of hard in that last lap, but I felt pretty good, especially in the mile.”

After having both her eighth-grade track season and freshman cross country season affected by a hip injury, Gonzalez didn’t let the big moment affect her as she finished her freshman track season on a high note.

“I was just kind of laid back about it,” she said after the 1,600. “I was nervous but also really excited. I knew it was going to be really hot, but I do well in the heat. I wasn’t really expecting that for my time, but I’m so thankful I was able to get that.”

Also finishing on the podium in the distance races was Rocky River’s Ryan Stirm, who placed fifth in the 1600 with a personal best time of 4:15.68 despite entering the meet as the 17th seed.