Photo by Brian Dulik

Highland's Natalie Zidd won the Amherst Steele Division I Regional title in the girls 800-meter run. Zidd, the reigning state champion in the event, will attempt to defend her title next week at Jesse Owens Stadium on the campus of Ohio State.

AMHERST, Ohio -- Six athletes and one track team from Medina and Summit County took home championships Friday at the Amherst Steele Division I Regional.

Revere's Josh Sabo (800-meter run, 1,600), Medina's David Knack (3,200), and Brunswick's Jesse Braun (shot put) finished first individually, while the Bees' boys team defeated the Blue Devils for the overall crown.

In the girls portion of the meet, Brunswick's Brianna Neitzel (200, 400), Highland's Natalie Zidd (800), and Medina's Alex Wasik (pole vault) each won titles in earning return trips to next weekend's OHSAA state meet.

"To get two PRs in two weeks at this time of year, I'm very happy," a smiling Wasik said, referring to the 12-foot-1 she had at regionals and the 12-0 1/2 she recorded at districts. "In practice, I've made 12-6 a few times, so I know I still have room to grow.

"It's just a matter of making it happen at the state meet."

*** CLICK ON THE "PHOTO" LINK ABOVE TO VIEW A GALLERY FROM THE MEET ***

All six of the aforementioned athletes are legitimate state title contenders, which is why they approached their second day at Amherst in a business-like manner.

Sabo and Knack went out and simply dominated their foes, while Braun bounced back from his disappointing Wednesday in style.

"I knew I could help my team win the meet if I could score 10 points in the two-mile," Knack said. "At regionals, anytime you can pick up points like that, especially toward the end of things, it's big."

Knack wound up clinching the crown for Medina, which finished with 46 points to Brunswick's 39. Sandusky and Cleveland St. Ignatius were right behind at 38.

Neitzel and Zidd, meanwhile, brought the crowd at Richard S. Cooley Track to its feet by winning razor-thin races.

The Brunswick standout completed the 200 in 24.83, just 0.02 ahead of Lorain's Alicia Arnold. It was one of three state sprint bids for Neitzel, who won the 400 by more than two seconds.

"The 100 always makes me happy and I like running the 200, but the 400 still makes me nervous," she said. "When I think about it, I end up saying to myself, 'It's a whole lap!' Once I calm down, though, I'm OK with it."

The most anticipated showdown came in the 800, where defending state champion Zidd (2:12.89) won an all-out sprint to the finish line over Medina's Anna Boyert (2:13.01). The best of the Suburban League edged the class of the Northeast Ohio Conference in their first postseason meeting this year.

"I just love Anna because she's really nice," Zidd said. "I also knew it was going to be a very close race because I heard all the Medina fans yelling, 'Come on Anna.'

"I felt good, though, so kicked it on the (homestretch) and was able to just get her."

Check out the complete team standings and all of the Friday state qualifiers.

BOYS RESULTS

Team standings: 1. Medina 46; 2. Brunswick 39; 3. Sandusky 38; 3. Cleveland St. Ignatius 38; 5. Toledo St. John’s 37; 6. Lakewood St. Edward 34; 7. Revere 30; 8. Berea 29.5; 9. Toledo Whitmer 29; 10. Middleburg Heights Midpark 26.50; 11. Toledo Rogers 26; 12. Avon Lake 25; 13. Strongsville 23; 14. Amherst Steele 20; 15. Lorain 19; 16. Toledo Start 17; 17. Lexington 15; 17. Toledo Central Catholic 15; 19. Toledo St. Francis de Sales 13; 20. Sylvania Southview 12; 20. Toledo Bowsher 12; 22. Cleveland Rhodes 11; 22. Oregon Clay 11; 22. Westlake 11; 25. Maumee 10; 25. Cleveland John F. Kennedy 10; 25. Fremont Ross 10; 28. Marion Harding 8; 29. Lima 6.5; 29. Findlay 6.5; 31. Lakewood 6; 32. Bowling Green 5; 32. Olmsted Falls 5; 32. Highland 5; 35. Holland Springfield 3; 35. Ashland 3; 35. Norwalk 3; 35. Parma Padua 3.

STATE QUALIFIERS

100: 1. Anthony Young (St. Edward) 11.06; 2. Demar Adcock (Sandusky) 11.11; 3. Christian Nogueras (Lorain) 11.22; 4. Ernest Levert (Rhodes) 11.28.

200: 1. Demar Adcock (Sandusky) 21.66; 2. Anthony Young (St. Edward) 21.66; 3. Donovan Robertson (Berea) 21.96; 4. Malik Tuck (Medina) 22.13.

400: 1. DerJuan Gambrell (Rogers) 48.08; 2. Nick Owens (Brunswick) 48.41; 3. Bryant Switzer (Lexington) 48.62; 4. Brian Cook (Strongsville) 49.03.

800: 1. Josh Sabo (Revere) 1:52.08; 2. D’Angelo Wilkes-Sharpley (Bowsher) 1:54.98; 3. Drew Galang (St. Ignatius) 1:56.95; 4. Daniel Lenart (St. Francis) 1:57.86.

1,600: 1. Josh Sabo (Revere) 4:15.00; 2. Willy Fink (Maumee) 4:17.60; 3. Gregory Turissini (St. John’s) 4:18.85; 4. Lou Styles (Midpark) 4:19.67.

3,200: 1. David Knack (Medina) 9:16.39; 2. Jack St. Marie (Westlake) 9:16.80; 3. Nick Jackosky (Lakewood) 9:17.95; 4. Kevin Budge (Bowling Green) 9:25.61.

110 hurdles: 1. Donovan Robertson (Berea) 13.92; 2. Mark Meyers (Whitmer) 14.67; 3. DerJuan Gambrell (Rogers) 14.67; 4. Sam Chester (Medina) 14.77.

300 hurdles: 1. Donovan Robertson (Berea) 36.98; 2. Pete Lancione (Avon Lake) 38.47; 3. Randall Hueston (St. John’s) 39.14; 4. Nick Bossard (Avon Lake) 39.22.

4x100: 1. Central Catholic 42.24; 2. Medina 42.40; 3. Sandusky 42.62; 4. Whitmer 42.63.

4x200: 1. Lorain 1:29.06; 2. Brunswick 1:29.46; 3. Medina 1:29.62; 4. Strongsville 1:29.71.

4x400: 1. Rogers 3:22.10; 2. St. John’s 3:22.48; 3. Strongsville 3:22.48; 4. Brunswick 3:22.75.

Shot put: 1. Jesse Braun (Brunswick) 58-4; 2. Casey Slane (Harding) 56-0.5; 3. Aaron Zedella (St. Edward) 54-8.75; 4. Christopher Wormley (Whitmer) 54-2.75.

High jump: 1. Tyler Parrish (Amherst) 6-5; 2. David Renner (Southview) 6-5; 3. Adrian Hutchisns (Lima) 6-5; 4. James O’Shea (St. John’s) 6-5.

GIRLS RESULTS

Team standings: 1. Midpark 83; 2. Lorain 55; 3. Medina 54; 4. North Royalton 42; 5. Toledo Notre Dame 40; 6. Rocky River Magnificat 35; 7. Brunswick 34; 8. Perrysburg 28; 9. Avon Lake 26; 10. Ashland 22.33; 11. Rocky River 22; 12. Fremont Ross 19; 13. Whitehouse Anthony Wayne 18; 14. Tiffin Columbian 15; 15. Sandusky 13; 15. Toledo Central Catholic 13; 17. Norwalk 12; 18. Highland 11; 19. Marion Harding 10; 20. Westlake 9; 20. Grafton Midview 9; 20. Sylvania Northview 9; 23. Findlay 8; 23. Mansfield 8; 23. Olmsted Falls 8; 26. Garfield Heights 7; 27. Avon 6; 27. Toledo Whitmer 6; 27. Toledo Start 6; 27. Toledo Bowsher 6; 31. Parma Normandy 5.33; 32. Sylvania Southview 5; 32. Parma Padua 5; 34. North Olmsted 4; 35. Amherst Steele 3; 35. Wapakoneta 3; 37. Revere 0.33.

STATE QUALIFIERS

100: 1. Kaila Barber (Midpark) 12.16; 2. Brianna Neitzel (Brunswick) 12.25; 3. Alicia Arnold (Lorain) 12.41; 4. Rachel Hlatky (Magnificat) 12.46.

200: 1. Brianna Neitzel (Brunswick) 24.83; 2. Alicia Arnold (Lorain) 24.85; 3. Rachel Hlatky (Magnificat) 24.97; 4. Chantalia Young (Notre Dame) 25.69.

400: 1. Brianna Neitzel (Brunswick) 55.59; 2. Jade Barber (Midpark) 57.98; 3. Emily Wyrick (Perrysburg) 58.72; 4. Dorresha Green (Sandusky) 58.73.

800: 1. Natalie Zidd (Highland) 2:12.89; 2. Anna Boyert (Medina) 2:13.01; 3. Shaina Corbin (Ashland) 2:15.24; 4. Madi Connelly (Rocky River) 2:15.30.

1,600: 1. Hannah Neczypor (North Royalton) 4:54.37; 2. Anna Boyert (Medina) 4:56.68; 3. Shaina Corbin (Ashland) 4:58.88; 4. Katherine Stultz (Magnificat) 5:01.09.

3,200: 1. Hannah Neczypor (North Royalton) 10:46.05; 2. Elyse Bierut (Rocky River) 10:55.70; 3. Andrea Alt (Perrysburg) 10:59.31; 4. Katy Link (Avon Lake) 11:02.30.

100 hurdles: 1. Jade Barber (Midpark) 14.57; 2. Aisha Potts-Tyre (Anthony Wayne) 15.10; 3. Kristen Winkel (Avon Lake) 15.10; 4. Melody Farris (Lorain) 15.17.

300 hurdles: 1. Kaila Barber (Midpark) 41.01; 2. Melody Farris (Lorain) 44.59; 3. Autumn Nichols (Columbian) 44.97; 4. Ellyn Hanford (North Royalton) 45.30.

4x100: 1. Lorain 48.36; 2. Notre Dame 48.79; 3. Central Catholic 49.11; 4. North Royalton 49.43.

4x200: 1. Notre Dame 1:42.32; 2. Lorain 1:42.42; 4. Ross 1:43.87.

4x400: 1. Midpark 3:53.00; 2. Notre Dame 3:55.10; 3. Magnificat 3:55.40; 4. Olmsted Falls 3:55.74.

Discus: 1. Taylor Blakely (Norwalk) 132-1; 2. Jasmine Poljak (Midpark) 124-7; 3. Megan Wesner (Ashland) 124-6; 4. Grace Demyan (Midview) 123-1.

Long jump: 1. Kaila Barber (Midpark) 19-8.75; 2. Brittany Green (Anthony Wayne) 17-1.25; 3. Brenae Harris (Harding) 17-0.25; 4. Nicole Hudec (North Royalton) 17-0.

Pole vault: 1. Alex Wasik (Medina) 12-1; 2. Ellen Silva (Ross) 11-6; 3. Morgan Srail (Avon Lake) 11-0; 4. Brianna Krieger (North Royalton) 11-0.