State track and field: Brett Beury wins second title in Firelands boys history

A school record-setting performance by Firelands sophomore Brett Beury in the Division III boys state discus Friday at Ohio State carried him to just the second boys state track and field title in school history.After fouling his first-round throw, Beury unleashed his school-record throw of 188 feet, 8 inches in the second round, eclipsing his previous school record of 177-9 set May 1 at the Vermilion Invitational. It marked the fifth time Beury set the school record this season.Beury is the Firelands boys first state track and field champion since JD Sheppard won the 2003 Division II 800 meters.Beury's second round throw was the highlight by far, but he also eclipsed 180 feet with his third-round throw of 181-1. His fourth-round toss (first round in finals) also eclipsed his previous school record as Beury threw 179-3."Coming off my first throw was a foul, so I just wanted to put up something that would get me to the finals. To go 188, I was ecstatic. As soon as I saw the number, I went right over to see my family because I was so excited," he said.What does being the second champ in school history mean to Beury?"It's just awesome. Surreal," said Beury. "We're not a big school and it's an honor to be the state champ."This is just an amazing moment and I'm hoping to do the same thing next year.""The kid has worked on his discus forever," said Firelands coach Steve Lias. "Even during football and basketball season he was throwing every Sunday. He's very dedicated. He's got great form. He's well-deserving. The kid works harder than anybody else out there. Second champion in two years for us. Ariannah Floyd won girls 300 hurdles for us last year. Great kid. Great family. It's great to have him step up and do what he did today."Ursuline sophomore Connor Crilley was second (173-0) with Wheelersburg senior Cashton Adkins third (171-10).Beury entered the state meet as the No. 3 seed (174-6) behind Perkins sophomore Danny Buga (182-9) and Gallia Academy senior Cory Mock (179-8). Buga ended up only 12th (151-7) and Mock fouled all three throws and fouled out.Firelands sophomore Lukas Grisez finished ninth in the Division III boys pole vault with a personal-record 14-6. Grisez tied two others with 14-6, but River Valley freshman Colt Craig and Washington Courthouse sophomore Cooper Heidler had fewer misses. Grisez had a total of eight misses, including three at 14-10. Craig and Heidler each had six misses.Firelands sprinters shine in semisThe Firelands boys had a very good session Friday to set the stage for today.Senior Colton Clough had the third-fastest qualifying time in the 400 semifinals with a time of 49.31 seconds. Keystone sophomore Colton Cowling was 15th in 51.08 and didn't make the top-nine cutoff for finals. Two state champions had the fastest 400 qualifying times. Glenville senior Jay'vier Kerr (48.46), 2025 state champ, and NDCL senior Rob Bonchak (48.99), 2024 state champ, led the field.The Firelands boys 1,600 relay advanced to the state finals for the second year in a row. Andrew Pawlak (49.10), Dane Vanderpool (54.90), Ayden Fortner (50.38) and Clough (48.39) finished fourth in the semifinals with a season-best 3:22.77. Glenville (3:19.83), Alter (3:20.70) and Beachwood (3:22.53) were the top three."First and most importantly, I want to give all praise and glory to my lord and savior Jesus Christ.," said Clough. "I came in calm and confident for my races and executed my race plan to make it to the finals. Both races felt smooth. We are praying for two big races Saturday."Firelands' Division III girls 800 relay of Emerson Zidar, Jordyn Copley, Stella Frederick and Audrey Smith finished 12th (1:44.51) and didn't make the cut. Buchtel had the fastest qualifying time at 1:39.93. The Firelands 1,600 relay of Natalie Smith, Audrey's sister, along with Copley, Frederick and Audrey Smith was 14th (4:07.76) and didn't advance. Ontario had the fastest qualifying time (3:51.20) right in front of Clear Fork (3:51.35).Keystone's McConoughey is All-OhioKeystone High senior Eli McConoughey ended his high school career on a high note, placing eighth in the Division III boys 3,200.McConoughey, who never competed in the 3,200 until the Margaretta invite on May 2, clocked 9:35.68 to earn All-Ohio honors (top eight). The amazing part about McConoughey's performance is that he came in seeded last at No. 18 (9:40.03)."It was super hot, not a super fast day but I executed pretty well," said McConoughey. "It was a fun one for sure. I was making sure that I was keeping track of place throughout the event. I felt confident throughout the race. I felt great. If you told me last year that I would be running 2 miles, I probably wouldn't have believed you."He was a regional qualifier this year in the 800 and 3,200, as well as the 3,200 relay and 1,600 relay. "It feels amazing," said McConoughey. "I was going into the race with that as a goal. I was going to go in there as hard as I could to put together a race. The stars just aligned. It worked out and I ran a good race."McConoughey only advanced as far as regionals last year in one event — the 3,200 relay."Last year I was solely an 800 runner," said McConoughey. "I tried the 3,200 because my teammate Craig Stroud did think I could break 10 flat. From there I just kept running it."Oakwood senior Cameron Lindsay won the race in 9:11.80, with Perkins sophomore Joel Smelcer (9:15.38) and Orrville senior Owen Lacy (9:19.21) rounding out the top three.McConoughey earlier anchored the Wildcats' 3,200 relay that finished 16th of 18 with a time of 8:19.89. McConoughey had about two hours of recovery time between races. Sophomore Sam McConoughey, senior Craig Stroud and sophomore Jamie Yuronich were the other team members for the relay. It was the first time in the history of the Keystone boys track program that it advanced a 3,200 relay to state"I kept my legs smooth through that (3,200 relay)," said McConoughey. "That helped with my recovery. The relay did decent but it wasn't our best day. Half of our relay are underclassmen so I'm sure that they'll be back here a couple of more times. With the experience, I'm sure that they will come back better next year."Keystone senior Emory Fedor finished 16th in the boys long jump with a mark of 20-5. Glenville senior Jay'vier Kerr won with a leap of 24-6.Davis advances in both hurdlesBrookside senior Avery Davis advanced to the Division III finals in both of her hurdles races. She earned the No. 6 seed in the 100 hurdles (15.24) and the No. 9 seed in the 300 hurdles (45.88). It's Davis' third straight state appearance in the 100 hurdles and first time advancing to finals. It's her second time in three years advancing to the finals of the 300 hurdles, which she won at the 2024 state meet. Warrensville junior Kamara Steward had the fastest qualifying time in the 100 hurdles (14.53). Beechcroft sophomore Brittany Douglas had the fastest qualifying time in the 300 hurdles (44.24).Firelands sophomore Addison Schrader was 14th in the 100 hurdles (16.00) and did not advance.Columbia senior Zachary Swiggett finished in a three-way tie for 12th in the Division V boys high jump with a mark of 6-0. Swiggett is believed to be the first Columbia boy to advance to the state high jump since Erik Shaffer in 1997. Arlington senior Calvin Willow won the event with a jump of 6-9.Elyria Catholic junior Ben Essenmacher finished 17th of 18 in the semifinal of the Division III boys 110 hurdles with a time of 15.58. Essenmacher is the first state qualifier for the EC boys hurdles since Jim Patton finished third in the 300 hurdles in 2001. Field senior Logan Border had the fastest qualifying time with a mark of 14.13.Vermilion senior Brady Parker finished 16th in the Division III boys 100 semifinals (11.17). Parker is believed to be the first state qualifier for the Vermilion boys for that event. Hartley senior Nicholas Thompson (10.71) and Bay senior Jayden Perrine (10.74) had the fastest qualifying times.