FRANKLIN — Brigham Kleinhenz didn’t have quite the scare he had last week, but he still left himself a little too close for comfort to not qualifying for state.
Kleinhenz, who missed his first two vaults at his opening height of 13 feet in the sectional, missed his first attempt at that height in Thursday’s Franklin Regional. But then the Columbus North senior made his second try and went on to clear 14-4 to claim the regional title.
“I had a really good warmup and then cooled down and waited a really long time,” Kleinhenz said. “Then I tried to get on the pole I was on in warmups, and I planted under and my arms weren’t straight, so it yanked me and smacked me in the chest really hard. So I moved down one pole and made it happen.”
Kleinhenz, one of six Bull Dogs to qualify for the June 2 state finals, led North to a fourth-place team finish. Center Grove edged Franklin Central 66-64 for the title, while Warren Central scored 56 2/3, and the Bull Dogs had 54 5/6.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
Columbus East finished 13th with 18 points and had one state qualifier. Senior Zarrien Johnson-Bey finished second in the high jump with a leap of 6-2.
“It’s a blessing,” Johnson-Bey said. “I worked hard for this, and I put my heart in it today. I’m glad to see my hard work pay off.”
North senior Drew Thompson finished second in the 800 meters. He ran a personal-best 1 minute, 58.27 seconds to qualify for the state track meet for the first time.
Warren Central’s Ferino Liwang won the 800 in 1:57.98.
“That was a great race,” Thompson said. “The guy from Warren has been really fast this season, so I was just going to pace off him. Getting to state was a goal at the start of the season, so it’s a good thing I achieved it.”
Bull Dog senior Damon Hunter Jr. qualified with third-place finishes in both the 100 (11.11) and 200 (22.48). But he false-started in the 4×100 relay, where North was seeded second coming in.
“I was really hoping we could get it in the 4×100, and I knew we had a great shot, but it just got into my head too much, and I had a little early start and let my guys down,” Hunter said. “But we had a great season, and I’m glad to make it in an individual event, but I would have loved to take my teammates to state with me.”
Senior Logan Abbott qualified with a third-place finish in the discus (144-5). Freshman Preston Terrell tied his personal-best at 6-2 to tie for third in the high jump.
“I felt good about my jumps,” Terrell said. “My coaches and my teammates have prepared me and done everything for me to get to the position where I am.”
Bull Dog junior Sam Horak also qualified with a third-place finish in the 1,600 (4:24.42). Horak was in a three-way battle for second for most of the race and had a strong enough finishing kick to hang on for third.
“I knew I had it in me,” Horak said. “When those guys were on me, I kind of freaked out and started thinking I was going to be gone, but I had another gear.”
x
