FREDERICKTOWN — He broke the school record in the prelims and punched his ticket to state with a dramatic come-from-behind finish in the final.
Fredericktown’s Grant Hartley is peaking at just the right time.
Hartley is one of three Freddies who will compete in four events when the Division II state meet begins Friday at Dayton’s Welcome Stadium. He’ll be joined by teammates Brandon Hogg and Ella Bouton.
A senior, Hartley qualified for his first state meet with a fourth-place finish in the 400 meter dash at last week’s Lexington regional. His time of 49.97 seconds in the finals was slightly off his school-record prelim time of 49.92, but good enough to grab the fourth and final automatic state-qualifying bid.
“I ran the exact race I wanted to run. That’s exactly what I wanted to do,” Hartley said Saturday afternoon. “I knew the kid from Jonathan Alder (second-place finisher Cameron Jewell) was a little faster, so I stayed right behind him until the very end. I didn’t pass him, but we were passing people together.
“I passed a kid right at the end. That’s all you can ask for to go to state.”
Fredericktown’s Brandon Hogg and Ella Bouton will also make the trip to Dayton this weekend. Hogg took fourth in the pole vault at Lexington with a vault of 13-8, while Bouton finished fourth in both the shot put (39-9.75) and discus (128-2) at the regional meet.
Centerburg’s Greg Beard finished fifth in the 800 at Lexington, but earned one of two at-large bids up for grabs. The senior finished in 1:57.57.
East Knox boasted a pair of state qualifiers in Hayden Baker and Isabella Grennell. Baker placed fourth in the 200 (22.87) at the Division III Heath regional, while Grennell was third in the shot put (36-3.5).
Danville’s Kelsey Hackman also qualified for the Division III state meet. The freshman was runner-up in the 100 hurdles (16.00) at Heath.
The Division III meet starts Thursday and concludes Friday.
Mount Vernon’s Marissa Rutter qualified for the Division I state meet in the 100 hurdles. The senior finished fifth at the Pickerington regional in 15.00 but earned an at-large bid.
Division I prelims are Friday with finals scheduled for Saturday.