Marshall grabs second runner-up finish at track regionals

Marshall, who normally enters the event at 6 feet, came in early and easily cleared 5-10 on his first attempt Friday night.

“I thought, you just got to go, you can’t wait,” Marshall said after qualifying for next weekend’s state meet. “The conditions had a lot to do with it.”

Marshall later cleared 6-2, claiming second place on misses and missing first by two inches.

“I was expected to go (to state),” Marshall said. “But, you never know what is going to happen. It is a great accomplishment to go back to state.”

The event started and stopped several times with more delays as puddles in the approach pit were squeegeed off.

“I was fortunate enough to get in high enough when the weather was clear,” Marshall said. “You get warm and then you have a delay and you never feel like you are warmed up again.”

Several competitors slipped on their approach as they prepared to take off on their attempts because of the conditions.

“When you see people slip, you start to think about it,” Marshall said. “You just got to go out and compete.”

Vada Edwards’ career in the purple did not come to the end she had hoped for.

Edwards shook her head after finishing eighth in the 400 in 59.85.

“I don’t know what happened,” Edwards said. “I felt good taking off, but felt dead at the end. I didn’t feel like I was warmed up well. I just had a bad day and it was the wrong time to be a bad day.”

Mason claimed the boys title with 103 points. Marshall scored 16 points with his two second-place finishes to give the Middies all their points in a 14th-place finish. Wayne was leading Mason in the girls team race. The girls pole vault was delayed until close to 8:30 p.m. while the long jump was moved to today at 1 p.m.

Marshall will compete at the state track meet next weekend at The Ohio State University. The Middie senior enters as the defending state champ in the long jump and will also make a return appearance in the high jump. Marshall was second in the long jump on the first night of competition Wednesday, with a leap of 23 feet, 1.5-inches.