St. Edward Sprinter Captures State Crown

On Saturday morning, sophomore Anthony Young walked around a Columbus mall shopping for new spikes. A couple hours later, he wore a shiny medal around his neck.

Young sprinted his way to first place and a state championship in the 200-meter dash at the OHSAA Division I state track and field tournament at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus. He discovered Friday that his spikes, perhaps the key piece of equipment for any sprinter, had been stolen from his bag. But Young rolled -- and ran -- with the punches.

He crossed the finish line in 21.59 seconds and edged Berea junior Donovan Robertson by .04 for his first state crown.

He's already dreaming about more.

"I'm looking forward to great things in my future," he said. "I'm so excited, I could run home to Medina." 

Young also finished fourth in the 100 in 10.94 seconds to cap off a season when he set a school record in the 400, lopping off nearly a tenth of a second from a mark that had stood since 1985 -- though he wasn't the only Eagle on the track.

Fellow St. Edward sophomore Aaron Zedella finished eighth in the shot put with a distance of 54 feet, 11-1/2 inches, the only sophomore to qualify for the Division I shot put state championship. Centerville senior Michael Bennett won the event with a put of 63-11.

Young and Zedella scored 16 points to lead St. Edward to an 11th-place finish in the state. Cincinnati LaSalle won the team championship with 36 points. Massillion Worthington finished fourth with 21 points as the top Northeast school, and Glenville scored 20 points to finish fifth as the top Cleveland-area school.

junior Nick Jackosky also qualified for the Columbus festivities and finished ninth in the 3,200-meter run in 9:38.49. He ran his PR last month, a 9:17.95 to finish third at the regional meet. Jackosky, who will return for one more year of cross country next fall and track next spring, also finished second in the 3,200 this season at the district meet.