COLUMBUS — For two Troy High School athletes, it was worth the wait Saturday at the Division I state track and field championships.

Devon Strobel

The Troy junior discus thrower came into the state meet with the fourth best throw.

And while he would have liked to have thrown better, he finished the year on the podium and raised his expectations for next year by getting seventh.

“I didn’t finish as high as I wanted,” Strobel said. “But, to get on the podium as a junior is a pretty good accomplishment.”

Strobel was coming off two weeks in a row of throwing over 170 feet.

After a 157-2 on his first throw in prelims, Strobel had a throw of 158-1 on his third attempt to put him in seventh place going to the finals.

“It was just kind of a weird day,” Strobel said. “I really can’t explain it. If you noticed a lot of the throwers in the second flight didn’t even make finals. It was strange.”

The nine top qualifying throws were in the second flight, but four of those throwers failed to make finals.

Just after his third throw in prelims, the meet was stopped for a weather delay that lasted more than three hours.

“I was the last one to throw in prelims,” Strobel said. “That was the throw that got me seventh, so I was glad to get that before the delay. I wouldn’t have wanted to have to take my third throw when we came back with a wet ring.”

The discus area is located a10-minute walk from Jesse Owens Stadium.

“It was exhausting,” Strobel said. “Having to walk out there and back twice. And having the long delay. It was just kind of a weird day.”

Strobel now has big expectations.

“I will be coming back to win a state championship,” he said.

Hannah Duff

It was definitely an interesting day for the Troy senior pole vaulter — with a perfect ending with Duff ending up tied for eighth and on the podium.

Before her first attempt at the opening height of 10-6, there was some confusion about who was up.

Both Duff and Ann Lehmann of Centerville thought the man calling out the names thought he was saying Ann was up.

So, Duff had to rush through that first attempt.

“It was hard to understand what they were saying,” Duff said. “That attempt was interesting. I ended up just sliding down the pole. But, I thought I recovered really well and it was a good day.”

After getting 10-6 on her second attempt, Duff had another interesting jump on her first attempt at 11-0.

“I actually have a black eye right now,” she said with a laugh in a phone interview Sunday. “I hit the bar on my first attempt at 11-0 and got a black eye.”

But, Duff was unphased.

She got her next attempt at 11-0 and made her first attempt at 11-6 — critical to get on the podium.

“I knew that was important,” Duff said. “If I hadn’t gotten it until my second or third attempt, I wouldn’t have gotten on the podium.”

Then, a weather delay that lasted nearly four hours hit.

“Actually, I was feeling pretty good about it,” Duff said. “Roger (Troy pole vault coach Roger Bowen) told me I was really lucky to have gotten 11-6 before the delay. There were some girls who had already missed once or twice and had to try and get it after the delay.”

Overall, Duff wouldn’t change a thing.

“Once I got to state, my goal was to get on the podium,” she said. “I had a good warmup after the delay. I didn’t get 12-0, but I had some good attempts at it and that will come. Getting on the podium was the perfect way to end my high school career.”

Leah Harnish

On Friday, Troy senior Leah Harnish had her amazing high school career end in thee 400-meter dash.

Running against a loaded field, Harnish just missed qualifying for finals with the 10th fastest time, 57.30.

Sports Editor Rob Kiser can be reached at [email protected]