Young finished second in a personal-best time of 49.16 seconds, but was beaten by Sherwood Fairview sophomore Matt Tobin (48.65).
“I guess Matt just ran a little harder than I did,” Young said. “But second in the state is still pretty good. I’m OK with it. I’m not going to get down about it.”
After the race, Young already was preparing for next season.
“As soon as I crossed the finish line I thought, ‘OK, I’m going to work twice as hard as you are’,” Young said.
Young finished fourth in the 400 last season. Getting back to state and standing atop the podium is something he said he’ll think about “every single day.”
“I want to be No. 1,” Young said.
Back on the podium: Cedarville senior Troy Parrett finished fifth in the D-III 800 in 1:56.46. Last week, the senior ran neck-and-neck with eventual state champion Dillon Webster of New Bremen at the regionals, but couldn’t keep up with him this week.
“I don’t think I did my best,” Parrett said. “I ran hard. I probably went out a little too fast on the first lap and wore myself down.
“He went out pretty fast, too,” Parrett conntinued. “I think that was his game plan, to wear everyone out. I think a change of plan would’ve been better (for me), to run with someone else. I had no idea he would’ve gone out that fast.”
Parrett finished seventh a year ago in the 400.
“It’s an honor to be back on the podium,” Parrett said.
Weather delay: The meet was postponed for a half hour at 11:15 due to a lightning delay.
The delay gave the Cedarville 1,600-meter relay team of Young, Parrett, Gabe Sayers and Jordan Rogers time to recover. Parrett had just run the 800, while Young had already run the 400.
They placed fifth in 3:27.06.
“I just love this team a lot,” Parrett said.
The West Liberty-Salem team of Michael Yoder, Noah Lawson, Anthony Allen and Michael Mack were seventh in the race in 3:27.77. Allen tweaked his hamstring 100 meters into his lap, but gutted it out to the finish.
It was only the fourth time they ran together all season.
“We knew we’d be running together at the end of the season,” Lawson said. “I wish we would’ve broken the school record, but I’m happy with what we got. It’s a good way to end (his career).”
First attempt: Urbana junior Kaley Moss cleared 10 feet, 6 inches on her first attempt in the D-II pole vault, which was good enough to tie for sixth.
“I was ecstatic,” she said.
She said she was extremely close to clearing 10-9 in all three of her attempts, but fell just short.
“I know what I need to do for next year,” Moss said.
She also finished ninth in the D-III 300 hurdles in 45.50.
Ram tough: Greeneview placed two seniors on the podium — hurdler Tyler Caudill and thrower Derek McClure.
Caudill finished sixth in the D-II 110 hurdles in 14.82.
“I’m absolutely ecstatic,” Caudill said. “It’s a great feeling.”
McClure finished eighth in the D-II discus with a personal-best toss of 154 feet, 3 inches.
“It’s better than what I expected,” McClure said. “I came in seeded 13th out of 16, so to finish eighth is a miracle.”
Wrong lane: Alex Peoples thought he was slated for Lane 1 in the D-III 400, but with the eighth-fastest time entering the finals, the Mechanicsburg senior was placed in Lane 9.
“I would’ve rather been in Lane 1 where I could catch everybody,” Peoples said.
He still managed to end his career with a bang, finishing sixth in 50.04.
“I could’ve kicked it in a little sooner and that would’ve put me in a better place,” Peoples said.
Happy to be here: Yellow Springs senior Mario Cosey was sixth in the D-III 100 in 11.40.
“I ran as much as I could,” Cosey said. “I did my best.”
He ran an 11.24 in Friday’s semifinals. The senior battled injuries all season, and was happy just to be back in Columbus with such little training.
“I’m disappointed, but I’m happy to be here,” Cosey said. “I’m still really thankful to be here.”
Other finishers: Greenon junior Mackenzie McMillin placed 11th in the D-II 800 in 2:19.34.
• In the D-III 3,200, West Liberty-Salem’s Meghan Vogel placed 10th in 11:55.22, while Cedarville’s Karyn Zaage was 15th in 12:21.04.
• Mechanicsburg sophomore Haley Cochran was 12th in the D-III 800 in 2:25.97.
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