State-bound WLS track athletes gather at a community pep rally earlier this week. Bratka is on the far left.

Three local athletes shined on opening day, with one also finishing strong in finals on Saturday.

In Division III boys, West Liberty-Salem junior Nate Bratka won the state championship in discus with a throw of 172'10".

Bratka won the regional title in Dayton by throwing 165' last week.

Congrats to Nate on a state title!!!

The West Liberty-Salem boys 4x400 Relay team failed to qualify for Saturday's finals.

Brice Baumgardner, Joe Yoder, Eric Salley, and Lance Kitchen finished 13th with a time of 3:30.17.

The Tigers had to finish eighth or higher to run in the finals.

The Tiger boys ended the meet in a tie for 18th place.

Triad junior Tyler Harper placed eighth in high jump by clearing 6'4". 

In Division II girls, Bellefontaine senior Tomika Brown finished second in high jump by going 5'7".

Ashley Galbraith of Struthers went 5'7" and won the state title on a tiebreaker.

Brown also qualified for the finals in the 100 meter hurdles, winding up with a 6th place finish. 

The Lady Chiefs 4x100 Relay team failed to qualify for Saturday's finals.

Danielle Hill, Kea Lewis, Haley McCloud, and Tomika Brown took 15th with a time of 52.04. 

The Chieftains finished the meet tied for 16th place in Division II. 

Benjamin Logan senior Keri Stafford failed to qualify for the finals in the 300 meter hurdles.

She finished 13th with a time of 49.43.

Stafford ends her career as one of the top hurdlers in Raiders' history.

In Division III girls, Riverside sophomore Amelia Carter finished 12th in discus with a throw of 115'11".

It was Carter's second straight trip to state. 

In Division II boys, Indian Lake junior Stacy Jones finished third in long jump by going 21'9.5".

Korbin Smith of Delta jumped 22'2.75" to claim the title.

Jones also competed in the 400.

He ran a 52.99, but failed to qualify for the finals.

Teammate Alex Contner ran in the 300 meter hurdles.

The junior failed to advance to the finals. He finished with a time of 42.02.

Benjamin Logan standout Ross Barnes competed in the 400.

He ran a 51.56 and just missed qualifying for the finals.

The Raiders 4x200 Relay team just missed qualifying for the finals, too.

George Daniel, Steven Campbell, Corey Phalen, and Cody Titus finished tenth with a time of 1:31.83.

You can see more results at http://www.baumspage.com/ohsaa/tf/2008/index.htm.