State Track: River View's Adams races way to podium
COLUMBUS — Sam Adams made the most of his final high school race on Saturday.
Trailing the top eight for much of the 800, the River View senior used his final kick to rally for an eighth-place finish during Saturday's Division II state track and field meet at Ohio State's Jesse Owens Stadium.
Adams posted a school-record time of 1:57.15 to rally for All-Ohio honors, as the top eight receive that accolade.
"I saw 9 guys ahead of me and knew I had to go," Adams said about his second lap. "It's great to be able to finish my career that way. I came up here set to perform, and I walked off the track with nothing left."
Adams gave credit to current coach Megan Philabaum as well as former cross country and track coach Gwenna Neal for pushing him to become a better runner.
"Coach Philabaum had big shoes to fill. She came up with a good plan, and she would listen to me when I had ideas. I was able to execute that plan, too," Adams said. "Coach Neal was here cheering me on. She's the entire reason that I'm as good as I am. She always believed in me, and I'm glad I was able to do this for her."
Ridgewood senior Xavier Lamneck also appeared to be All-Ohio in the 300 hurdles, but he was disqualified from the race.
Coach John Slusser said the officials deemed Lamneck's lead leg went around the hurdle instead of going directly over the top.
Slusser noted the disappointment in what was a great weekend for his Generals, who are one of the smallest schools in Division II. The 4x400 relay set a school record on Friday with a time of 3:27.2, which was good for 10th out of 18 teams.
Despite the disappointment, Lamneck was grateful to end his high school career by running with his teammates, Dalton Patterson, Kigenn Millender and Kaleb Schrock.
"My form has never been great in the hurdles, but my speed made up for it. Several guys in this race said if my form was better, I'd be higher on the podium," he said. "It's been a crazy, emotional year, and it's been hard to stay focused. I've used tunnel vision to focus on track.
"I know I have more potential, and I'm going to run in college (for Marietta)," he added. "I loved being here with my teammates. Coach Slusser has been amazing. I appreciate everything he's done for us."
bhannahs@gannett.com
Twitter: @brandonhannahs
This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: State Track: River View's Adams races way to podium
