Who could blame Midview senior Drew Ebersole for feeling upset? After all, his goal last Saturday was to win the Division I state discus title at Ohio State.
But it didn’t happen and Ebersole had to settle for No. 2.
Ebersole threw 182 feet, 4 inches on his first throw of the day. Cincinnati LaSalle senior Chandler Burden popped a 181-foot toss on his first throw, then moved ahead with a throw of 187-6 in the second round.
Although Ebersole had a better average over six throws, it didn’t matter. Burden clinched it.
“It was one of those things that when it first happened, it kind of was like a shock,” said Ebersole. “Nobody ever wants to get second, but I’m OK with it.”
As tough as it is, Ebersole is moving on.
He has two big meets coming up — the Midwest Meet of Champions on Saturday in Jackson, Mich., a three-state all-star meet between top seniors from Ohio, Michigan and Indiana, and the Nike Outdoor Scholastic Championships in North Carolina the following weekend. Ebersole qualified for the Nike meet by meeting the qualifying criteria during the season — 57 feet for shot put and 175 feet for discus.
“I’m upset (about losing at state), and I’m still going to be upset,” said Ebersole. “I told my dad (Ray) later that night, ‘I’m not going to remember losing the state title. I’m going to remember all the funny things and great times I had over the course of this season.’”
Ebersole is optimistic about the next two meets.
“My coaches from Kent State think I’m really going to pop one some time over the next two meets,” he said. “That’s because there’s not the same kind of pressure. It’s more relaxed.”
Ebersole is also looking forward to adjusting to the heavier weight of the collegiate discus and shot put. The discus is 2 kilograms, versus 1.6 for high school. The college shot is 16 pounds, versus 12 for high school.
“The difference for the discus is not that bad, but for the shot it’s going to be rough. I’m not going to lie,” said Ebersole. “I’m going to take two weeks off after Nike. Then I’m going to get my hands on college discus, college shot and hammer and start practicing for next year.”
The sore wrist that plagued Ebersole in the shot put at state and since May 9, suddenly stopped aching as soon as the season was over. Ditto the upper abdominal pull that bothered him.
“Now that I’m done competing, neither of them hurt,” said Ebersole. “It’s kind of bizarre. I could only shot throw one day of the week (for only five minutes on Wednesday) before state. It didn’t really bother me that badly on Saturday. The discus was there warming up. It just wasn’t there in finals. I think with the shot (fourth place, 57-9) I was just so out of rhythm for having not practiced.”

Knap honored

Girls cross country coach Joe Knap of Bay was honored in a surprise party Sunday at the Cahoon Community House. More than 200 guests were on hand for the celebration.
Knap is retiring from coaching and teaching after 35 years.
Knap, 57, led the Rockets to six Division II regional berths in seven years, including district titles in 2003 and ’07. The Bay girls finished eighth at last fall’s Division II state meet — its first appearance at state since 1995.
“Seeing my last class graduate on Thursday was tough,” said Knap. “I still would like to be able to do some things before my age becomes a problem. I would like to run the Boston Marathon at least one more time (Knap has run 18 at Boston thus far, 40 marathons total). Maybe try a triathlon.
“I know that I need to do some of the cross-training that will keep me healthy, plus get into the weight room. I would also like to travel more.”
Knap was the girls cross country coach from 1986-87, then returned in 2001 until retiring after the 2007 fall season. He served as assistant cross country coach for both the boys and girls teams under Denny Sheppard from 1988-2000.
Knap was also highly successful as the girls track coach from 1975-90. He won six Southwestern Conference titles in seven years between 1976-82, an SWC record which still stands for the most titles by one coach on the girls side. Knap qualified 17 individuals to state track meets in 20 events and had 24 individual conference champs.
“Track was special because the girls had a special team spirit,” said Knap. “The fact that we had a team that hung out together was very special. It was particularly special in the 1970s when track wasn’t as popular in society. We had a lot of great talent that came in and started winning. It was just great to see the confidence build.
“Things just came back full circle when I came back to coaching girls cross country in 2001. It worked out very well. My only regret is that I have to leave underclassmen behind.”

Missing her sister

Bay freshman Bridget Doughty had a great state meet debut, one that she’ll cherish for a very long time.
Doughty finished second in the Division II 100-meter high hurdles in a time of 14.88. She also took a fourth in the 300 hurdles in a time of 44.82.
Bridget just missed her sister Rachael’s 2007 school record of 14.82, which Rachael set with her runner-up finish at last year’s state meet. Sunday’s edition incorrectly reported that Bridget broke Rachael’s record.
Contact Paul Heyse at 329-7135 or phheyse@aol.com. 

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