Warren’s Amanda Rauch clears the bar at 11 feet, 4 inches, during last year’s pole vault competition at the state track meet in Dayton. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

A couple of Noble County athletes have their sights set on state titles when the OHSAA state track meet commences Friday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.

Caldwell’s Gwyn Lori will look to defend her crown in the shot put while Shenandoah’s Braxton Barnett is projected to win the 300 hurdles.

Lori won gold in the shot at last year’s state meet with a mark of 44 feet, 10 inches. She hit 45-.5 to win this year’s regional title and is nearly four feet ahead of the projected runner-up, Houston’s Emilee Earl (41-3), in the heat sheets.

Lori is also seeded second in the discus, which she placed third in last year. She won the regional title at 142-6. Last year’s state runner-up, East Canton’s Shanaray Kager, comes in at 146-8 and is projected to win.

Lori will be joined in the field by teammate Camy Crock, who threw 114-11 at regionals to qualify. Fellow Redskin Ethan Crock will compete in the boys discus after throwing 143-5 at regionals.

Warren’s Sydney Starcher clears the bar at 5 feet, 4 inches during last year’s high jump competition at the state track meet in Dayton. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

Barnett qualified for state in all four of his events for the second year in a row. His regional time of 37.61 seconds has him seeded first, with Chesapeake’s Cameron Burgess as the only competitor to clock in at sub-38 at regionals (37.79). Barnett was third in the event last year.

He’s also projected to place in the long jump (22-8.25) and 110 hurdles (14.62).

Barnett is seeded second in the long jump behind only Northmor’s Cowin Becker (22-10.5) after placing seventh last year. He’s fourth on the heat sheet in the 110 after placing third a year ago.

The Zeps junior is also competing in the high jump, where he cleared 6-4 at regionals. That mark has him seeded tied for ninth. However, Barnett finished fourth at state in the event last year at 6-5. If he makes that height again, he’ll have a great shot at making the top eight for a podium finish.

The Shenandoah boys will also be represented at state by the quartet of Chuck Estadt, Noah McElroy, Emmitt Slevin and Jarrett Wentworth. They placed fourth in the 4×800 at regionals with a time of 8:22.77.

Caldwell’s Gwyn Lori competes in the shot put competition during last year’s state track meet in Dayton. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

On the girls side, the Zeps have Ida Estadt set to compete in the 3200. Her regional time of 11:21.34 has her projected to finish seventh and earn All-Ohio honors.

Teammate Alyssa Crum is seeded 10th in the 800 at 2:19.96.

Federal Hocking expects to get a big state meet performance from junior Annamarie Montle. Montle, last year’s runner-up in the pole vault, is projected to win the event after clearing 12-4 at regionals. Only Ansonia’s London Reichert (12-2) and Gibsonburg’s McKenzie Montgomery were 12 feet or higher at regionals.

Montle is also seeded 11th in the 100 hurdles (15.68) and 15th in the 300 hurdles (46.82). Her teammate Jaylee Orsborne will compete in the sprints. She’s seeded 14th in the 100 (12.91) and 15th in the 200 (26.26).

Rounding out Division III, the Fort Frye girls are sending their 4×8 team of Laine Spindler, Ava Huck, Camryn Huck and Cadence Waller to state. The Cadets clocked in at 10:12.51 to place third at regionals.

Shenandoah’s Braxton Barnett competes in the 300 hurdles race at last year’s state track meet in Dayton. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

Warren’s Clay Perry is the only area thinclad to make state in Division I. Perry placed fourth in the 300 hurdles at the uber-competitive Region 3 championships, clocking in at 38.83.

For the Warren girls, who compete in Division II, two of their athletes are returning to the state meet.

Amanda Rauch is seeded second in the pole vault after placing seventh in the event last year at 11-4. She’s up to 12 feet this year, as is competitor Brayden Snider of John Glenn. Oakwood’s Addie Kash hit 12-8 at regionals and is projected to win the event.

Rauch is also competing in the high jump, as is teammate Sydney Starcher. Rauch cleared 5-5 at regionals which has her firmly in the mix to place top eight — two girls are seeded at 5-6 and two more are at 5-5 along with Rauch.

Starcher placed ninth in the event last year after clearing 5-4. She finished at 5-3 at regionals which has her seeded 10th, but if she can match her performance from last year she’ll have a great shot at making All-Ohio.

Federal Hocking’s Annamarie Montle competes during last year’s pole vault competition at the state track meet in Dayton. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

Elsewhere in D2, Morgan’s Braylon Miller will be competing in two events at state. The Raider placed second in the 200 (22.43) and fourth in the 400 (50.08) at regionals. He’s seeded 12th in the 4 and 14th in the 2.

Miller broke the school record in the 400, previously held by Harry White, earlier this season.

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@mariettatimes.com.