Area athletes qualify for state finals

MANTON — Six individuals and a relay team from Bellaire punched their tickets to the Division 4 track and field state finals in two weeks after standout performances at the regional in Manton on Friday.

Headlining the list of qualifiers was Bellaire’s Gabe Meriwether, who captured the regional championship in the boys high jump with a leap of 6-3. Teammate Ryan Felton also earned a spot at the state meet with a second-place finish in the long jump (19-7), while Mancelona’s Tristan Richardson took second in the discus (130-7).

On the girls side, Mancelona’s Serena Hardy took second in the 800 (2:37.3), while Bellaire’s Colleen Randolph was second in the pole vault (8-0) and Bellaire’s Jasmine Brown took second in the long jump (14-10). Randolph was also the anchor on the Eagles’ 3,200-meter relay team that was second. Kennan Dawson, Teegan Dawson and Halle Ciganick were the other three who helped run a time of 10:48.