Belpre's Blake Rodgers, right, runs alongside East Canton's Brylan Holland at Saturday's Division III state track meet at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

COLUMBUS — Blake Rodgers saved his best for last in his junior track season.

At Saturday’s Division III state meet at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, Rodgers placed second in the 3200 meter run to earn All-Ohio honors in the event for the second straight season.

Rodgers, a junior, went all out in the race. Seeded sixth coming in after posting a regional time of 9 minutes, 30.84 seconds, Rodgers took the early lead in the race and held onto it until the final lap, when East Canton senior Brylan Holland jumped out in front to finish first in 9:24.75. Rodgers crossed in 9:26.22, nearly matching his time of 9:26.06 a year ago when he placed fifth.

“I feel good about it,” Rodgers said. “I was hoping to win, and that’s what I ran for. Second’s how it ended up, and I know that’s part of God’s plan.”

Rodgers said the objective was always to be aggressive. He completed the first mile in 4:39.95 and held a narrow lead over Rittman’s Luke Snyder at the halfway mark. Snyder went on to finish third with a time of 9:27.98.

“I felt good. I felt strong,” Rodgers said. “That was the plan. Just go out, get out in front and see how long I could hold it.”

The plan was executed well as Rodgers was out front of the pack for the for the majority of the first seven laps. At the start of the final lap, Holland found another gear and pulled ahead. Rodgers, though, fought off Snyder and Columbus Grove’s Luke Ellerbrock, who finished fourth at 9:28.12, to hold on to the runner-up spot. It’s the highest state track placement for a Belpre runner-up since Eli Fullerton won the event in 2021.

“I knew it was going to come down to me and Brylan,” Rodgers said of last year’s 3200 runner-up. “I was going for the win. It didn’t happen, but it went according to plan for the most part, so it was a success I would say.”

Holland’s high school career comes to a close with this year’s state meet, giving Rodgers a clear cut goal for next spring.

“Definitely going for the state championship next year,” he said.

For now, Rodgers is “going to take a little bit of time off. Going to take some time to relax and then just start gearing up for cross country.”

On bringing some hardware home to Belpre, Rodgers said, “It means a lot. It’s a great town. We have a lot of people here today supporting us. A lot of people watching online. We just have a really great support system at Belpre, so I love when I can give them what they’re looking for.”

Also representing Belpre at state was sophomore Carter Norman. Norman finished 16th in the 800 meter run. He crossed the finish line in 1:59.64 in a race where United’s Kaleb Nastari set a new state meet record with a time of 1:48.31.

Morgan senior Odessa Smith made it to the podium in two events, placing fifth in the 300 hurdles (44.95) and sixth in the 100 hurdles (14.78) in Division II.

It’s the third year in a row Smith earned All-Ohio status in both hurdles races. She said that while she a little disappointed in her placement in the two events, she was thrilled with the times she put up.

“For the 300s, I was really happy with my time because I’ve never broken 45 before. I’m very pleased that I got that. That was my goal for the end of high school.”

Earning Division III all-state status was Shenandoah freshman Braxton Barnett. Barnett placed eighth in the 300 hurdles with a time of 40.40.

Barnett was seeded 14th coming into state after posting a regional time of 40.79. He stepped it up in Friday’s prelims with a time of 40.29 to earn a spot in the finals, where he bested ninth place finisher Lucas McEwan of Lakota by nearly a full second.

Jordan Holland can be reached at jholland@mariettatimes.com.