COLUMBUS — Going in to the OHSAA Division II shot put finals Friday morning, only one shot putter could keep Blanchester’s Joe Holcomb off the podium.
And Reese Wilcoxon of Benjamin Logan did just that.
On his last attempt of the state meet, Wilcoxon passed Holcomb by four inches and claimed the eighth and final spot on the podium for the medal presentation at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
Holcomb, with a best toss of 51-1.5, finished ninth.
“I came in (feeling) fine, I just didn’t do what I needed to do, I guess,” said a sullen Holcomb following the event.
Holcomb will return to the shot and discus area Saturday morning to compete in the Division II discus.
“This was still a good experience,” said Holcomb. “I was really nervous because I was expecting something a lot more.”
Holcomb and Wilcoxon were tied at 51-1.5 going into the final round. Holcomb had the next best throw so he would have been declared the eighth-place finisher had neither athlete surpassed that mark.
Holcomb fouled on his first attempt in the finals and later declared “that was easily my best throw.”
On his last attempt, Wilcoxon went 51-5.5 while Holcomb fouled for the third time in six tries.
“I have to use this experience of fouling and just make sure every throw in warmups is the same as I want it to be when I’m actually throwing,” Holcomb said.