COLUMBUS — As the bitter cold winds cut across the field at Jesse Owens Stadium on the campus of The Ohio State University, a lone freshman could be seen warming up at the high jump along with a large group of upperclassmen.
Carolyn Webster didn’t look out of place as she prepared to jump at the OHSAA State Track and Field Championships on Friday.
Webster’s best jump on Friday was 5-foot-0, two inches shy of her season high. It was good enough for 13th place. But her finish didn’t take away from her enthusiasm.
“I’m not disappointed,” said Webster. “It was my first time here, so I think I did pretty good.”
Webster wasn’t on a lot of people’s radars at the start of the year. Her rise in the ranks of field events made her the lone freshman representative in the girls high jump at state.
“I never thought about making it (to state),” said Webster, “or regionals or districts. I just went with the flow and thought about tomorrow.”
Webster couldn’t shake Gahanna-Lincoln’s Sarah Timko, who had become somewhat of a nemesis this postseason. Both had equal jumps of 5-0 and 5-1 to share the titles at districts and regionals, respectively. Timko won both tiebreakers.
At state, Timko again finished ahead, completing a 5-2 jump and landing at the eighth spot.
None of that bothers Webster, who has three more years to work on her track skills — not just at the high jump, either.
“I placed at regionals in the long jump,” said Webster, “and I want to make the long jump here, too.”
