It was an effective day for the Bethel boys track team, as they ran in the regional meet last Friday at Troy High School. Three members of the Bees squad qualified for the state meet this weekend in Columbus.

In the 1600 meter run, sophomore Kyle Hamlin came down the stretch sitting in fourth place, and finished in that position, earning him the final spot for the state meet. The top four individuals in each event qualify for the state finals.

“I have been working hard in practice, and going to state is a great feeling,” Hamlin said. “My goal is to place at the state meet, and I will be working hard toward it.”

Hamlin finished the race with a time of 4:35.74, and was one of two Bethel runners to finish in the top 10. Senior teammate Adam Loewer finished ninth overall with a time of 4:50.29.

“This will be a regular routine week for me to prepare for state,” Hamlin added, adding that with the recent success, it will direct him to be one of the leaders for this team in 2011.

Also advancing to the state meet will be Scott Masin in the shot put, who threw a distance of 48-feet, 8-inches. The senior advanced after just falling short in the discus, placing fifth in that event with a toss of 140-feet, 1-inch.

Ironically in that event, it was Masin’s teammate Sam Butler who finished just ahead of him, good enough for fourth place, and a trip to state. His distance was 140-feet, 8-inches.

To get to that point, several Bees were successful at the district level. The 4x800 team of Aaron Burchett, Brandon Graves, Adam Loewer, and Hamlin, who finished sixth at the regionals, ended up with a second-place time at the districts, running a 8:33.10. Also, Mike James places eighth in the 110 hurdles.

Also at districts, Daniel Yates was eighth in the 100 meter dash, the 4x200 team of Derrick Diddle, Kody Traylor, Jordan Holtvoght and Yates placed sixth with a time of 1:34.28.

The Bees were near the top of the 1600 meter run, with Hamlin finishing second with a time of 4:39.12 and Loewer right behind with a finish of 4:44.36.

The 4x100 team of Brandon Garlough, Diddle, Holtvoght, and Yates also qualified for the regionals with a time of 45.92, good enough for a sixth place finish.

Diddle had a seventh place finish in the 300 meter hurdles, while Burchett placed eighth in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:08.10.

Graves and Hamlin came back with another strong performance in the 3200 meter run, as Graves finished fifth with a 10:21.92 and Hamlin was sixth at 10:27.84.

Finally, the 4x400 team of Dustin Swartzbaugh, Kody Traylor, Diddle, and Burchett finished fifth, with a time of 3:37.32.

Butler and Masin finished one-two in the discus throw, while Masin won the shot put, with Scott Poffenberger third.