Tiffin - Columbian placed fifth at the Bill Krause Invitational on Saturday, finishing in a tie for fifth place with Sandusky as both teams scored 39 points. Fremont Ross won the team title with 151 points, followed by Perrysburg with 135 and Rocky River with 84. St. John’s Jesuit finished fourth with 63.5 points. Behind Columbian and Sandusky were Clyde (36.5), Oak Harbor (36), Perkins (33), Central Catholic (25.5), Mansfield Senior (16.5), and Bowsher (4).

The Tornadoes were paced by strong relay performances, highlighted by a runner-up finish in the 4x400 relay. Dashawn Russell, Xavier Melick, Jeremiah Dickerson, and Amar’e Legrant combined to take second place in 3:30.88. The 4x200 relay team of Dickerson, Dashawn Russell, Dazarius Russell, and Legrant added a third-place finish in 1:33.40. Columbian also earned points in the 4x800 relay, where Conner Dukeshire, Owen Hoyda, Marcelino Gallardo, and Nathan Gaietto finished sixth in 9:28.94, while the 4x100 relay of Titan Neuman, Amar’e Legrant, Lukas Smyser, and Dazarius Russell placed seventh in 47.32.

In individual events, Xavier Melick led the way on the track, finishing fourth in the 800 meters in 2:01.91 and adding a sixth-place finish in the 1600 meters in 4:45.29. Jeremiah Dickerson contributed with a seventh-place finish in the 200 meters in 23.39. Marcelino Gallardo placed sixth in the 3200 meters with a time of 10:48.43, while Owen Hoyda also scored in the event, taking eighth in 11:06.17.

In the field events, Draven Steele placed fifth in the discus with a throw of 140-3. Drew Newman added points in the pole vault, tying for seventh place after clearing 10-0.