Worthington Thomas Worthington, Cincinnati Withrow Win Third OHSAA Div. I State Track & Field Titles
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Thomas Worthington won the Division I boys track and field state championship and Cincinnati Withrow won back-to-back Division I girls track and field state titles at the 2017 OHSAA track and field state tournament at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium at The Ohio State University on Saturday.
Thomas Worthington won its third state track and field title thanks to seven podium finishes, including one first place finish. In the first Division I event of the tournament, the relay team of Ty Banks, Joshua Allen, Andrew Morgan and Arjun Jha took first place in the 4x800M with a time of 7:39.86. Junior Arjun Jha added another podium finish by taking second in the 1600M (4:09.09). Senior Kainnan Ramsey was the only other multi-podium finisher for the Cardinals. Ramsey finished fifth in the 100M (10.81) and seventh in the 200M (21.91). Junior Andrew Payne finished seventh in the 3200M (9:20.02). For field events, senior Cade Richeson took third in the discus (172’07”) and junior Khalil Jones finished fifth in the long jump (23’03”). Thomas Worthington finished the meet with 36 points, edging second-place Gahanna Lincoln by five points.
For the second year in a row, Cincinnati Withrow used eight podium appearances to win the OHSAA girls Division I track and field state championship. Following her impressive showing at the 2016 state meet, junior J’Alyiea Smith hit the podium four times by winning the 300M Hurdles (42.45), finishing second in the 100M Hurdles (13.85), taking second in the 4x400M relay and adding a third-place finish in the high Jump (5’8”). The relay team of J’Alyiea Smith, Niyah Carpenter, Simone Mason and Destiny Pennington took second-place in the 4x400M relay with a time of 3:47.83. The Tigers also finished first in the 4x100M relay, and second in the 4x200M relay. Junior Zariah Hodgkin finished sixth in the 300M hurdles (44.46), and senior Doneasha Brewer took fourth in the 200M dash (24.39).
Dublin Coffman junior Abby Steiner tied the state record and broke her own Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in the 100M dash (11.59). Steiner proceeded to break the 200M state record, as well, with a time of 23.56. Mason’s relay team of Lily Hallum, Maddie Ullom, Faith Min and Ellie Brush broke the state record in the 4x800M (8:56.62), beating the previous record by over nine seconds.
Dayton Dunbar Wins 10th Boys Track & Field State Title; Beachwood Girls Bring Home School’s First Track & Field State Championship
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Dayton Dunbar won the OHSAA division II boys track and field state championship for the third time in four years, and the 10th time in school history, while Beachwood’s girls brought home the school’s first ever track and field state title on Saturday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
Seven podium appearances for Dunbar helped the Wolverines narrowly edge Warrensville Heights to win the 2017 OHSAA Division II boys track and field state tournament. Dunbar’s sole first-place finish came on the 4x100M (7:55.93) relay thanks to the team of Jerry Averette, Jalani Allen, Keyshawn Jones and Tavion Thomas. Dunbar added a fourth-place finish in the 4x800M relay and a seventh-place finish in the 4x400M relay. Senior Keyshawn Jones finished fifth in the 100M dash (10.89) and seventh in the 200M dash (22.26). Junior Jalani Allen took fifth in the 110M hurdles (14.74), sophomore Zamir Youngblood finished seventh in the 300M hurdles (39.88), and senior Marquis Evans finished fifth in the 800M run (1:56.13) to round out the Wolverines podium finishes.
Competing in just five events, the Beachwood girls brought home the school’s first track and field state title by placing sixth or better. Junior Mia Knight led the way with three podium appearances. Knight finished second in the 100M dash (12.01), sixth in the 200M dash (24.97) and was part of the first place 4x100M (48.29) relay team. Junior Leah Roter added the only other first-place finish for the Bison in the 3200M run (10:41.45), while also finishing fifth in the 1600M run (5:03.09).
Dayton Meadowdale senior Wayne Lawrence Jr. had an impressive state meet by nearly accomplishing the sprint triple-crown. Lawrence broke the state record in the 200M dash (21.29), won the 400M dash (46.67), but was bested in the 100M dash as Warrensville senior Demetri Keaton broke the state meet record in both the preliminaries (10.59) and in the finals (10.57).
East Canton Wins School’s First OHSAA Track & Field State Championship; Anna Wins First Girls Track State Title
COLUMBUS, Ohio – East Canton won its first Division III boys track and field state championship and Anna won its second overall, but first girls state title at the 2017 OHSAA track and field tournament at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium at The Ohio State University on Saturday.
The East Canton Hornets racked up 49 points at the state meet via seven podium finishes. The Hornets’ relay squads gained most the team’s points with first-place finishes in the 4x800M (7:50.68) and the 4x400M (3:21.53), a third-place finish in the 4x200M (1:29.89) and a fourth-place finish in the 4x100M (43.47). Senior Zach McClaskey finished fifth in the 300M hurdles (39.15), junior Mitch Mitchell finished seventh in the 200M dash (22.38) and junior Josh Conrad earned fifth in the high jump (6’4”).
Relays were the name of the game for the Anna Rockets as the relay team of seniors Krista Gehret and Kennedey Glover, junior Rachel Shoemaker and sophomore Hannah Shoemaker placed first in the 4x200M (1:42.15) and 4x400M (3:56.31) and second in the 4x100M (49.47). The relay team members were the only four competitors representing Anna at the state meet. Glover claimed the final podium appearance for the Rockets when she finished first in the 800M run (2:13.12).
McComb senior Molly Leppelmeier, who just recently broke the Division III girls shot put state record (49’8”), broke the state meet record with a throw of 49’6”. Leppelmeier also placed first in the discus (159’11”), outdistancing second place by over 20 feet.
Kaylee Hurley Sweeps Seated Events; Michael Fenster Wins Three of Four
Columbus, Ohio – It was a clean sweep in the seated division for Greenfield McClain senior Kaylee Hurley as she won the 100M dash (20.64), broke the state record in the 400M dash (1:10.87), broke the state record in the 800M run (2:29.80) and won the shot put (18’3”). Hurley placed first in the 400M, 800M and shot put at the 2016 state tournament.
New Albany junior Michael Fenster defended his title in the 800M (2:15.02) while also adding first-place finishes in the 100M (18.63) and the 400M (1:06.51). Andover Pymatuning Valley freshman Gabe Warsing won the Shot Put with a throw of 20 feet 5 inches.