2021 State Tournament Coverage

The 2021 OHSAA Division I Boys Track and Field state tournament took place at Hilliard Darby High School on June 4-5. The tournament was moved from Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

 

Pickerington North won its second state track and field title (won in 2015) with a total score of 43 points. The Panthers were led by their 4x200 meter and 4x400 meter relay teams who placed first in both events. Seniors Zemen Siyoum, Daylon Duncan and Steven McElroy participated in both of those relays. Junior Derrick Amapps competed with the trio in the 4x400 meter relay while Junior Carl Allen II competed with them in the 4x200 meter relay. Westerville Central grabbed the runner-up spot for the first time in its history with a score of 30 points. The Warriors were led by victories in the 100 meter, 200 meter and 400 meter dash. Junior Justin Braun was victorious in all three events, giving him the ‘sprint triple crown,’ the first one since the 2006 boys state tournament. 

 

There was a state tournament record tied in the 100 meter dash. Braun tied the state meet record with a time 10.47 set back in the 2009 by Blake Heriot of Gahanna Lincoln. 

 

The 2021 OHSAA Division I Girls Track and Field state tournament took place at Hilliard Darby High School on June 4-5. The tournament was moved from Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

 

Mentor won its first track and field state tournament in school history with a total score of 70 points. The Cardinals were led by victories in the 100, 200 and 400 meter dash along with the 4x800 relay. They also were victorious in the high jump and long jump. Senior Paige Floriea led the Cardinals tallying 40 points with victories in the long jump, 100, 200 and 400 meter dash. Winning in the 100, 200 and 400 meter dash gave her the ‘sprint triple crown,’ the first one since the 1996 girls state tournament. Gahanna Lincoln grabbed the runner-up spot for the third time in school history with a total score of 36 points. They were led by Sophomore Camden Bentley who was victorious in the 300 meter hurdles and runner-up in the 100 meter hurdles and Junior Alyssa Shope who was victorious in the 3200 meter run. 

 

The 2021 OHSAA Division II Boys Track and Field state tournament took place at Pickerington North High School on June 4-5. The tournament was moved from Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

 

Peninsula Woodridge won its first track and field state tournament in school history with a total score of 43 points. The Bulldogs were led by victories in the 800 and 3200 meter dash and 3200 relay. Seniors Ryan Champa and Zayd Elkurd led the Bulldogs with Champa winning the 3200 run and Elkurd winning the 800 run. Both were a part of the victorious 3200 meter relay team. Cleveland Glenville grabbed the runner-up spot for the fourth time in school history with a total score of 42.50 points. The Tarblooders were led by a victory in the 1600 meter relay and a runner-up in the 110 meter hurdles.

 

The 2021 OHSAA Division II Girls Track and Field state tournament took place at Pickerington North High School on June 4-5. The tournament was moved from Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

 

Oakwood won its first track and field state tournament in school history with a total score of 53 points. The Lumberjacks were led by victories in the 3200 meter relay, 1600 meter run, 3200 meter run, along with a runner up in the 1600 meter run. Junior Grace Hartman led the way with a victory in the 3200 run and 1600 meter run. She also competed as a part of the victorious 3200 meter relay team. Akron Buchtel grabbed the runner-up spot for the second time in school history with a total score of 39 points. They were led by victories in the 100 meter hurdles and the 300 meter hurdles and a runner-up in the 800 and 1600 meter relays. 

 

The 2021 OHSAA Division III Boys Track and Field state tournament took place at Westerville North High School on June 4-5. The tournament was moved from Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

Minster won its first state championship with a score of 41 points. The Wildcats were led by a first-place win in the 1600 Relay with seniors Brady Hoelscher, Nathan Droesch, Bryan Falk, and junior Joseph Slonkosky. Falk also earned a second-place finish in the 400 Dash and junior Alex Albers had a third-place finish in the 800 Run. McDonald took second place for the first time in its school history with a score of 39 points. The Blue Devils were led by junior Ryan Henry with a first-place finish in discus throw and a second-place finish in shot put. Senior Brody Rupe earned a third-place finish in the 1600 Run.

 

The 2021 OHSAA Division III Girls Track and Field state tournament took place at Westerville North High School on June 4-5. The tournament was moved from Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

West Liberty-Salem won its second state championship in three years, last winning in 2019 (the 2020 season was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic). The Tigers had a score of 52 points and were led by first-place wins in the 800 Relay and 1600 Relay, and second place finishes in the 3200 Relay and 400 Dash. Seniors Kaylee LeVan, Grace Estes, Madison Bahan and junior Emily Hollar were the runners for the 800 Relay. Estes, Bahan, and Hollar were also a part of the first-place team in the 1600 Relay along with senior Katelyn Stapleton. The second-place team for the 3200 Relay also included Bahan and Stapleton, along with junior Ashley Yoder and freshman Ashley Yoder. Emily Hollar also got second-place in the 400 Dash to help lead the Tigers to a win. Mount Gilead got its first runner up finish in school history with a score of 42 points. Mount Gilead was led by senior Allison Johnson, who got first place in the 1600 Run, 800 Run and 3200 Relay along with seniors Olivia Millisor, Emily Hanft and junior Michaela McGill.

 

There were three state records broken during the meet. Allison Johnson from Mount Gilead set the new record in the 800 Meter Run with a time of 2:08:81, Mallory Mullen of Springfield Catholic Central set a new high jump record with a 5-10.25 jump and Kenna Stimmel broke the pole vault record with a 13-06 vault.