Pickerington Central Wins First Boys Track & Field State Title; Gahanna Lincoln Wins Second Girls Track & Field State Title
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Pickerington Central won its first boys Division I track and field team state championship, and Gahanna Lincoln won its second girls state title at the 2018 Ohio High School Athletic Association track and field state tournament at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium at The Ohio State University on Saturday.
Highlighting the Gahanna Lincoln Lady Lions’ championship was the record-breaking 4x800M relay team of Shynae Deas, Allison Groves, Claire Steigerwald, and Madison Martinez. The team ran a time of 8:53.49, breaking the OHSAA Division I state record by over three seconds. Martinez and Deas were also a part of the state-champion 4x400M relay team (3:47.99), joined by Alexis Thigpen and Joi Bradley. Martinez added a first-place finish in the 800M (2:08.89) following a second-place finish in 2017, with Deas finishing fourth (2:10.60). Steigerwald contributed an additional eight points, of the team’s total 51, by finishing second in the 3200M (10:29.85). Freshman Faith Hunter placed second in the high jump (5-09.00). It was Gahanna Lincoln’s second girls track and field team state championship as the Lady Lions’ tied Cincinnati Withrow for first in 2015.
The teams from Lancaster and Twinsburg tied for second with 31 points each. Senior Hope Purcell was the lone participant for Lancaster. Purcell placed first in the high jump (5-09) and long jump (19-05), third in the 100M hurdles (13.97), and fourth in the 300M hurdles (44.11). Purcell was also the high jump state champion in 2017.
Ten podium finishes good for 58 points helped Pickerington Central win its first boys track and field team state championship. The 4x400M relay team of Evan Matthews, Crockett Schooler, Terry Simuel and Zach Robinson topped the podium (3:17.70), with Matthews adding a first-place finish in the 300M hurdles (37.13) and Matt Scrape doing the same in the 3200M (9:02.01). Scrape finished second in the 3200M in 2017. Additionally, Matthews and Robinson were joined by Malcomb Briley and Denzell Feagin on the second-place 4x200M relay team (1:26.63). Feagin reached the podium twice more, finishing fourth in the 100M (10.78) and sixth in the 200M (21.79).
The Centerville boys team finished second, with junior Yariel Soto contributing 28 of the team’s 36.5 points. Soto finished first in the long jump (24-02.75) and pole vault (15-06.00) and was a part of the second-placed 4x400M relay team (3:19.58).
Dublin Coffman senior Abby Steiner capped off an impressive high school career with four record-breaking sprints. In Friday’s preliminaries, Steiner broke her own state records in the 100M (11.47) and 200M (23.17). In Saturday’s finals, she accomplished the feats again, running 11.38 in the 100M and 22.73 in the 200M. The first-place finish in the 200M is the fourth of her career, making her the fourth girl in OHSAA history to win the 200M state championship four times. After her third consecutive state championship in the 100M, Steiner now owns five of the six fastest 100M times in OHSAA state tournament history, and five of the top seven 200M times. According to the NFHS.org record book, prior to this season, Steiner’s 22.73 in the 200M is only surpassed by Olympians Marion Jones (1992 – 22.67) and Allyson Felix (2003 – 22.52). Steiner finished her career with nine individual state championships, which ties her for ninth in OHSAA history.
Beachwood Wins Back-to-Back Girls Track and Field State Championships; Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy Boys Bring Home First
COLUMBUS, Ohio – For the second year in a row, the Beachwood Lady Bison are the OHSAA girls track and field team champions, while Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy won its first boys title at the 2018 OHSAA track and field state tournament at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium at The Ohio State University on Saturday.
Beachwood edged second-place Akron Buchtel 38-31. Senior Mia Knight led the Lady Bison, being a part of 30 of the team’s 38 points. Knight finished first and broke OHSAA Division II state records in the 100M (11.65) and 200M (23.96), while also being on the first-place 4x100M relay (48.19) team with Cayla Jeff, Ashley Perryman and Ashaunti Griffin. Griffin, Knight and Perryman were also on the 2017 4x100M state championship relay team. Perryman earned four more team points by finishing fifth in the long jump (17-05.75).
Relays earned the majority of the 31 points for second-place Buchtel. The relay team of Nevaeh Lewis, London Green, Drew Oliver and Dyamond Myers earned state champ honors in the 4x200M (1:42.60) and placed second in the 4x100M (48.48). In the 4x400M relay, Lewis and Myers teamed up with Dana Beasley and Da’Veonna Nash to take second (4:00.07).
Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy used six top-three finishes to win the 2018 OHSAA Division II boys track and field team state championship. CVCA outscored second-place Dayton Dunbar 51-44. CVCA junior Tre Tucker contributed a tournament-high 36 points. Tucker finished first in the 100M (10.78), first in the long jump (22-10.50), third in the 200M (22.00) and was joined by Jay Patsch, Justin Luiza and Jonathan Solomon on the state champion 4x200M (1:28.51) relay team. Jonathan Solomon finished third in the 300M hurdles (38.32) and Sam Bush did the same in the 800M (1:54.12).
After winning the state championship three of the four previous seasons, the Dunbar boys track and field team earned its seventh runner-up trophy. The Flyers were led by second-place finishes in the 100M hurdles, 4x200M relay and 4x100M relay, and a third-place finish in the 4x400M relay.
For the third year in a row, the 4x800M girls relay team from Chagrin Falls took first place. Junior Catherine Coffey and senior Annie Zimmer have been a part of the team all three years.
Perry junior Leah King topped the podium in the 100M hurdles and 300M hurdles in record-breaking fashion. King broke the OHSAA Division II girls record in the 100M hurdles (13.89) and tied the state meet record in the 300M hurdles (42.55).
East Canton Wins Back-to-Back OHSAA Boys Track & Field Team State Championships; Minster Girls Win 13th Track & Field Team Title
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Minster won its 13th girls state title and the East Canton boys won back-to-back titles at the 2018 OHSAA Track and Field State Tournament at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium at The Ohio State University on Saturday.
Their first since 2004, the Minster Wildcats’ 13 titles places them second behind Cleveland Heights Beaumont’s 16. Sophomore Emma Watcke led the Wildcats with a first-place finish in the 1600M (5:00.15) and a second-place finish in the 3200M (11:13.45), while also running the third leg for the state champion 4x800M relay team. The team of Cassie Francis, Kaitlynn Albers, Watcke and Madeline Magoto finished the 4x800M relay in 9:18.41, nearly 12 seconds ahead of the second-place Gilmour Academy team. Magoto and Francis finished third (2:15.70) and fourth (2:16.07) respectively in the 800M, and were both on the fourth-place 4x400M (4:00.52) relay team.
For the first time in school history, Covington took home the OHSAA girls track and field team runner-up trophy. Senior Rayna Horner led the Lady Buccs by being a part of 24 of the team’s total 32 points. Horner was on the first-place 4x400M (3:56.71) relay team, the second-place 4x200M (1:44.51) relay team and took third in the 400M (57.56).
The East Canton Hornets repeated as the OHSAA Division III boys track and field team champions by racking up a tournament-high 64 points via 11 podium finishes. The Hornets’ 64 points are tied for the most in Division III since the OHSAA switched to the Divisional format in 1990. Eight of the 11 podium finishes for the Hornets were in the top four, including a first-place finish for senior Josh Conrad in the 800M (1:53.99), and a first-place relay finish in the 4x400M (3:20.90) from the team of Mitch Mitchell, Cody Vacco, Joel Berger and Conrad. Conrad also finished fourth in the high jump (6-06.00) and was on the second-place 4x800M (7:54.49) relay team. Berger added third-place finishes in the pole vault (14-08.00) and 110M hurdles (14.74) and a fourth-place finish in the 300M hurdles (38.92).
Just as it happened in 2017, Smithville was the OHSAA Division III boys track and field team runner-up. The Smithies were led by senior Cole Smith, who earned state champion honors in the 110M hurdles (14.18) and the 300M hurdles (38.04).
Manfield St. Peter’s senior Alysse Wade became the 100M hurdles state champion for the second consecutive year. Wade broke the Division III girls state record in both the prelims (14.31) and the finals (14.07).
New Albany’s Michael Fenster and Lodi Cloverleaf’s Brooklynn Crist Sweep Seated Races
COLUMBUS, Ohio – For the second consecutive year, New Albany senior Michael Fenster won all three boys seated track events that he entered (100M – 17.68, 400M – 1:02.68, 800M – 2:08.84). Fenster finished his high school career with seven individual state championships. Lodi Cloverleaf freshman Brooklynn Crist won all three girls seated races (100M – 20.55, 400M – 1:15.91, 800M – 2:44.11).