STATE TRACK RECAP: Seven area athletes win state titles while multiple others place

Derrick Webb, Managing Editor

Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.

COLUMBUS — The Southeast District, as a whole, was well-represented in Columbus this weekend at the OHSAA State Track & Field Championships.

Several athletes set personal bests, many ended their seasons with All-Ohio finishes, and seven added state titles to their school’s history books.

South Point’s Derrick Taylor won two individual state crowns, doing so in the Division II shot put and discus events. In the shot put, Taylor’s best throw reached 65-foot-6. In the discus, his mark of 185-6 won the crown — nearly eight feet better than the runner-up finish.

Whiteoak senior Landen Eyre also captured two state championships. 

The Wildcats’ running star did so in the Division III 1600 and 3200-meter runs. In the 1600, his finish time of 4:11.13 was good enough for first place while he ran a 9:12.46 in the 3200, marking his second consecutive state championship in the event.

Athens’ Sophia Szolosi took home the state championship in the Division II 1600 run, winning with a finish time of 4:49.65. She then successfully chased gold in the 3200 run, taking home the title with a time of 10:39.21.

Fairfield Union’s pair of Chayse Lipscomb and Christian Thompson also took home state titles.

Thompson won the Division II girls high jump event with a high mark of 5-foot-8 while Lipscomb set a new meet record in the 110-meter hurdles, finishing in 13.70 seconds — breaking the previous mark of 13.71 seconds, set in 1996.

Lipscomb also added a 10th place finish in the long jump event with a mark of 20-foot-11.25.

In the Division III girls pole vault, Federal Hocking’s Annamarie Montle won a state crown with a best mark of 12-foot-4. Montle also competed in the 100-meter hurdles, taking seventh, another All-Ohio finish, with a time of 15.37 seconds.

And, finally, the winner of the Division III boys 800 run was North Adams junior Beau Hesler, who finished the race with a time of 1:51.78.

Here’s a complete breakdown of how each area competitor and team finished at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.

DIVISION I

Chillicothe’s Jayden Beverly competed in the 800 run, finishing 11th in the event with a time of 1:53.82. 

Meanwhile, in the boys pole vault, Miami Trace’s Brice Perkins finished 14th with a high mark of 14-foot-0.

DIVISION II

Wheelersburg’s Ella Hochstetler added a state runner-up finish in the shot put to her resume, doing so with a best throw of 139-2. Meanwhile, South Point’s Savannah Perego finished third in the event at 137-4.

Both also competed in the discus where Hochstetler finished in 17th (37-2.75) and Perego took 14th (37-11.25).

Logan Elm’s Maggie Wilson also competed in the shot put, taking 14th with a throw of 117-1.

In the boys shot put event, placing on the podium alongside Taylor, was Wheelersburg’s Ison Emnett. The junior’s throw of 57-8 helped him earn a sixth place finish. Northwest’s Aidden Armbrister also competed, throwing a 45-7.50, finishing in 16th.

As for the discus, Wheelersburg’s Cashton Adkins and Gallia Academy’s Cory Mock took home third and seventh place finishes with marks of 169-11 and 163-11, respectively.

In the boys pole vault, Zane Trace’s Hudson Williams finished on the podium at number two, clearing 14-foot-10. Unioto’s Levi Beam and Fairfield Union’s Grant Gobert also competed, tying for a 10th place finish with a mark of 14-0.

In the boys 4×800-meter relay, Fairfield Union’s quartet of Cordel Runkle, Nathan Phillips, Christian Reindle and Andrew Walton finished in 14th place with a time of 8:17.65.

Ironton’s Tyler Carmon and Wheelersburg’s Kenyon Evans competed in the high jump, taking 12th and 15th place finishes. Carmon cleared 6-3 while Evans cleared 6-foot.

Junior Paige O’Bryant represented Waverly well, finishing 10th in the 200 dash (25.23 seconds) and eighth in the in the long jump, a podium finish at 16-9.75.

In the long jump, Circleville’s Sydney Lattimer finished on the podium in fourth place. The senior had a best mark of 17-foot-1.75. Washington’s Aysha Haney also competed in the event, finishing in 10th at 16-5.50.

Fairfield Union’s Averey Cottrill earned a top three finish in the 100-meter hurdles, taking third place with a finish time of 14.83 seconds.

Cottrill also helped the Falcons’ 4×400 relay team — alongside Katherine Welsh, Kyla Gasser and Abigail Pike — place seventh with a time of 3:58.87.

In the 100-meter dash, South Point’s Emma Layne finished second, posting a time of 11.96 seconds. Layne also took second place in the 200 dash with a time of 24.48 seconds.

Athens’ foursome of Alexa Reed, Jesse Vaughn, Raquel De Abreu and Adelaide Littell finished ninth in the 4×200-meter relay with a time of 1:46.09.

In the boys 1600 run, Fairfield Union’s Andrew Walton took second at 4:11.52 while teammate Christian Reindle 15th at 4:21.46. Walton also placed in the 3200 run, taking fifth at 9:22.31. 

In the boys 4×100, Wheelersburg’s Canaan Arthur, Kayson Whitt, Kenyon Evans and Clark Weller finished 11th with a time of 43.01 seconds.

In the girls 800 run, Athens’ Andie Corrigan was 11th with a time of 2:18.00 while Westfall’s Josh Trapp took 12th in the boys 800 with a time of 2:01.27.

In the girls 3200 run, Fairfield Union’s Vera Henderly finished ninth at 11:17.07, Athens’ Zoe Wayner was 12th at 11:20.48 and FU’s Tyler Teal was 13th at 11:22.47.

And, in the boys 3200, Fairfield Union’s Nathan Phillips took ninth with a time of 9:24.83. 

Finally in Division II, Wheelersburg’s 4×400 relay team of Elijah Brown, Xander Mowery, Ethan Hochstetler and Kayson Whitt finished in fourth place, posting a time of 3:20.21.

DIVISION III

Rock Hill’s Nixon Snavely, Ryan Riddle, Dakotah Sanders and Ben Simpson teamed up to earn a seventh place finish with a time of 8:07.16.

Snavely also competed in the 1600 run, finishing in fourth with a time of 4:16.82, and also in the 3200 run, taking fifth with a time of 9:29.21. 

South Webster’s Braden Mantell joined Snavely in the 1600, finishing 10th at 4:24.00. 

Sanders also competed in a second event, taking 15th in the 800 run with a time of 2:00.64.

In the girls long jump, Northwest’s Claire Newman was ninth with a best jump of 16-9. Newman also competed in the high jump, taking 12th at 5-2.

Valley’s Dane Smith finished 17th in the shot put with a throw of 17-5, Eastern’s Brewer Tomlison took 12th in the discus at 148-3.

Alongside Newman in the girls high jump, two more area athletes competed. Adena’s Katie Burns took a podium finish in eighth (5-2) while North Adams’ Bella Gray took ninth with the same mark. Burns cleared that height on her first attempt, earning herself the difference.

In the boys long jump, Adena’s Joey Francis finished third at 21-5.50 while Rock Hill’s Izaak Cox took seventh at 21-3.25. Meanwhile, in the pole vault, Chesapeake’s Corey Davis placed 10th with a best of 14-6.

Elsewhere, in the girls shot put, Southeastern’s Rowan Ruckel finished on the podium, taking home an eighth place finish with a best throw of 39-feet.

Chesapeake’s Cameron Burgess was fourth in the 110-meter hurdles (14.78 seconds) and took home a state runner-up finish in the 300 hurdles with a time of 37.35 seconds.

And finally, in the girls 1600 run, Notre Dame’s Ryan Purcell earned an All-Ohio finish, taking eighth place with a time of 5:20.24. The junior also competed in the 3200 run, finishing 17th at 11:56.57.

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