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 nine added state titles to their school’s history books.
Leading the cast of championship winners was none other than Athens senior Sophia Szolosi.
Arguably the most decorated athlete in school history, Szolosi won the distance triple crown with ease. She took home Division III state titles in the 800-meter run, the 1600 run and the 3200 run with finish times of 2:08.82, 4:48.45 and 10:17.47 — the last of which is a state meet record.
Szolosi, who is just the second athlete in state history to win the distance triple crown twice, will be headed to Duke University this fall to run for the Blue Devils.
In Division IV, Adena’s Joey Francis won the long jump event with a mark of 22-foot-3.25. Francis also took third in the 400-meter dash, finishing in 48.71 seconds to reach the podium.
Meanwhile, in the Division IV pole vault, Chesapeake’s Corey Davis earned the top prize. The University of Louisville commit cleared 16 feet to stand alone.
Fairland’s pair of Molly Dunlap and Lola Donahue gave the Dragons two state championships. Dunlap posted a personal best of 43.97 seconds in the 300-meter hurdles while Donahue, a freshman, won the high jump at 5-foot-7.
And lastly, in Division IV, Wheelersburg’s Ella Hochstetler won the discus with a heave of 148-foot-11. She followed that up with a third place showing in the shot put, clearing 42-foot-0.5.
The coverage area saw a trio of state championship winners in Division V.
Headlining that group was Federal Hocking’s Annamarie Montle, who repeated as the state champ in the pole vault. The senior’s personal best mark of 13 feet gave her the title, and she added a state runner-up finish to her resume in the 100 hurdles, finishing in 15.06 seconds.
Eastern’s Brewer Tomlison raised eye brows at the shot put pit, besting the competition with a throw of 59-foot-7.5, earning his first individual state title. He also placed eighth in the discus with a mark of 159-08.
Rounding out the state title winners within the area was Fairfield’s Meri Jackson, who also took home the state championship in the shot put with a throw of 42-7.25.
Here’s a look at each podium finish throughout SOSA’s coverage area, separated by divisions.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Division II
Chillicothe’s pair of Trace McAllister and Jayden Beverly both earned third place finishes in their respective events.
McAllister was third in the discus with a mark of 174-05 while Beverly took home third in the 800 run at 1:52.15.
Miami Trace’s Aubrey Creed also finished on the podium, placing sixth in the 300 hurdles with a finish time of 44.56, while the Panthers’ 4×100-meter relay team finished eighth at 49.68 seconds.
Athens’ 4×100-meter relay squad also performed well, finishing fourth at 41.69 seconds.
Division III
In Division II, Wheelersburg’s Ison Emnett earned a state runner-up finish in the shot put with a best throw of 58-9.25. His teammate, Hunter Lawson, was fourth in the event at 57-3.75.
The Pirates also received podium finishes from both Cash Adkins and Kenyon Evans.
Adkins was third in the discus with a mark of 171-10, and Evans was second in the long jump at 24-1.5 — a personal best. Evans also took home a third place finish in the high jump, clearing 6-06 — another personal best — to do so.
Waverly’s Paige O’Bryant added third and fourth place finishes to her resume in the long jump and 100 dash. She posted a jump of 18-0.5 and finished her second event in 12.38 seconds.
Fairfield Union’s 4×800-meter relay team took fourth at 9:32.47 while Tyler Teal and Vera Henderly produced individual podium finishes. Teal was fifth in the 800 run (2:13.48) and Henderly took sixth in the 3200 run (11:06.86).
The Falcons also got a fifth place finish from Grant Gobert in the pole vault, who posted a height of 14-10 to reach the podium.
Meanwhile, River Valley’s Jansyn Smith took fourth in the 800 run, finishing the race in 1:53.54.
Unioto’s 4×200 relay team took eighth with a finish time of 1:29.08 while Levi Beam was tied for fifth in the pole vault event with a best height of 14-10.
Cooper Heidler of Washington Court House was also on the podium in the DIII pole vault, posting a mark of 14-06 to finish eighth.
Athens had two girls relay teams finish on the podium — the 4×200 relay took seventh (1:43.38) and the 4×800 relay took fifth (9:34.86) — while Gallia Academy’s 4×100 relay finished eighth (50.02).
PHOTOS: Images from the 2026 OHSAA State Track & Field Championships
Division IV
Zane Trace’s brother-sister duo of Hudson and Sophia Williams each brought home state runner-up finishes. Hudson, a junior, finished second in the pole vault with a mark of 15-4, while Sophia, a freshman, took second in the 400 dash with a time of 56.93 seconds.
Also earning two state runner-up trophies was Rock Hill’s Nixon Snavely, who did so in the 1600 and 3200-meter runs. Snavely ran a 4:13.78 in the 1600 while finishing the 3200 in 9:09.17.
West’s Keagan Salem and North Adams’ Coy Fogle both competed in the DIV 300 hurdles. Salem finished sixth at 40.47 and Fogle took eighth at 40.64.
Mason Wheeler of Ironton was fifth in the shot put, throwing 57-0.5 to do so, and Alexander’s Jake Roush took sixth in the 110 hurdles at 15.29 seconds.
Several boys relay teams also earned podium finishes. Ironton’s 4×200 finished sixth (1:29.34), North Adams’ 4×400 also took sixth (3:25.65), and Rock Hill’s 4×800 was eighth (8:03.23).
A pair of SVC high-jumpers finished on the podium in the girls high jump as Piketon’s Ryanne Moore was third in the event at 5-4 while Adena’s Katie Burns finished sixth at 5-2. Burns’ teammate, Vanessa Conley, finished on the podium as well, taking fifth in the 3200 run at 11:21.26.
Staying in the conference, Southeastern standout Karlie Peters finished eighth in the 300 hurdles with a finish time of 46.13 seconds, and her teammate, Rowan Ruckel, was sixth in the shot put at 39-05.
Elsewhere, Amanda-Clearcreek received a trio of podium finishes from Samantha Buckley and Gavynn Sowers. Buckley was fourth in the 100 hurdles at 15.20 seconds while Sowers placed fifth in the 1600 run (5:03.50) and seventh in the 800 run (2:19.71).
Also competing in the 800 run was Ironton’s Addi Davis, who finished fifth with a time of 2:18.59.
CREDIT: Raymond Gleadle/SOSA
Division V
South Webster’s Braden Mantell highlighted the area’s Division V state meet participants with a fifth-place finish in the 1600 run, finishing in 4:21.32.
Meanwhile, South Gallia’s pair of Layne Wright and Judah Cremeens fared well. Wright was sixth in the 300 hurdles at 39.76 seconds while Cremeens took eighth in the 110 hurdles with a finish time of 15.20 seconds.
Southern’s Andre Chandler rounded out the DV boys performances with an eighth-place finish in the 800 run, posting a time of 1:57.54.
Whitney Utz represented Paint Valley by taking sixth in the high jump at 5-2 while Eastern Meigs’ Brooklyn Barkey finished eighth in the discus at 125-06.
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