MileSplit Ohio was on-site to take in the action at the recent NEOITC Buckeye Division #1 meet at the Spire Institute in Geneva. Athletes representing many Northeast Ohio high schools put forth spirited efforts in the competitions which they competed in. The evening saw countless runners, throwers and jumpers achieve new personal records and the overall atmosphere in the facility was electric.
A sample of the impressive performances that were observed include: Caisja Chandler of Euclid High School winning both the 60m (7.89) and the 200m (25.73) in state-wide competitive times. Chandler now holds the state's 5th ranked 200m time and the 8th ranked 60m time for the 2017 Indoor season. Mentor High School stand-out, Emma Lane cruised to victory in the 800m in 2:22.67. Lane will be competing in the Big Ten Conference next year for the Michigan Wolverines. The girl's 1600m and 3200m came down to a two runner duel and in both instances it was Grace Steimle of the Maple Leaf Track Club and Savannah Dennison from Mentor battling for the win. Steimle won the evening's 1600m race in 5:23.75 to Dennison's 5:27.02. In the 3200m, however, the order was reversed as Dennison captured first place in 11:50.22. Notably, Savannah Dennison is currently a grade 6 student who is proving herself to be highly competitive with the local high school girls. I had the pleasure of speaking with her following her races and I strongly suspect that she'll be doing big things on the state-scene in the not too distant future.
On the boy's side, Na'shawn Collins from Cleveland Heights High School unleashed a big-time kick over the final 100m to edge Kenston High School's Sam Slezak at the line in 800m action. Collins' time of 2:05.15 narrowly edged that of Slezak's 2:05.23 marking. Also, future Eastern Michigan Eagle and current Mentor High School phenom, Matt Bull glided in with an 8 second victory in the 1600m. His finishing time was 4:30.46.
Additionally, there were solid showings in the field events as well as in the team relays.
Full results can be found here:
http://oh.milesplit.com/meets/254105/results/493393/formatted#.WHkSYxsrLIU
In closing, I'd like to thank the timing company (Lightning Event Management), the meet host (Maple Leaf Track Club), those who work so hard behind the scenes at the Spire Institute, as well as all of the coaches, parents, volunteers and especially the athletes. It was a very enjoyable evening of track and field action.
See pictures from the event below:
