OATCCC Division II/III & Seated Indoor State Meet: Preview

Photo by Shawn Conlon

Handing things off to the relays to start off the preview, the Boy's 4x200m Relay is certainly going to be one to look out for this weekend, as the Top-5 teams are all seeded under 1:33, and all within .57 seconds of each other. With this in mind, it is almost certain that this race will come down to a photo finish, and possibly even a new Division II/III meet record for the event, which currently stands at 1:28.03, set last year by Glenville.

Beachwood - 1:32.23

Glenville - 1:32.31

Hartley - 1:32.34

Chardon NDCL - 1:32.80

Lowellville - 1:32.80

Amy Weybrecht (Gilmour Academy 2024), Samantha Erbach (Waynesville 2024), and Caleigh Richards (Maplewood 2024) are currently the top seeds for the Girl's 1600m, and all three are coming into the 1600m on fresh legs; however, Erbach is listed as an alternate on the 4x800m Relay for Waynesville. Along with that, Weybrecht is set to double back in the 800m run as the top seed, with Erbach set to triple back in both the 800m and 3200m shortly after.

For Richards, this will actually only be her second indoor race ever, as her only other effort in the event came less than two weeks ago at Youngstown State High School Meet #4. She will be toeing that line against the two returners from last year, and with how these three tend to race the 1600, it is going to be a fast one.

Looking past the seed times and their current personal bests, it is possible that we could see the Division II/III meet record of 4:56.82 be taken down, which was set by (now at the University of Tennessee - Knoxville) Norwayne's Jaylee Wingate last year.

Similar to the Girl's 1600m, the top three individuals seeded for the 3200m will be coming into the race fresh, with sophomore Sophia Szolosi (Athens 2026) leading the bunch with a personal best of 10:44.78, which was set at SPIRE Scholastic Showcase earlier this season. Not too far behind her though are two familiar names from the  Division 3 State Cross Country Championships, Reese Landis (New London 2024), who took fourth, and the state champion, Rebecca Geiss (Heartland Christian 2026).

To top it off as well, as previously mentioned earlier, according to the heat sheets, Samantha Erbach (Waynesville 2024) will be tripling back for the 3200m run after both the 1600m and 800m, all three of which she will potentially be in contention to snatch three podium spots.

With Szolosi already under the DII/III championship record just off of her seed, it's just a matter now of, "how much faster," not just for her, but the rest of the field as well.

He's been making noise in the throws all season, going undefeated and setting a new state record in the Shot Put with a monstrous 67-11 mark at Tiffin U. - High School Open #3 earlier this month and setting a new personal best that same day at the Weight Throw with a 74-4 performance, Michigan State University commit Dillon Morlock (Norwayne 2024) is eyeing to continue his domination in both events. 

As of now he is currently not just OH #1 in both events but is also US #1 in the Shot Put and US #3 in the Weight Throw. 

Despite him being a senior, this is not the last we'll see of the Morlock name in the books, as his brother, a junior as well, Brandt Morlock (Norwayne 2025) is seeded second in the Weight Throw (OH #2) right behind Dillon along with being the fourth seed in the Shot Put. Eyes to the infield on Saturday as we could see the Morlock's rack up a handful of points towards that team score.

Dillon Morlock
Shot Put - 67-11
Weight Throw - 74-4

Brandt Morlock
Shot Put - 57-2.25
Weight Throw - 68-1.5

On the homestretch in the Girl's 60m Dash, if all goes as the heat sheets suggest, it will come down to the wire between Alex Kessen (Del. St. John's 2024), Delaney Jones (West Liberty Salem 2025), and Mariyah Moore (Gilmour Academy 2024). 

All three of these girls are the only individuals with performances listed faster than 7.80 seconds, all of which were set at their most recent competitions. Kessen is actually the only one between the three that made the finals in the event at last year's installment.

Joining her as well, a few names that made the finals last year will also be returning Dakota Houston (Beachwood 2024), Grace Daily (Buckeye Valley 2024), and Emma Henry (St. Clairsville 2024).

Something to note as well, this is actually Delaney Jones' first season ever of running indoor track and field, as she didn't begin until last outdoor season.
Same case can be made for the Girl's 60m Hurdles as well, only three girls not just under 9.30 seconds, but also 9.20 seconds, with Isabel Evans (John. Northridge 2025) leading the way as the only athlete seeded under 9 seconds, with Azure Travis (Woodmore 2024) and Ava Littler (Canfield 2024) right behind her. 

Reflecting on last year, Evans is the only returner (runner-up last year) between the three, as Travis did not compete at the indoor state meet last year and this season is actually Littler's first go at the 60m Hurdles. Commonly shared between Travis and Evans, they both went on a tear in their respective divisions last outdoor season, racking up countless victories in both the 100m Hurdles and 300m Hurdles.

Rounding out the blocks on the homestretch, only being separate by a mere hundredth of a second, Coy Hyre (Brookville 2025) and Xavier Wilson (Thurgood Marshall 2024) are going to be the boys to look out for in the blocks, and if they both make the finals, we could see the Division II/III state meet record go down, which is currently 6.78 seconds held by three individuals at the same time, Christian Anderson (Hawken 2023) being the most recent name to clock that performance.

Unless something magical goes down, it is likely that Mason Louis (Bexley 2023)'s and Kachay Hullum (Buchtel 2010)'s Division II/III state meet records in the boy's and girl's 400m Dash remain untouched but regardless, both respective "fast sections" are going to be very close finishes.

Starting with the boys, Maddox Treece (Wayne Trace 2024) and Evan Hudson (Oberlin 2024) are currently highlighting the event as they are the sole athletes with seed times under 50-seconds, also their personal bests. They will be doubling back for the 200m Dash, an event in which they will also be joined by Xavier Wilson (Thurgood Marshall 2024), who is currently also seeded second in the Boy's 60m Dash.

Setting the bar higher than ever, Brayden Richards (Perry 2024) has made quite the progression in the Pole Vault, comfortably seeded as the lone man with a personal best of 16-0. This comes after not even competing in the OATCCC Indoor Championship last year to a third place finish last spring at the OHSAA Division 2 State Championships, a first-place finish at adidas Outdoor Nationals, and a fourth-place finish at USATF U20 Championships that summer.

To top it off, he has prowess in 9 other events as well, as he also took first in the Decathlon at adidas and fifth at U20s. 

With Hunter Garretson (Newcomerstown 2020)'s state meet record within reach (16-9), Richards could potentially take home more than just a gold and new personal best to close out his indoor campaign within Ohio.

It is going to be an absolutely loaded for the boy's side in both the 1600m and 3200m Run, and as we learned not just from the seed times, but also from this past fall, both of these races will be anyone's for the taking.

In the 1600m, there are a slew of guys seeded at or under 4:25, which consist of returning champion Colin Cernansky (Marlington 2024), Luke Snyder (Rittman 2026), Riley Nixon (Ottawa Hills 2024), Will Baker (Mount Gilead 2025), Carson Klase (McDonald 2025), and Nicholas Dunn (Badin 2024).

The 3200m however, will see a mix of the top finishers from the OHSAA Cross Country State Championships between Division 2 and Division 3, as all 6 of them finished within the Top-5 of their respective races back in the fall:

Closing out the Division II/III preview, hopping over to the sand pits for the Girl's Long Jump, there are four girls with marks over 18 feet: