On the first day of the OATCCC Indoor Finale, some of the state's best in Division 2/3 meet at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva for an exciting day of track and field action.
Chante Clinkscale from Niles McKinley had herself a day, winning the 60m and 200m dashes in dominating fashion. The University of Dayton commit holds the OH No.2 time in the 60m dash (7.53). Clinkscale finishes her indoor season on top and will look to conclude an overall stellar high school career with a big outdoor track campaign.
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Allison Johnson from Mount Gilead capped off her outstanding season with two victories as well, winning the 800m and 1600m races. In both races, Johnson held off Taylor Spencer from Waynesfield-Goshen, who took runner-up honors in each race. Johnson will look for her second outdoor state championship this spring. She was the 2019 Division 3 800m winner.
Mackenzie Hartman from Seven Hills raced towards her fourth 60m hurdles victory of the season. In addition to winning the 60m hurdle event, Hartman also ran two personal bests in the 60m and 200m dashes on Friday, which include a second place finish in the 60m and third place finish in the 200m. Hartman will look to qualify for her first ever outdoor state championship meet this spring, where she will be a favorite to win a hurdle event.
Juliette Laracuente from Marengo-Highland completed the triple crown in the jump events on Friday, winning the long jump, high jump, and triple jump. The sophomore, who also finished fourth in the 60m hurdles, will enter her first outdoor season this spring, searching for a state championship outdoors and will have the opportunity to do so in multiple events.
Kenna Stimmel from Margaretta won the pole vault event on Friday. Stimmel broke her own SPIRE Institute record for high school athletes with a 13-6 effort and will return to the facility for one more season next year. She concluded her day with a solid attempt at 14-10.25.
Daesean Evans from Glenville won the 200m and 400m dash events at the Indoor Finale. Evans raced to two new personal bests, running a 22.36 and 49.18, respectively. Evans will return to the outdoor track for the first time since 2018 this spring, searching for his first state championship.
2020 OHSAA Division 2 cross country state champion Ryan Champa from Woodridge pulled out the nail biter finish in the 1600m, edging out Will Garey from Watterson by .05 of a second. Champa crossed the line, running a new personal best of 4:23.87. Garey also competed in the 800m on tired legs and still managed to finish an impressive third behind Josh Shope from McDermott-Northwest, who ran a 2:00.98.
Javin Richards from Perry had a busy day on Friday, competing in five events, and winning two of them: the 60m hurdles and pole vault. Richards edged out Ayden Bath from Vermilion by .01 of a second in the 60m hurdles, while also collecting the pole vault victory with a 14-06 showing. Richards also finished fourth in the 60m dash, eighth in the 200m dash, and ninth in the high jump.
The boys 4x800m relay race came down to the anchor legs between Beachwood and McDermott-Northwest. McDermott-Northwest's anchor Landen Smith closed the gap in the final 800m, running an unofficial 1:58 split, but it was not enough to catch Jack McPhillips of Beachwood. McPhillips, the runner-up in the 800m open event, would close it out for his team, running a OH No. 6 4x800m relay time.
