The Ohio high school outdoor track and field season culminated this weekend with electric competition displayed at Jesse Owens Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus.
Review below a collection of the many highlights from the OHSAA State Championships.
Meet Coverage
DI Results I DII Results I DIII Results
DI Photos I DII Photos I DIII Photos
Division 1
The highlights of the OHSAA Division 1 state meet consisted of some jaw-dropping marks that speak to the true nature of track and field in Ohio.
After running an already-impressive 13.45 in the preliminaries of the 100m hurdles, Camden Bentley knew that wasn't enough.
In the finals, Bentley ran an astounding, US #1 mark in the 100m hurdles, crossing the finish line in 13.25. However, with the wind reading at +3.3, the mark was unfortunately wind-aided. Regardless, whichever way you look at it, 13.25 is an unreal mark in that event.
That wasn't quite enough either, as she came back to win the 300m hurdles in 42.82; another great mark for the Gahanna Lincoln star.
Troy Lane threw down this weekend, ultimately earning titles in the 200m, running 21.09, as well as the 4x100m relay with his Pickerington Central teammates.
However, it was the 100m final where Lane truly shined, running a remarkable 10.25 to blast down the existing Division 1 state record, making it his own.
Nick Plant knew how to put on a show this weekend, throwing down an unreal 1:48.65 to reset the Division 1 state record and earning him a decisive state championship. That mark currently sits him at US #3.
Plant's future Virginia Tech teammate, Ryan Chevalier, ran nearly a four-second PR in the 1600m, as his 4:07.70 earned him the state championship over Connor Ackley, who was second in 4:10.67.
Morgan Monesmith of Hathaway Brown earned two strong wins in the distance races, running 4:53.90 in the 1600m and 2:09.09 in the 800m- both wins were decisive, creating strong gaps over the field by the race's completion.
Azariyah Bryant came home with the short sprints double, winning both the 100m and 200m in 11.60 and 23.94, respectively.
Madelyn Moretti of Madison was the double winner in the throws events, throwing 134-08 in the discus to win by six feet and threw 44-06.25 in the shot put to win by nearly two feet.
Division 2
A handful of Division 2 state records fell in this electric weekend of competition, along with seeing many double, or even triple winners in individual events.
Not many people can say they set not one, but two state records in one weekend. Kya Epps, however, is one of those few people, as she set state records in both the 100m, as well as 200m in obliterating the field.
Her marks of 11.57 in the 100m and 23.81 in the 200m will definitely be challenging to beat in the future, leaving her a strong legacy on the Division 2 level.
Finding herself in strong battles over the middle distances, Elizabeth Whaley of Indian Hill set a new Division 2 state record in the 1600m, running 4:43.31. She was also in a heated 800m field, as she took second in that event with a 2:08.62.
There aren't too many state meets out there where you could run 2:08 and finish second, let alone not even being in the top Division!
The winner of that girls' 800m, Alexa Fortman, took the other side of the middle distances, running the 800m in 2:08.60 and the 400m in 55.74 to bring home two state championships. The Ottawa-Glandorf star is only a junior, so state records in these events could certainly be in question in the future.
In the 4x100m relay, Hawken bettered their own Division 2 state record in this event, running 41.66 in the finals to topple the competition by a hefty margin.
Ryne Shackelford was the lone triple winner in individual events in Division 2, taking home state championships in the 100m, running 10.62; the 200m, running 21.31; and the long jump with a mark of 24-01.50. His efforts were huge for Keystone, as they notched a runner-up performance in the team standings, scoring 35 points.
In the throws, both Josiah Cox on the boys' side and Morgan Hallett on the girls' side completed the shot put/discus double, each winning both evens for their respective genders.
Cox threw 60-01.50 in the shot put, only winning by half a foot, while in the discus, he threw 176-11 to win by nearly ten feet.
Hallett threw 46-07 in the shot put to give her a two-and-a-half foot margin of victory, while in the discus, she 156-04 to win by less than two feet.
In the boys' pole vault, David Adams of Indian Valley won a highly competitive battle, clearing 16-02 to ultimately win the state title. Javin Richards of Perry was not far behind, clearing 15-10 to finish as runner-up.
Division 3
The biggest highlight of the OHSAA State Championships came from Division 3, as showcased by an NFHS national record.
Bringing her best to the state championship, Kenna Stimmel soared to new heights in the pole vault, literally, as she set the NFHS national record in the event, clearing 14-6.25 to ultimately set a new PR, as well as bringing home a state championship.
Not to mention, she also finished 2nd in a very tight 100m final, running 12.10 to finish just behind event winner Kiersten Franklin's 12.05, and also finished 5th in the 100m hurdles, running 15.09.
The winner of that 100m hurdles final, Katie Ruffener, had already broken the D3 state record in the preliminaries, running 13.87, but went out with a bang in the finals, running 13.71 to bring the record down even further.
Rueffner had a very busy weekend as well, as she also won the 300m hurdles in 43.06, took 3rd in the 100m final in 12.32, and placed 4th in the long jump with a 17-08.25 mark. She earned a total 31 team points for Colonel Crawford over the course of the weekend.
In the throwing events, the Morlock brothers from Norwayne were simply unstoppable, as senior Colby took 1st in the shot put and 2nd in the discus, while sophomore Dillon took 1st in the discus and 2nd in the shot put. All said and done, the Morlocks earned 36 crucial team points for Norwayne, which put the team in 1st by a hefty margin after the first day of competition.
Kaleb Nastari of United made light work of the D3 state record in the 800m, as he soloed a 1:49.56 to win the event by nearly four seconds over the field.
In taking on the sprints triple of the 100m/200m/400m, Sherron Jones of Hopewell-Loudon proved his ability to perform on a high level when it counts, across six individual races over prelims and finals. He ultimately wound up with three state championships, winning the 100m in 10.93, the 200m in 21.63, and the 400m in 47.97.
The distance races were all in the name of Brady Yingst, as he brought home the 1600m/3200m double in simple fashion. His 4:10.74 in the 1600m won that race by nearly eight seconds, while his 9:14.46 in the 3200m won by nearly seven seconds, giving him some large margins of victory in destroying the competition.