(Xavier Preston shown at New Balance Nationals Outdoor ~ image courtesy of Joe Swift)
Ohioans who were seeking opportunities to extend their outdoor track and field seasons had no shortage of choices to capitalize on this past weekend with national level meets taking place across the country, namely in Greensboro, Philadelphia and Eugene.
The various Championships offered something for everyone, whether it be within the confines of elite, invite-only competition, rising stars contests or the freshman classification.
There was significant representation from the state's own, particularly in Philly and North Carolina, and some, as well, in Oregon despite the long trek out to the Pacific Northwest.
Review below and on the following pages how Ohio's top performers fared.
* Note: School names are referenced for familiarity purposes, but to clarify athletes and teams were competing under track and field club or unattached designations only.
New Balance Nationals Outdoor
Girls 4xMile Relay Championship: Lining-up as the Racin' Aces, the team from Granville clocked 21.19.20 to secure the number four spot, comfortably ahead of Haddonfield (NJ) B-Team (21:37.83) and narrowly behind that squad's A-roster (21:10.42).
Boys 5000m Championship: Beavercreek's Keegan Souhan produced a 15:00.53 mark on his way to crossing the line in 9th place overall.
Boys 4xMile Relay Championship and Boys Distance Medley Relay Championship: The OHSAA Division II state title winning team in the 4x800 from Marlington continued their relay success at New Balance. The Dukes took 4th and 6th, respectively, in the 4xMile and DMR with marks of 17:29.25 and 10:12.91.
Girls Distance Medley Relay Championship: Olmsted Falls placed 4th out of fourteen teams competing. The Bulldogs recorded a time of 12:07.04 to hold off Ridgefield (CT), who claimed 5th in 12:08.36. The nationally renown Purple Track Club from Ann Arbor, MI went 11:42.78 for top podium spot.
Girls 2 Mile Rising Stars: Bella Graham was one of three competitors to run under the 11-minute standard. The rising senior from Marlington posted a 10:59.76 mark for third place.
Girls High Jump Freshman Division: Chayla Rankin, representing the Ohio Speed Academy, successfully cleared 5-01.75 to capture 3rd overall.
Boys 800m Championship: Sharing the track in Section 4 with Cade Flatt during his national record attempt, United's Kaleb Nastari more than held his own with a 1:53.46 mark. The OHSAA Division III state champion placed 11th overall with all sections combined.
Boys 2 Mile Championship: Connor Ackley placed just outside the top 10 with a 9:03.67 clocking. The rising senior from Hilliard Davidson landed the 11th spot with his effort. Not far behind in 14th was Georgetown recruit Luke Ondracek with his 9:10.74 mark.
Boys Discus Championship: The Morlock duo from Norwayne earned 5th and 11th place honors with Colby tossing 184-08 and Dillon launching his series' best throw of 175-05.
Boys 2 Mile Rising Stars: Complementing his relay hardware, Marlington's Nash Minor took 9th in his individual effort with a 9:31.16 run.
Boys Discus Rising Stars: Contributing to the strong showing at the meet by Ohio's throwers was Oliver Mayer (Woodridge), who produced a 159-01 mark for fourth overall.
Girls 4x100m Championship, Girls 4x200m Relay Championship and Girls 800m Sprint Medley Relay: Twinsburg pocketed 8th overall in the 4x100 with a 49.30 mark and placed 9th in the 4x200 following their 1:43.04 performance. The Tigers success continued in the 800m SMR as they went 1:48.62 for sixth place.
Girls 4x800m Championship: Westlake finished 9th overall with their 9:20.93 finish time.
Girls Hammer Throw Championship: A pair of Ohioans netted top 8 placements. Centerville's McKenna Thompson secured 4th with a 148-04 mark and Peyton Wilson (Lancaster) claimed 8th with her 139-11 showing.
Girls 400m Rising Stars: Ady Armstrong earned the bronze medal following her 56.97 effort. Armstrong ran on behalf of the Ohio Speed Academy.
Boys 100m Championship: OHSAA Division I champion, and all-time state record holder, Troy Lane ran a wind-aided 10.25 (+5.4) for 3rd overall in the finals. The Pickerington Central rising senior comfortably advanced through the preliminary and semi-final rounds with 10.60 and 10.52 marks.
Boys Long Jump Rising Stars: Emmanuel Asabere Jr., Ohio Speed Academy, earned the event title with a leap of 23-04.
Girls 1600m Sprint Medley Relay Championship: Stow went 4:17.79 to earn a top 10 finish.
Boys 4x200m Relay Championship: Reynoldsburg made it two Ohio squads finishing in the top 5. The Raiders finished 4th in 1:27.05.
Girls 100m Hurdles Championship: OHSAA Division I state champion, and state record-holder, Camden Bentley took the number six spot with her time of 14.05 in the finals. The soon-to-be senior from Gahanna Lincoln advanced through the rounds decisively with 13.87 and 13.57 marks in the prelims and semi-finals.
Boys 4x100m Relay Championship: OHSAA Division II state titlists Hawken secured runner-up honors with their 41.71 outing. The DII state record-holders punched the finals round ticket due to a 41.80 mark in the prelims.
Girls High Jump Rising Stars: Jaden Carey, based out of the Huron program, had a successful clearance of 5-2.5 to place sixth.
Boys Long Jump Championship: Recent Hilliard Darby grad Alex Smith, who was repping the Ohio Speed Academy at New Balance, leaped 25-3.25 (7.71m) on the fourth jump of his series to solidify a runner-up placement. Smith had quite an overall showing at New Balance Nationals in 2022. He was the national indoor champion at the Armory back in March.
Boys 4x100m Rising Stars: Ohio Speed Academy finished fourth in 43.34. They made their way to the finals by virtue of a 43.13 mark, good for second overall in the preliminary round.
Stow Track Club Boys Relays: The squad from Stow put on a clinic in Philly capturing meet titles in the 4x400 and 800m Sprint Medley with 3:15.78 and 1:32.38 marks. They complemented those gold medal efforts with a silver in the 4x200 (1:26.40) and a 6th place finish in the 1600m Sprint Medley (3:31.61).
Boys 800m Sprint Medley Relay Championship: Not far behind the aforementioned Stow was another Northeast Ohio grouping. The Twinsburg Tigers took 3rd overall in 1:33.33.
Girls 1 Mile Championship: A pair of Ohioans crossed the line among the top finishers. OHSAA Division II 1600m state champion Elizabeth Whaley (Indian Hill) was 2nd in 4:43.49 while OHSAA Division I 3200m state champion Katie Clute (Olmsted Falls) was 6th in 4:46.57.
Boys High Jump Championship: Ohioans occupied the numbers 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 11 spots, respectively, with Reign Winston (6-8), Sean Kaminski (6-8), Ayden Bath (6-8), Joel Addo (6-4.75), Teddy Perozek (6-4.75) and Sopuluchi Poe (6-4.75).
Meet Coverage
Results I Content