Recap: OHSAA Outdoor State Championships

David Nguyen



Division 1


Leaving A Mark (Camden Bentley)



Solidifying herself as one, if not the greatest hurdler in the state's history, Bentley closed out her Ohio high school campaign with the hurdle crown, winning both the 100mH and 300mH.

In the prelims of the 100mH, the University of Kentucky signee kicked off the home stretch races with a scorching wind-legal 13.27, which broke the all-division state record in the event, with the previous record also set by her at OHSAA Division 1 Region 3 - Pickerington North of 13.31.

The following day, not to be deterred by the recorded headwind combined with the weather delays, she showed her consistency and left her mark in the event with another scorching time of 13.34.

To top it off, if we were to combine all performances in Ohio history in the event, including all-condition, she would own every single spot from 1-9.

With the 300m Hurdles, she greatly improved upon her winning mark of 42.82 from last year, with a 42.41 in this year's prelims followed by a huge jump with a 42.02 in the finals, just shy of her personal best of 42.00 from OHSAA Division 1 Region 3 - Pickerington.

As it stands now, she is currently US #5 in the 100mH, and US #20 in the 300mH; and with national competitions coming up, we could likely see her pull off something special up against many of the other bests in the country.

To The Top (Maira Scott)


Many of us knew who she was, but surely all of us do now.

The Holland Springfield junior had possibly one of the biggest breakout seasons in terms individual performance, which in turn, resulted in an undefeated season in the sprint triple (100m/200m/400m), two state titles with the 100m/200m Dash, and two spots on the Ohio All-Times list.

In both the prelims and the finals of the 100m Dash, while tenths and hundredths of a second play a huge part in short sprints, we witnessed something that not many people may have expected, and that was Abby Steiner's legendary 100m Dash record of 11.38 getting grazed by Scott's blistering 11.41 clock. She then did it again the day after with an 11.42 performance in the finals, both of which were over a .20 second improvement upon her previous best of 11.66 at OHSAA Division 1 Region 2 - Amherst.

Later on, during the 200m, she set the standard on Day 1 with a time of 23.43w, then came back to seal the deal in the finals with what is now also an OH #2 All-Time in the event, 23.20, moving her up just ahead of Caisja Chandler's 23.24 from the Outdoor State Championships back in 2018.


Double Duties (Katie Clute, Connor Ackley)



If there are two names that have taken over the distance world this year, it would single handedly be Katie Clute and Connor Ackley. Lining up to race events within an hour of each other after the rain delay did not faze either of them. They both took the double title in the 1600m and 3200m this past weekend. Alongside this, both won the cross country championships this past fall, asserting their distance dominance.

Katie Clute ran two outdoor PRs, clocking in 4:45.89 and 10:18.50. These were also both OH #1 rankings this season. To say that she had a great high school career is an understatement. She will continue running at the University of Oregon next year which will be very exciting to watch. 

Ackley surged to great marks of 4:07.10 and 9:05.50. For him, this was a PR in the 1600m and a near PR in the 3200m. He also holds OH #1 times in both events this season. His 3200m personal best came earlier this season at the Wayne Invitational when he challenged the 9 flat mark, running 9:01.84. It is safe to say that Syracuse University will be getting a good one next year as Ackley continues his running career.


Close Call (Jaxson Eckert, Colton Thress)

In what was easily the closest race of the state meet, we saw an attempt at a strategy that nearly changed the results of the race, and ended in the race being decided by 2 thousandths of a second, with Jaxson Eckert taking the win after leading from gun to tape with a 1:50.973, while Colton Thress had a valiant effort in the final seconds of the race, moving up 4 places and nearly snatching the win from him with a 1:50.975

Although, beyond this we also have to admire Calvin Kilgallon's efforts, who moved up a whopping 9 spots in the final lap for third place. With this, he is also the fastest non-graduate so it will be interesting to see what he can pull off next year.


Deciding Factor (Beavercreek, St. John's Jesuit 4x400m)


The 4x400m remains to be one of the most exciting races to watch in all of track and field, and this specific one showed us why, as we got one heck of a finish to the OHSAA Outdoor State Championships with this nail-biter of a race.

Even during the early portions of the relay till the finish, there was constantly a close battle between Tol. St. John's Jesuit and Beavercreek for that lead spot, as they kept switching back and forth every couple seconds. Although on the third leg, Beavercreek had taken quite a substantial lead, and it seemed like all was set and done. However, a monster anchor leg from Joseph Taylor of Tol. St John's Jesuit completely changed the course of the race, where he ended up closing the gap in the last 50 meters, just enough to get ahead and decide the final event of the day.

This also sealed the team state title for Tol. St. John's Jesuit, as those 10 points were crucial to moving ahead of Pickerington Central.


Hurdling to Glory (Jayden Douglas)

Another hurdle crown was achieved by Jayden Douglas this weekend as he took victory in the 110mH and 300mH. He came close last year with a 1st place finish in the 300mH and a 5th place finish in a tight 110mH field.

In the 110m prelim, Douglas placed second to Malachi Snow. This set the stage for the finals in this event as there would be a clear competition for the title. The final could not have been much closer as they were separated by 0.03 of a second with Douglas running 13.78 and Snow following with 13.81. 

This was a bit of a different story in the 300m prelim as Douglas won by over half a second. It proved to be a very similar story in the finals, with Douglas surging to a win that would be 0.76 seconds. This mark was his second fastest of the season with a time of 36.46.

His overall progression this season led to OH #1 marks in both hurdle events. These best times were both run at OHSAA Division 1 Region 3 - Pickerington with 13.48w and 35.31.

Jayden Douglas will immediately make an impact next year as he will continue hurdling at Texas Christian University.