Another winter melted means another spring blooms; and with that, the OHSAA Outdoor Track and Field season kicks off in a few days.
With countless athletes just fresh off of the various indoor track and field national championships, there were a few Ohio underclassmen who represented well on the big stage the last two weeks. Two of those being Thomas Lodowski (University School 2027) and Ally Brediger (Avon 2028).
Starting with Thomas Lodowski, the sophomore from University School has been finding his place in the middle-distance scene following a steadily progressing breakout season during the winter, especially with what may be his forte, the 800m. When looking back at Lodowski's personal best in the event from last winter and spring up until now, he has dropped almost 25 seconds since his debut of 2:19.31 debut and now a notable 1:55.46 that he clocked at New Balance National Indoors two weeks ago. This settled him at OH #8 overall and US #8 for sophomores.
However, he has been showing his range on both ends of the discipline, with holding solid personal bests in the 400m and 1600m as well.
Moving onto Ally Brediger, she highlighted #TeamOhio at the adidas Track Nationals last weekend with an impressive triple crown win in the freshman sections of the 60m, 200m, and 400m. Notably, Brediger also matched Abby Steiner (Dub. Coffman 2018)'s Ohio freshman class record in the 60m with her performance of 6.55 in the 60m Dash during the preliminary rounds of the event.
Despite only being a freshman, she already has a solid portfolio in the sprint events from middle school that would've competed with the high schoolers at the time. For context, coming into this outdoor season, the only event she still holds a personal best from the outdoor circuit is the 100m due to it not being an indoor event. She has already bested her 200m and 400m this winter, running times of 24.59 and 57.84.
Overall, both of these athletes will be promising underclassmen to look out for as we head not just into opening weekend, but also throughout this spring season.