PHOTO CREDIT: KATERI SHERMAN
Ohio's Class of 2028 Comes out Strong to Start the Season
Cunningham, Salsburey, Mechenbier, and Bove are top of their class
The 2026 outdoor season is just getting started in Ohio, and four sophomores wasted no time hitting the ground running... and in one case, throwing. Tyriq Cunningham, Oscar Salsburey, Emily Mechenbier, and Dalana Bove all opened their seasons with the best performances of their careers to date and moved to the top of the Ohio sophomore leaderboards in the process.
BOYS
Cunningham ran 11.08 to win the 100m at the Chieftain MS & HS Open on Mar. 28, a PR that leads all Ohio sophomores in the event. His 2025 outdoor best was 11.46, but he hinted that this jump was coming indoors, where he ran 6.75 in the 55m at the Southeast District Indoor Track and Field Championships on Feb. 22 and 7.08 in the 60m in late January. (He also ran 23.54 in the 200m indoors. His competitive history goes back to middle school, where he ran 12.53 in the 100m in 2024 and 12.63 in 2023.)
Salsburey ran 15.41 in the 110m hurdles to win the Ottawa-Glandorf Tri on Mar. 30, a PR that leads all Ohio sophomores in the event. His 2025 best was 16.20, and in 2024 he ran 18.55. He also cleared 6-0 in the high jump at the same meet, another PR.
GIRLS
Mechenbier threw a PR of 132-1 in the discus and 44-5 in the shot put to win both events at the Strongsville Elite Meet on Mar. 28. Her 132-1 leads all Ohio sophomores in the discus. Her 2025 outdoor discus best was 122-6. In the shot put she comes in as the reigning OHSAA Division 2 state champion, having won last June with a toss of 45-6.50. Indoors this season she threw 44-4.50 at the SPIRE High School Indoor Games on Feb. 15 and 43-11 to win the OATCCC D3 Indoor State Meet on Mar. 7.
Bove went 47.51 in the 300m hurdles to win the Indian Creek Invitational on Mar. 28, and now leads all Ohio sophomores in an event she had never contested before. She also ran 12.69 in the 100m at the same meet, a PR. Indoors this season she ran 8.07 in the 60m prelims at adidas Track Nationals on Mar. 20, having dropped from 8.37 to open the indoor season down to 8.07 by the end of it.
PHOTO CREDIT: KATERI SHERMAN
Ohio's Class of 2028 Comes out Strong to Start the Season
Cunningham, Salsburey, Mechenbier, and Bove are top of their class
The 2026 outdoor season is just getting started in Ohio, and four sophomores wasted no time hitting the ground running... and in one case, throwing. Tyriq Cunningham, Oscar Salsburey, Emily Mechenbier, and Dalana Bove all opened their seasons with the best performances of their careers to date and moved to the top of the Ohio sophomore leaderboards in the process.
BOYS
Cunningham ran 11.08 to win the 100m at the Chieftain MS & HS Open on Mar. 28, a PR that leads all Ohio sophomores in the event. His 2025 outdoor best was 11.46, but he hinted that this jump was coming indoors, where he ran 6.75 in the 55m at the Southeast District Indoor Track and Field Championships on Feb. 22 and 7.08 in the 60m in late January. (He also ran 23.54 in the 200m indoors. His competitive history goes back to middle school, where he ran 12.53 in the 100m in 2024 and 12.63 in 2023.)
