Braxton Barnett won the 300m hurdles in 37.32 at the OHSAA Division 3 State Championships last June. On Apr 24 at the Indian Valley Bell Legacy Invitational, he went even quicker: 36.90. The Shenandoah senior is faster now than he was the day he took the state title.

This April he has been chipping away meet by meet - 38.36 at the Joe Kasper Memorial Invitational on Apr 4, 39.55 at the MOVL Championship on Apr 14, then 36.90 at Indian Valley on Apr 24. He also ran 14.31 in the 110mH at that same meet and went 49.98 in the flat 400m at the Harrison Central Invitational a week earlier. The 300mH is Barnett's primary event, but everything else fills out the picture of a senior who competes in whatever is on the schedule.

The Ohio board behind him is deep. Keng Martin of Wayne sits second at 37.57 from the Stingel Invite on Apr 11. Miles King of Olentangy Berlin ran 37.79 at the Berlin Invitational on Apr 10 to currently rank third. Cole Taylor of Solon has run 37.81, while Wyatt Augsburger of Oak Harbor is fifth at 37.99 and Dekin Crockett of Clyde sixth at 38.17. Austin Browning of Buckeye Valley ran 38.20 at the Kallner Invitational on Apr 25 to rank seventh at the moment and Elijah Heitkamp is eighth at 38.24 from late March.

Nationally, Andrew Jones of Klein Collins in Texas leads the country at 34.72 - the national record, set Apr 17. Barnett at 36.90 sits 19th in this national conversation. Rylan Hainje of Franklin Central in Indiana ran 35.64 for a current second place ranking in the country. Joshua Hamblin of Weber in Utah is third at 35.92. John Harden of Bridgeland in Texas is fourth at 36.02. Amari Scott of Southwest Dekalb in Georgia ran 36.09 to rank fifth.