What a fantastic meet! When all was said and done, 67 national elites, and 7 Ohio Leading marks (2 on the girls side and 5 from the guys) came out of the meet, according to OHRunners and MileSplit.
A look back on Day 1 Wayne Invitational
The hype of the meet was big from the beginning, and the results did not let us down. Sure, there was some wind and rain, slowing down some of the semi-final times, but the end result had some outstanding performances.
Distance Medley: 1200-400-800-1600
Mason girls were victorious, establishing a new meet record time of 12:57.46. Wayne was a surprising 2nd place, coming in at 13:13.55, edging GWOC rival Centerville, who went 13:14.57.
The boy’s race was exciting from start to finish. At first, Westerville North came across the line in 10:31.07, however, a disqualification allowed St. Xavier to finish first in 10:35.87, followed by Centerville (10:50.88), Mason (10:50.74) then Wayne 4th (11:05.60). Like Mason girls, St. Xavier establishes a new meet record.
100 meter hurdle semi-finals Girls
The weather was not kind to the girl hurdlers, which in turn affected some performances. Wind and rain was constant, but the girls battled and ran tough. Maria Rotello of Lebanon had the fastest qualifying time of 15.74, not bad considering the weather conditions. Taylor Reid of Mason was the second best qualifying time of 15.91.
110 meter hurdle semi-finals Boys
Dunbar’s Antonio Blanks had the fastest qualifying mark of 15.05. Only one athlete qualifying to the finals did not hit the 15 second barrier. Stivers Jashawn Combs (15.37), Dunbar’s Eric Blaire (15.18), Michael Jordan of Trotwood (15.44), Michael Melchor of Centerville (15.63), Aaron Johnson of Troy (15.64) and Trey Hammons-Scott of Wayne (15.99) should make for a must see final of Friday.
100 meter dash semi-finals Girls
Weather conditions were definitely the theme, and wind and rain affected the girls and their times. A very pedestrian 13.01 was the fastest qualifying mark, which came from Alexis Davis of Trotwood. The girls fought through the weather and a pretty good final is still in the cards. You’ll see along with Davis, Sarah Hunter of Mason, Ashton Payne of Northmont, Lynnsey Brim of Gahanna Lincoln, Justine Miller of Fairmont, Jade Kinney of Lebanon, Todda Norris of Troy and Corrine Melvin of Miami East.
100 meter dash semi-finals Boys
Northmont’s Jared Walker “walked the walk”, having the fastest 100 meter dash time going into the finals. Like all athletes fighting the weather conditions, Walker still went 11.30, followed by Mason’s Josh Dooley, Piqua’s Travis Nees, Wayne’ s Jordan Morgan, Troy’s Nick James, Middletown’s Edric Sellon, Mason’s Conner Noe and Trotwood’s Cameron Burrows. Some notables not making the finals; Kaleb Ringer of Northmont, Jason Baily of Springboro, Romello Crisp of Trotwood.
3200 Rising Stars
Gahanna Lincoln’s Colleen Hall ran an impressive 11:57.84, while Andy Bowyer of Middletown went 10:15.99 and Nick Whitmore of Mason went 10:39.24.
200 meter dash semi-finals Girls
The weather was starting to let up, and the times started to get faster. Even a rainbow shined its eyes down in Huber Heights for a bit. Mason’s Khara Walker has the fastest time qualified in 26.26, followed closely by Justine Miller of Fairmont (26.65). Johnson of Gahanna, Jade Kinney of Lebanon, Davis of Trotwood, Lee of Stivers, Callahan of Centerville and Woods of Wayne round out a promising 200 finals.
200 meter dash semi-finals Boys
The Antonio Blanks show again, as he has the fastest qualifying time of 22.06, followed by Lebanon’s Luke Norris 22.60, Walker and b of Northmont (22.78 and 22.84, respectively). Also qualifying were Brent Gray of Mt. Healthy, Sherman of St. X, Bourelle of Tipp City and Blaire of Dunbar. Notables not making the final; Nick James of Troy, Jordan Morgan of Wayne and Matt Morgann of Centerville.
Shuttle Hurdles
Gahanna Lincoln steals the show with a strong anchor leg, edging Mason (66.32 to 66.69) on the girl's side. In the boy’s competition, Dunbar continued its hurdle dominance, winning convincingly in 59.02, with Wayne edging Centerville for 2nd (60.47 to 60.54).
4x800 meter relay
What a way to end a great night of running, and boy did they not disappoint. The girl’s race was a 4 team show between Alter, Springboro, Lebanon and Mason; only 9 seconds separated these 4x800 powers. Alter showed their dominance and posted a 9:32.65, edging Springboro (nice late charge and anchor by Carly Hamilton) 9:36.94, Lebanon (9:40.10) and Mason (9:41.14)
The boy’s race was just as exciting. Westerville North repreived themselves from the distance medley disqualification by winning with a time of 8:04.02, edging St. Charles Prep (8:05.61) and St. Xavier (8:05.85). Wayne was 4th in 8:12.07, Lebanon was 5th in 8:12.58, Mason was 6th in 8:12.93, Centerville was 7th in 8:13.56 and Carroll was 8th in 8:13.91! Alter; who has not lost a 4x8 race this year was 9th in 8:19.54.
Field Events
The weather did affect some events, postponing some until Friday. The Girls HJ, Girls Discus, Boys rising star pole vault have been moved to Friday.
In the Long jump, DeVanne Mitchell overcame the weather elements, besting a good field and winning with a leap of 17-3.25, edging Sarah Hunter of Mason, who went 17-1.25.
Dunbar’s Roger Williamson leaped 22-4, edging Dennis Brown of Middletown (22-0.5).
The boy’s high jump had to deal with a slightly slick surface, but Brown of Middletown won, leaping 6-2 and beating Carroll’s Michael Nwanko, who also leaped 6-2, on misses.
The best leap coming out of the rising star girl’s pole vault was Sydney Kay of Centerville, who cleared 9-0, after a slight postponement and nasty wind and rain.
In the throws, the battle between Centerville’s Michael Bennett and Wayne’s Tyler Dukes continued. On Dukes' 2nd toss of the finals, Dukes took the lead with a toss of 56-2.25, but only enjoyed it until Bennett unleashed a 56-11.5 toss on the next throw to capture the title. In the girl’s shot put, CJ’s Tia Jones won the event in 37-1.5.
The boy’s discus sported Wayne’s Jared Harrison, who won the event, tossing 167-05, beating Bennett (157-04) of Centerville,
With day one complete, here’s what to look for in day 2.
A 1600 meter race that pits 10 athletes entered under 4:30, with Chadd Kiggins of Carroll, Jordan Redd of Fairborn, Chris Quinn of St. Charles Prep, Jacob Murkasic and Troy Kelleher of Hilliard Bradley, Ryan Weldon of Westerville North and Steve Weaver of Napoleon. It’s a must see event!
The girls wont’ be overshadowed in the 1600, as Carly Hamilton will attempt to defend her title, but watch for Tipp City’s Katie Landwehr,Carroll's Taylor O'Neil, Alter’s Olivea Albers, Mason’s Monica Lake, Lebanon’s Jacquelyn Crow and Oakwood's Maddie Maney. There are 14 girls entered in 5:28 or better.
The 3200 shouldn’t disappoint either, but the 800 will be a great battle, too many names to print, just show up and see it yourself.
I hope you come down to Huber Heights on Friday, April 29th for some great track and field action.
Day 2 recap
Great weather conditions made for a great night of track and field at Good Samaritan Athletic Fields at Heidkamp Stadium Friday night. When all was said and done, 67 national elites came out of the meet, according to milesplit.com.
Also, there were 6 meet records that were set, and in some events, the 2nd place finisher also broke the meet event record.
Here’s the recap:
Rising Stars 1600-
Lycia Hollon of Springboro (5:25.56) and Andy Harden of Vandalia (4:35.68) were the winners of the girls and boys races, respectively. The boy’s race had the top 8 times at 4:42 or better. These times, both girls and boys, would win most track invitationals. It was a nice race overall, as we had one heat of girls and two heats of boys. These up and coming athletes will no doubt shine in the future “ELITE” races here at Wayne.
100H/110H-
The favorite, Maria Rotello of Lebanon false started, which made it anyone’s race. Taylor Reid of Mason crossed the line first in 15.94, the only one breaking 16 seconds. A close fight for 2nd through 4th saw Chrishna Butler of Gahanna Lincoln (16.56) out lean Hannah Turpin of Lebanon (16.58), Catleyn Schmiedebusch of Troy (16.62) and Lindsey Thomas of Vandalia Butler (16.66).
The boy’s favorite, Antonio Blanks of Dunbar, led for the first 5 hurdles, then suddenly pulled up and did not finish the race. Stiver's Jashawn Combs cruised to victory, running 14.63, easily crushing the field. A distance second was Eric Blaire, Blanks teammate, at 15.19. Jerard Wilson of Stivers (15.27), Michael Melchor of Centerville (15.30), Trey Hammons-Scott of Wayne (15.61) and Aaron Johnson of Troy (15.64) rounded out the scoring.
100 Meter dash-
Sarah Hunter of Mason took the lead from the start, and never looked back. Hunter won with a solid 12.57, ahead of Lynnsey Brim of Gahanna Lincoln (12.72) and Alexis Davis of Trotwood (12.82).
The boy’s race saw Northmont’s Jared Walker distance himself from the field, going 10.92. A distant second was Middletown’s Edric Sellon (11.21) and Wayne’s Jordan Morgan (11.31). Cameron Burrows of Trotwood followed up with an 11.32, while Piqua’s Travis Nees was 5th in 11.38.
4x200 Relay –
Mason dominated from the start, winning easily in 1:42.25. Gahanna Lincoln was second in 1:44.99, Stivers was third in 1:45.31, followed by Centerville (1:47.86) and Wayne (1:47.93).
In the boys, Cincinnati Mt. Healthy let everyone know who they were, with a strong anchor leg from Brent Gray to pass up Dunbar’s anchor leg, en route to a new meet record time of 1:28.35. Dunbar’s 2nd place time of 1:28.73 also would’ve broken the meet record, which was 1:29.57 set by Middletown in 2006). Middletown was 3rd in 1:29.61, followed by Mason (1:31.35), Vandalia Butler (1:31.41), Wayne (1:31.52), Centerville (1:32.02) and Lebanon (1:32.95).
Elite 1600
Carly Hamilton of Springboro stole the show. Her time was 5:02.08, just four seconds off her own meet record of 4:58, was solid. She lead after the first lap and widened the lead with her smooth and effortless pace. She did pull Lebanon’s Jacquelyn Crow (5:05.44) to her personal best and a 2nd place finish. Right behind her was Tipp City’s Katie Landwehr (5:06.67), who was 3rd. Mason’s Monica Lake went 5:10.31 for 4th, followed by Olivia Albers of Alter (5:14.17) for 5th. 6th place was Taylor O'Niel of Carroll, who went 5:17.34. This heat lived up to the billing of the ELITE race, but if you think that was fast, read to what happened in the boys race.
The boy’s race saw the first three runners under 4:20, the next 4 runners under 4:26 and 8th place at 4:30! 4:30.85 only got you 9th (Antony Parnigoni of Turpin). The top 3 finishers were Carroll’s Chadd Kiggins (4:17.61), Napolean’s Steve Weaver (4:17.77) and Chris Quinn of St. Charles Prep (4:19.11). Kiggins outkicked Weaver in the last 75 meters for the win. The crowd watched in awe then clapped with approval when the times flashed on the scoreboard. Jordan Redd of Fairborn finish 4th in 4:21.07, while Andrew Bachman of St. Xavier was next at 4:25.15, Mason’s Tate Honaker was 6th in 4:26.03. Without a doubt this race was one of the true classic races ran at this meet in a while, and that’s saying a lot. Some of the runners who’ve won this event have been Scott See and Jeff See of Middletown, Ryan Logan of Wayne, Sam Borchers of Yellow Springs, Chad Balyo of Springboro (current meet record holder) and Danny Neff of Vandalia.
4x100 meter relay-
Mason girls dominated again, running an impressive 48.73, while Gahanna Lincoln went 49.82 for 2nd. Trotwood Madison followed up at 3rd, going 50.49, and host Wayne went 50.53 for 4th.
The boy’s race was a little closer. In fact, the first two places were separated by only .03 seconds. Trotwood edged Wayne, 43.19 to 43.22, followed next by Mt. Healthy (43.34), Dunbar (43.44), Mason (43.65), Centerville (43.71), Middletown (43.72) and St. Xavier (43.75).
400 meter-
I’ll start off by saying 61.90 only got you 13th place here! Jade Kinney of Lebanon won the event (58.06). Brittanie Rooths of Northmont was second in 59.63, followed by Kinney’s teammate Hannah Turpin (59.74). Last year’s winner, Kelsey McDonald of Oakwood was 4th in 59.89.
The boy’s race had a minor upset, as Brent Gray of Mt. Healthy shocked the field and beat Trotwood’s Julius Ruby, in a photo finish (49.02 to 49.05). St. Charles Prep’s Stevyn Spees was 3rd in 50.13, followed by Dunbar’s Ralphael Berry (50.68), Bellbrook’s Justin Yates (50.75) and Greenville’s Aaron LeCount (50.75).
300 Hurdles-
Maria Rotello got some redemption by crushing the field, en route to a 44.22 finish. Chelsea Welch of Centerville was a distant 2nd in 46.93.
Luke Norris of Lebanon broke Wayne’s Jason Hodges meet record of 37.90, going 37.47, beating the field by over 2 seconds. Dunbar’s Nicholas Lane was next, going 39.54, followed by Centerville’s Jon Overstreet (40.16), and JJ Dix of Lebanon (40.16).
800 meters-
The best races of the night! I’ll start off by saying in the girl’s race 2:29.30 placed 20th! 2:22.60 only got you 9th; I say that because those were my 2 athletes (Kiersten Hook and Cidni Latimer of Wayne). Carly Hamilton of Springboro stole the show once again, winning in 2:15.28 seconds, almost 3 seconds better than Hayley Stegemiller of Lebanon (2:18.31) and Katie Landwehr of Tipp City (2:18.75). Vandalia’s Marah Charbel was 4th in 2:20.49, followed by Alters’ Rebecca Esselstein (2:21.34), Mason’s Monica Lake (2:21.93), Lebanon’s Delaney Bolger (2:22.16), and Hanna French of Oakwood (2:22.20). It was one of the most exciting races of the night, until the boys came up on the track.
Like I started in the girl’s paragraph above, I’ll start with this, THE BEST RACE OF THE NIGHT! If you didn’t break 2 minutes, you didn’t place in the top 8. Chadd Kiggins looked to repeat as event champion, as well as trying to double after winning the 1600. Again, Steve Weaver of Napoleon was in the heat, along with Westerville North’s Jacob Dumford, Trey Quick of Northmont, Nicholas Milner of Trotwood, Ashton Hall of Wayne, Michael Ohiembor of Dunbar, Donnie Whyte of Miamisburg, and Tyler Masthay of Lebanon. Missing was Jordan Redd of Fairborn, however.
When all was said and done, Dumford of Westerville North finished in 1:54.47, outkicking Trey Quick of Northmont (1:55.20) and Weaver of Napoleon (1:56.84). Last year’s winner Kiggins finished 4th in 1:58.21, followed by Milner of Trotwood (1:59.09), Hall of Wayne (1:59.20), Ohiembor of Dunbar (1:59.21) an Masthay of Lebanon (1:59.96). 17th place was 2:02.84, by the way.
200 Meters-
Mason’s Khara Walker was victorious, running an impressive 25.41, edging Daniella Johnson of Gahanna Lincoln (25.66) and Alexis Davis of Trotwood (25.82).
Lebanon’s Luke Norris completed an impressive double. After setting a meet record in the 300 hurdles, Norris won the 200 dash in 21.94, beating Jared Walker of Northmont (22.06), who won the 100 dash earlier in the night. Brent Gray of Mt. Healthy (won the 400 earlier) was 3rd in 22.39.
3200 Meters ELITE-
Call it the Mahle show, as Rachel (11:23.67) and Alex (11:32.21) swept the ELITE race. The top 7 placers were all under 12 minutes.
The boy’s race saw a meet record time by Mason’s Matt Kincaid, who battled Westerville North’s Brian Hannaford all the way to the end, edging him 9:16.21 to 9:16.64. Both times crushed the meet record of Walter Luttrell of Dayton Christian, who went 9:24.98 in 2007. Chris Quinn finished 3rd again (like the 1600), running 9:31.93, while Jake Grabowski of St. Xavier was 4th in 9:33.58. Centerville’s Josh Steible was 5th in 9:37.95, followed by Jake Stephens of Bellbrook (9:38.54) and Jack Butler of St. Xavier (9:38.94). Some notables, freshman Jake Brumfield of Vandalia Butler was 9th in 9:46.27, while Anthony Parnigoni of Turpin was 11th in 9:54.42.
4x400 relay-
Lebanon girls nearly broke the 4 minute barrier, easily winning in 4:00.49. Stivers was a distant second in 4:04.30, followed by Wayne (4:04.83), Oakwood (4:05.65), Centerville (4:06.53) and Mason (4:07.09).
Dunbar, shuffling its relay, won the 4x400 relay for the boys, in 3:22.80. Lebanon was 2nd in 3:24.35, followed by Mason (3:26.20) and Wayne (3:26.30).
Pole Vault ELITE-
A Wayne High School sweep here, as Courtney Ballard won the girls competition, clearing a personal best of 11 feet, and beating last year’s Division 1 state champion in Mason’s Olivia Begesen (10-8) and Aireca Hetzler of Greenville (also 10-8).
Mike Shiverdecker of Wayne needed to clear 15 feet to win the event, and that he did. Miami East's Kyle Roeth cleared 14-6 to take 2nd place. Centerville’s Nick Hansford was 3rd with a leap of 14 feet. 13 feet was 8th and 9th this year. In fact in the last 4 years, it has taken 13 feet to make the top 8, and this year was no different.
High Jump Girls-
After postponement from Thursday, Mason’s Chelsea Shepherd won the event at 5-0, beating 4 others based on misses. There was a 6 way tie for 6th for the girls.
Girls Discus-
This event was also postponed until Friday. Lucy Sherman was victorious, tossing the discus 128-03 on her last throw to capture the win over Centerville's Erionna Bush.
Hammer throw –
Jackie Leppelmeier of McComb crushed the meet record, tossing 162-00 to win the event. Her sister Becca was 2nd in 120-07.
Mike Montavon of Centerville tossed 183-10 to edge Wayne’s Tyler Dukes (181-11) on the final throw. Duke’s teammate, Darien Thornton was 3rd in 164-01, just edging Montavon’s teammate Michael Bennett (163-11).
In summary, the 2 day Wayne Invitational saw some great performances. It was like watching the regional meet in April. You can see what teams and athletes can do when the weather is just right. In the girl’s team title run, Mason dominated the field, scoring and amazing 146 points, outdistancing Lebanon (98.5) and Wayne (61). In the boys competition, host Wayne held off GWOC rival Centerville 111 to 100.5, with Dunbar still managing a third place finish without Blanks (scoring 80.5).
Look for these teams to meet up again by their conference meet and beyond. I wish all teams’ good luck the rest of the year, see you in 2012.