PHOTO CREDIT: KEVIN BOLANOS GONZALEZ
THE PODIUM WAS PACKED
Multiple athletes claimed multiple medals.
Start with this: Sophia Szolosi of Athens won the D3 800, the D3 1600, and the D3 3200 at her final state meet. She has been coming to Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium since her freshman year, when she placed second in the 3200. She won it as a sophomore. She won the 1600 and 3200 as a junior. This spring she came back and swept everything that was left, going 2:08.82, 4:48.45, and 10:17.47.
Azarae Hawkins of Mason did something similar in the sprints. She won the 100 at 11.61 into a headwind. She won the 200 at 23.98. She ran on the Mason 4x100 relay that won at 46.78. All gold, all in a single afternoon for a program that also finished second in the 4x400 at 3:49.63 - behind Pickerington North's winning 3:48.83. Hawkins leaves for Maryland in the fall. Ric'Keya White of New Albany was second in the 100 at 11.78 and then ran the hurdles, finishing second in the 100 hurdles at 13.25 and third in the 300 hurdles at 41.62. Aliyah Bennett of Gahanna Lincoln was second in the 200 at 24.33.
Hannah Jicha of Strongsville won the 1600 at 4:44.82. Then she ran the 800 and finished second at 2:10.94 -- 0.08 seconds behind Celia Schulte of Hilliard Davidson, who ran 2:10.86. Winning one and losing the other by eight hundredths is not a bad day. It is just the specific shape of what distance doubling looks like when both athletes are very good. Kaitlyn Reese of Avon was second in the 1600 at 4:51.38 and also ran the 3200, finishing fourth at 10:41.26 - one of the heavier workloads of the meet.
