High school track and field Division II regional preview

DIVISION II REGIONAL TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Where: Austintown-Fitch High School, 4560 Falcon Drive, Youngstown, OH 44515.

When: May 23 (field events 5 p.m., running events 6:30 p.m.) and May 25 (field events 11 a.m., running events
12:30 p.m.).

Who: The top four finishers in each event from the Cortland Lakeview, Orrville, Perry and Salem district meets.

The goal: The top four finishers in each event qualify for the state meet at Dayton’s Welcome Stadium May 30-June 1.

What to look for: Last year, the two Division II state championship teams came from this region, as Glenville’s boys won
their record 18th title, and the Woodridge girls won their first. This year could be a repeat, as the region is as strong as
ever, but on the boys side there are more teams in contention, as the Tarblooders are young and appear somewhat
vulnerable.

Glenville’s chances of repeating took a huge hit when sprinter Bryce West decided to graduate early and enroll at Ohio
State in January in order to start his football career. Led by Micquan Gravely, the Tarblooders still won the Perry district
and have very strong relays as always and a very good long jumper in freshman London Hearn. But is there enough to
win their third state crown in a row and 19th overall? Streetsboro sprinter Garrett Tiller could be a thorn in the side of
Glenville, as he has the fastest qualifying times in both the 100 and 200.

The other boys district winners were Woodridge, Alliance Marlington and Bay, which won its first district crown in 13
years. The Rockets have an excellent balance of sprinters and distance runners and are expected to load up their relays
with the goal of getting all four to Dayton, certainly a possibility.

Sophomore Jayden Perrine combines with seniors Liam O’Leary, Jack Krueger, Brendan Spellman, Charles Rice and Jace
Knapp to give Bay coach George Curran lots of options in the relays. Senior William Dunstan is one of the top 800
runners in the region and is backed by juniors Michael Hanselman (3,200) and Connor Spellman (1,600 and 3,200) and
sophomore Kieran Ripley (1,600).

Woodridge scored an eye-opening 184 points at the Lakeview district meet, taking the top two places in the 800, 1,600
and 3,200. None of the times were outstanding, but this is a program that always rises to the occasion and is expected to
do so again this week. The Bulldogs will also be competing in all four relays and have a standout hurdler in sophomore
Connor Hons.

Marlington has its usual array of distance runners, but this year the Dukes also look strong in all four relays as well as the
throws and the long jump. In other words, this meet should be as competitive as ever and could come down to the final
event. Buckle up, track and field fans.

There are several area boys who could find themselves competing in Dayton next week. Fairview’s Tyson Crandall has
been on the podium in the 800 in each of the past two years and this year he was the indoor state champion in the same
event. Brookside’s Lincoln Barnhart placed eighth in the state in the long jump last year and has qualified in the long
jump, high jump and sprint relays. Keystone’s 4×400 relay was third in the state last year and return Logan Nagle and
Zach Shackelford on its district winning squad.

Other standout boys to watch include Perry’s Brayden Richards, the defending state champion in the 300 hurdles and
one of the top pole vaulters in the state, and Marlington’s Colin Cernansky, who has won several state titles in both
track and cross country and will be competing in the 4×800, 1,600 and 3,200.

Among the girls, the four district winners were Firelands, Gilmour Academy, Woodridge and Salem, and all four scored a
similar number of points, between 120 and 132. The Falcons were led by junior Ariannah Floyd and sophomore Audrey
Smith. Floyd had a breakthrough race in winning the low hurdles in 44.14, and Smith won the 400 in 60.47. The two also
ran on their team’s winning 4×200 and 4×400 relays.

Gilmour has an impressive combination of sprinters to go with distance runner Amy Weybrecht. The Lancers were
pushed at Perry by Beachwood, which also could be in the hunt led by sprinter/long jumper Dakota Houston.

In the postseason, with each passing week it takes fewer points to win a team title, and a team to watch this week is
Akron Buchtel. With a deep squad of young sprinters, the Griffins placed third at Salem with 103 points and have very
strong sprint relays, including a 4×200 squad that ran 1:39.75 in the preliminaries at Salem. The 4×100 could be
especially entertaining, as Niles McKinley ran 48.74 last week, just ahead of Girard at 48.84. Buchtel ran 48.78 in their
preliminaries.

Woodridge isn’t as well-rounded as last year’s state title team, but the Bulldogs boast Bowling Green signee Reese
Reaman, who won the state cross country title in the fall and will be competing in the 800 and 1,600 as well as the 4×800
and 4×400 relays. Salem also is strong in the distance events and has an excellent thrower as well.

Among area girls, Brookside’s Zuriah Radeff Koonce will certainly be prominent, as she came away with four first-place
finishes at Orrville, winning the 100, long jump and shot put and anchored the winning 4×100 relay. Firelands freshman
Teaghan Jasinski was a surprise winner in the high jump, edging Aubrey Cindia of Keystone, who placed in a tie for sixth
in the state last year. Brookside’s Avery Davis also could move on in the hurdles, especially the lows.

Elyria Catholic had an exceptional district performance, placing second behind Firelands. The Panthers scored across the
board and had two district champions in Gracie Jones in the 800 and also the 4×800 relay. It will be interesting to see
how the young team fares as they step up to the regional level.

DIVISION II REGIONAL TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Where: Lexington High School, 103 Clever Lane, Lexington, OH 44904.

When: May 23 (field events 4 p.m., running events 5:30 p.m.) and May 25 (field events 11 a.m., running events
12:30 p.m.).

Who: The top four finishers in each event from the Oak Harbor, Ontario, Westerville South 1 and Westerville South 2
district meets for boys and from the Bedford, Oak Harbor, Ontario and Westerville South district meets for girls.

The goal: The top four finishers in each event qualify for the state meet at Dayton’s Welcome Stadium May 30-June 1.

What to look for: Vermilion is the lone area participant in this meet, and the Sailors will be competing in nine events, six
for the boys and three for the girls. The Sailors had one district champion in shot putter Meagan Rini, who had a
breakthrough performance by getting over 40 feet with a toss of 40-6½. Rini also qualified in the discus, placing second
with a toss of 127-3, and she will be joined by hurdler Camrin Lowder, who took fourth in the highs.

With a lineup filled with underclassmen, the Vermilion boys took four fourths and two thirds in their district meet. Collin
Angney was third in the 400, while Brady Parker was fourth in the 100 as was Aaron Mathis in the long jump. The Sailors
also will be competing in the 4×200, 4×400 and 4×800 relays.