Boys Track & Field | Waynedale senior JJ Varner sets school record in 1,600 meters

DOYLESTOWN — As JJ Varner crossed the finish line in the boys 1,600 meters Saturday at the Wayne County Athletic League Championships, he had no clue what he just did.

Sure, the Waynedale senior knew he had won the race by nearly 20 full seconds, but little did he know that he just made history.

Varner clocked a school-record time of 4 minutes, 25.83 seconds — one of three individual wins for the day and four total for the two-day meet — to highlight a strong day for area athletes at sun-splashed Doylestown Memorial Stadium.

“I was pretty surprised,” said Varner, a returning All-Ohioan. “Sometimes you feel good, but then you'll run bad, and then somedays you will feel terrible and run good.

“It's awesome for the last time [running in this meet] ... it was fun.”

Varner, who was a part of the Golden Bears’ winning 4x800-meter relay on Friday, followed that up with an impressive three-for-three Saturday as he picked up victories in the 1,600, 800 and 3,200.

The win in the mile, however, was the highlight as Varner was able to beat the 21-year-old Waynedale record by 0.07 seconds. John Rice registered a 4:25.90 in 2001, a mark that Varner has had on his mind for a long time.

It was the perfect start to Varner's day that included a finish of 2:02.22 in the 800 as he pulled away from Dalton’s Lucas Oswald (2:05.40) and Chippewa’s Stephan Laubli (2:05.63). Varner then recorded a wire-to-wire win in the 3,200 as he crossed in 10:19.10.

“That was my goal heading into the [1,600] race,” said Varner, who will be running for Cedarville University next season. “Getting it by just a little bit is just crazy, but it's awesome.

“I felt pretty good for the mile and the 800, but the heat started to catch up with me towards the end of the 3,200.”

Norwayne used its strength in the sprinting events to put the final touches on its first county championship since 2014.

After sweeping both throwing events and the pole vault on Friday, the Bobcats took both the 100 and 200 — with junior speedsters Brady Lendon and Roman Portis posting victories — along with the 4x100 relay.

Lendon admitted he’s not always the fastest out of the blocks, but his closing speed was on full display as he was able to clock a finish of 11.44 to finish ahead of Dalton’s Adam Marthey (11.60) and teammate Isaiah Portis (11.66).

“I feel like I finish my races strong, and that's one of my strengths,” Lendon said. “I knew it was going to be tough competition, so I've just been practicing. I started all week and really went through everything.”

Those block starts were also key in Roman Portis’ victory as the junior made some slight adjustments that paid off in his run of 23.11.

“I would say it was more a big start because I've been working on it all week, changing my block start-up,” he said. “I'm really good at running the curve, so that helps out a lot, and I have a little more stamina than some of the other guys.”

Both Lendon and Roman Portis had a hand in the 4x100 win, joining Isaiah Portis and Caleb Erhard on a group that registered a finish of 43.98, just 0.3 seconds off their season-best time. That was despite the addition of Erhard to the lineup in place of Nic Graham, who was sidelined with an injury.

Dalton’s 4x400 relay was also a winner as Boyd Elett, Lucas Oswald, Kanoa Hevia and Jordan Muth combined to run a 3:33.65. It was the lone event victory for a Bulldogs squad that was second overall in the team standings.

Northwestern senior Weston Arthur had a hand in two sprint victories — an individual win in the 400 (51.04) and the anchor leg in the Huskies’ 4x200 in which Arthur, Collin Good, Buddy Rowe and Nolan Hartsel ran a season-low 1:33.29 to beat Norwayne (1:34.02).

“I was going to say great handoffs, but we actually struggled with a couple,” Arthur admitted. “They weren't perfect, but they were good, and everyone felt good. I was really proud of my guys.”

Arthur needed everything he had in his 400 win as he grabbed the lead with 100 meters to go before holding off a final charge by Chippewa’s Logan Toler (51.17) and Norwayne’s Mason Booth (51.46) at the finish line.

“I was a little worried,” Arthur said. “[Booth] was obviously trying to keep pace with me at the 100 mark and, in the end, I think experience just helped me out.”

Northwestern also got a victory from Jacob Wakefield in the high jump. The state qualifier had a picture-perfect day, going without a miss en route to clearing a personal-record of 6-feet-4.

“Everything felt right with that jump,” said Wakefield, whose previous best was 6-2. “I placed my foot in the right spot, and I can usually get that, but it's the timing is what gets me. I got the timing right on that one and that's what got it.”

Waynedale’s Jeremy Raber and Rittman’s Paul Werle had two battles in the hurdles, with Raber claiming the 110 and Werle using a final burst of speed to take the 300.

Raber, who clocked a career-best 15.72, used a quick start out of the blocks to get the edge on Werle and never gave it up.

“I've been working on that in practice and it really showed in the race,” the sophomore said. “It feels good, especially coming in as an underclassman.

“About halfway through, I could feel him starting to catch up, and I just thought I would keep pushing.”

The two were neck-and-neck heading into the final hurdle of the 300s later in the day, but the veteran Werle was able to hold on in 41.88 as he nearly took a head-first dive over the finish line to assure the victory.

“A year ago, I beat him by diving across the finish line, so I knew I had to do something like that because he was right behind me,” he said. “It was really important to attack the way that I did.”

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Wayne County Athletic League boys track and field results