Cincinnati track & field athletes wrap up season with 10 OHSAA state championships

COLUMBUS – Cincinnati athletes had a banner weekend during the OHSAA state track championship meet at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium with seven individual titles and three relay victories over both days, June 4-5.

All three divisions had champions, in addition to the seated division, where Rachel Steffen of Mt. Notre Dame took first in the 800-meter race.

Divisions I and II featured a mix of sprinters, hurdles and distance runners on the podium. In Division III, Summit Country Day broke the school record in the 4-x-200 relay. In the seated division, Jamie Stanford competed for Madeira and Rachel Steffen competed for Mt. Notre Dame. Both placed in every event in which they participated.

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Division I sprinters excel, Loveland takes 3rd in boys team competition

Azariyah Bryant got third in the 100-meter dash at last year's state championship and couldn't compete in the 200 because of a groin issue. This year, the Lakota East senior entered Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium with something to prove.

In the 100, Bryant established an early lead and never looked back, breezing her way to a gold-medal time of 11.60. When talking about the win, she pointed to her skills coming out of the starting blocks.

"Drive phase is one of my main things that I take seriously and make sure I stay in there as long as I can," Bryant said.

Bryant had to wait about 90 minutes for the 200-meter final but made it count when it mattered. She took advantage of the stagger and the curve, entering the home stretch with the lead.

"I was waiting on this race, because the stagger, that's my favorite part," Bryant said.

She stayed strong through the line, clocking a time of 23.94. Thanks to Bryant's two wins, Lakota East finished with 20 points as a team, good for sixth overall.

Moeller's Brandon White and Tennel Bryant capped off a stellar year with third- and fourth-place finishes, respectively, in the 100-meter dash. They were separated by just one one-hundredth of a second, 10.59 to 10.60. The pair had been running similar times toward the end of the year but were no match for Pickerington Central's Troy Lane, who ran a Division I-record 10.25 seconds.

"I figured it'd be a little more faster because I've seen his times coming in," Bryant said.

This was the last individual race of White's career, but he has confidence in Bryant, who has one more year in his track career.

"Hopefully, (Tennel) can come back and do it next year," White said.

Thanks to three high finishes, the Loveland Tigers boys team finished third overall in the team standings with 26 points. They began on Friday afternoon with a win in the 4-x-800 relay, which also saw St. Xavier and Mason finish in the top three. On Saturday, senior Ryan Chevalier won the boys 1,600 for an additional 10 points.

Chevalier, who finished 10th last year, increased his volume and made sure all his miles were meaningful heading into the season. Thanks to teammate Cayden Dyer helping him through the first 600 meters, Chevalier stayed in second place. He made his move with 300 meters left, sprinting past the leaders and never looking back until he crossed the finish line with a time of 4:07.69.

"I knew I could close fast ... I didn't know how fast I could close off a fast early pace... but I figured I might as well give it a shot," Chevalier said.

Senior J.P. Tew completed the Tigers' point total, grabbing third place in the 800 with a time of 1:54.45.

The Princeton girls 4-x-400 relay team capped off local action on Saturday, winning in a time of 3:50.64. The race was rarely in doubt, only when Kierra Morris slowed up on the second leg, allowing Solon to catch up to her.

"I couldn't let her pass me," Morris said.

The Vikings won by four seconds, backing up their top seed time coming into the final.

"It feels good. We're definitely thanking our coach," Briasia Allen said.

Malachi Snow of Northwest continued his dominant season with a first-place championship in the 110-meter hurdles while Lauren Barnes of Sycamore took first in the high jump.

Whaley caps senior year with gold, silver

Indian Hill's Elizabeth Whaley entered the state meet with high expectations. She broke the Division II record in the mile a week earlier and was looking for a state title to cap off her senior year.

Whaley immediately went to the front of the pack, establishing a 10-meter lead by the end of the first lap.

"I always like to take it out really fast. It's just how I run, I guess. Get some good momentum and then just run in fear of everything behind me." Whaley said.

She continued to cruise along while leading the race on her own. But trouble struck in the final lap. Whaley stepped on the rail while rounding the first turn. She fell to the ground, but immediately got back up and continued.

"I've never done that in a race. But I just know that every time, you just got to get back up and keep going." Whaley said.

Whaley said she had no idea of her competitor's whereabouts; she only knew that she had to continue running as fast as she could. Rounding the final turn, she sprinted down the home stretch to take the win in a state meet record time of 4:43.31.

Whaley didn't have much time to celebrate her win. She competed in the 800 meters 45 minutes later and said she prepared for her second race by cooling down in the shade and taking her rest one minute at a time.

In a similar fashion, Whaley dashed to the front of the 800-meter pack. Two laps instead of four, the 800 is a faster race than the mile. This time, she had Ottowa-Glandorf's Alexa Fortman and Woodridge's Izzy Best at her side.

"I knew Alexa was right there with me. I knew we could push each other in this race. My goal was to kind of stay up there with her." Whaley said.

Whaley battled the entire race but didn't have enough speed down the homestretch. Fortman, Whaley and Best all finished under 2:10, with Whaley taking the silver in 2:08.82.

The Indian Hill boys sprint relays competed in both the 4-x-100 and 4-x-200. They finished ninth in the 4-x-100 in a time of 43.10, and fifth in the 4-x-200 in a time of 1:28.77.

Summit Country Day's Khamia Brooks ran both hurdle races, taking second in the 100-meter hurdles in 14.56 seconds, and fourth in the 300-meter hurdles in 44.98.

Silver Knights take 4-x-200 title, break school record

Summit Country Day boys broke the 4-x-200 school record for the second-straight day, winning the state title in a time of 1:29.40.

"If you would have told me at the beginning of the season we would've probably won state... with the team we had earlier, with injuries, and we just fought back. It's great to be here," Braeden Austin said.

The Silver Knights qualified in the preliminary rounds with the third fastest time. Coming into the final, they worked on their handoffs and being faster out of the starting blocks to take home the win. Matthew Schuler, who ran the final leg, said he knew the exact moment they won the title.

"When I rounded that turn at the end, I couldn't feel anyone next to me or beside me, so I was like, 'There's no way I'm losing,'" Schuler said.

On the women's side, the Madeira girls came from behind to lead the Division III girls 4-x-200 down the home stretch but were edged out by Calvert. The 'Zons took second in a time of 1:44.18. Freshman Vivian Momper, who also competed in the girls 200 and 4-x-400 relay, ran the anchor leg.

Local athletes on the podium Saturday

Division I

Girls 100-meter hurdles: Myah Boze (Ross) – 14.81 (7th)

Boys 110-meter hurdles: Malachi Snow (Northwest) – 13.91 (1st)

Girls 100: Azariyah Bryant (Lakota East) – 11.60 (1st)

Boys 100: Brandon White (Moeller) – 10.59 (3rd), Tennel Bryant (Moeller) – 10.60 (4th)

Girls 4-x-200: Princeton (Allen, Rabb, Morris, Williams) – 1:41.61 (3rd), Mason (Connelly, Love, Capiello, Zacchino) – 1:42.42 (7th)

Boys 1,600: Ryan Chevalier (Loveland) – 4:07.69 (1st), Gianni Allwein (Walnut Hills) – 4:12.90 (5th)

Girls 4-x-100: Colerain (Oliver, Broadnax, Poellnitz, Swarnwout) – 48.29 (6th), Sycamore (Walker, Schmid, Barnes, Delgado) – 48.34 (7th)

Boys 4-x-100: Moeller (Hobbs, Bryant, Peddicord, White) – 41.78 (3rd)

Girls 300 hurdles: Mae Reed (Turpin) – 43.81 (2nd), Boze (Ross) – 43.82 (3rd)

Girls 800: Madison Conatser (Loveland) – 2:13.72 (4th)

Boys 800: J.P. Tew (Loveland) – 1:54.45 (3rd), Calvin Kilgallon (Lebanon) – 1:55.39 (7th)

Girls 200: Bryant (Lakota East) – 23.94 (1st), Meredith Goff (Milford) – 24.54 (5th)

Boys 200: Mekhi Lynn (Princeton) – 21.69 (6th), Timiko Jackson (La Salle) – 21.83 (8th)

Boys 3,200: Will Goodrich (St. Xavier) – 9:09.83 (6th)

Girls 4-x-400: Princeton (Allen, Morris, Rabb, Stinson) – 3:50.64 (1st)

Girls discus: Kristen Berwanger (Mercy McAuley) – 126-feet-7-inches (3rd)

Girls high jump: Lauren Barnes (Sycamore) – 5-foot-8-inches (1st), Zoe Lenney (Kings)- 5-4 (6th)

Girls long jump: Lauren Barnes (Sycamore) – 17-feet-11.75-inches (6th)

Girls shot put: Jillian Yates (Oak Hills) – 40-feet-3.25-inches (8th)

Boys long jump: Austin Miller (Lebanon) – 22-feet-5-inches (6th)

Boys discus: Mannie Arbabi (Sycamore) – 157 feet (6th)

Boys high jump: Justin Ackerman (New Richmond) – 6-feet-6-inches (6th), Robert Hart (Oak Hills)- 6-6 (7th)

Division II

Girls 100-meter hurdles: Khamia Brooks (Summit Country Day) – 14.56 (2nd)

Boys 4-x-200: Indian Hill – 1:28.77 (5th)

Girls 1,600: Elizabeth Whaley (Indian Hill) – 4:43.31 (1st)

Boys 4-x-100: Indian Hill – 43.10 (9th)

Boys 400: Zach Fein (McNicholas) – 50.34 (7th)

Girls 300-meter hurdles: Brooks (SCD) – 44.98 (4th)

Girls 800: Whaley (Indian Hill) – 2:08.82 (2nd)

Girls 3200: Hayden Withers (Indian Hill) – 11:18.66 (9th)

Boys high jump: Brandon Cromer (Taft) – 6-5 (2nd)

Division III

Girls 4-x-200: Madeira – 1:44.18 (2nd)

Girls 200: Vivian Momper (Madeira) – 25.93 (6th)

Girls 4-x-400: Madeira – 4:01.60 (7th)

Boys 4-x-200: Summit Country Day – 1:29.40 (1st)

Boys 1,600: Garrett Hesselgesser – 4:24.22 (8th)

Seated Division

Girls 100: Rachel Steffen (Mt. Notre Dame) – 23.20 (2nd)

Girls 400: Steffen – 1:28.14

Girls 800: Steffen – 3:08.94 (1st)

Girls shotput: Steffen – 13-4 (4th)

Boys 100: Jamie Stanford (Madiera) – 19.15 (3rd)

Boys 400: Stanford – 1:05.32

Boys 800: Stanford – 2:18.87 (2nd)

Boys shotput: Stanford – 18-8 (3rd)

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: OHSAA state track meet sees local athletes excel