Four area state champions crowned in Division II state track and field back half for the ages
Jun. 4—COLUMBUS — Gold came in a variety of concoctions June 4 during Day 2 of the Division II state track and field meet.
It came in the form of the normalized and expected.
It came in the form of upsets and guts.
It came in the form of repeats and generations-old transcension.
And it came through thick and heavy on the back end of the meet.
Four News-Herald coverage area state champions were crowned in a back half of D-II at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium that will be recalled fondly for years to come at their respective schools.
Hawken's boys 4×100-meter relay, Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin's Brian Bates (800-meter run) and Beaumont's and Beachwood's boys 4×4 reigned, all in the impressive fashion deserving of a state champion.
First, the Bison.
PHOTOS: State track and field, Day 2, June 4, 2022
Braylen Eaton, Noah Saidel, Caleb Berns and David Steckner had that belief that their turn was coming in 4x4, even with the greatness of Glenville up for the task seemingly at every turn.
That belief came to fruition in the final event of D-II, as the Bison crossed in a time of 3 minutes, 17.62 seconds.
Not only is it Beachwood's first state title in a boys running event since 1973, but it breaks the all-time News-Herald coverage area record in the event, previously held by North since 1980 with a 3:17.50 hand time.
After being on the podium, the quartet took seats in the front row of bleachers at The O, rightfully savoring what they had just done.
"It's just such a blessing," Berns said. "I mean, we worked so hard. Words don't even describe how hard we worked. We had our ups and downs. We just started dropping time, and when we got to 3:22, we were like, 'Man, we've really got this.' But this is a special group — Noah, David, Braylen. These are my brothers, and I would not want to do it with anyone else. It's just so special.
"Braylen got out really strong. We knew we needed him to get out strong. Glenville, those guys are top dogs. They were right there with us. Much respect to them. We knew Noah was going to come alive. He battled blisters yesterday, but he persevered. And we're tough as nails. Nothing is going to bend us. He came to me, and I was right behind Glenville. I put my head down, and the heat was really tough. But we came back, and I was like, 'We're not going out like this.' I am not sending Noah out like this. David just finished the job. David is our key man. He's going to do it every time."
Then there were the Hawks.
Dom Johnson, Christian Anderson, Andrew Bukovnik and Jordan Harrison had likely envisioned this moment since their 42.25 to break the all-time area standard at the Miele Invitational, then their historic run of 41s including a D-II state and all-time area mark of 41.53 at the D-II Perry District.
They matched the moment in Columbus, too, as Harrison blazed down the homestretch to reel in a state crown in 41.66. It marks Hawken's first boys relay state championship since 1982.
#NHtrack Hawken boys 4x1 1st 41.66
1st boys relay state for the Hawks since 1982 pic.twitter.com/pWBKmYr6Hq
— Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) June 4, 2022
"I think the 100 kind of helped," said Harrison, referring to his state runner-up in the event earlier in the day with a 10.70. "In the 4x1, I just never expected to hear these screams and everything. Just visualizing it, I knew I wanted to cross the line first in 4x1. Coming around, I knew that Glenville was in front of me, and I was like, 'I've got to go catch them.' Hearing all the cheers was really just something special.
"This atmosphere is nothing I could have dreamed or imagined in my mind. It's so surreal compared to last year's state meet."
Beaumont repeated as D-II state champion in 4x4, as Candace Johnson, Deasia Washington, Mariya Washington and Patricia O'Neill dug deep for a scintillating 3:54.33. It marks the Blue Streaks' 16th state top four all-time and ninth state title in one of their signature events.
#NHtrack Beaumont 4x4 1st 3:54.53 — great for sure, but might ❤️ the time just as much
Tremendous 3rd leg from Mariya Washington with backstretch attack
Patricia strong on the anchor — didn't need to lean it by .01 this time
16th top 4 all time & 9th state title pic.twitter.com/GkaKx8IJwg
— Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) June 4, 2022
Mariya Washington was brilliant in her backstretch attack, setting the table for O'Neill. Last year, O'Neill needed a lean to win a state championship by one one-hundredth of a second. Not so much this time, and what a run it was.
"Well, we knew it was going to be hard competition," O'Neill said. "Every leg, we wanted to run our best.
"Yeah, Mariya opened up the gap pretty well. I always trust her to open up the gap so I can have a good leadoff. We were definitely excited to come to Jesse Owens. It was definitely a new experience being here, so we were really excited about it."
And then there was Bates.
Coming into D-II open 8, Girard's Ricky Marsico was indisputably the state championship favorite. But Bates saw him at Optimist, saw him at the D-II Austintown-Fitch Regional and found a plan that worked to perfection. The Lions junior hit for a 1:53.49.
It is the first state track and field title for NDCL in school lore.
"I was chasing Ricky all year," Bates said. "He has always pulled away. At Optimist, he was just at the top. I knew at the beginning, from regional and district, he was way ahead. At regional, I was boxed, and he pulled away. He had a great season. It was always in my head that every race, every race I go out to, I want to win.
"By state, I didn't really care about time. I wanted to win the race. I knew if I raced that well, I would PR. A 1:53?! It was just awesome."
#NHtrack NDCL's Brian Bates 1st 800 1:53.49
What an amazing run — honestly? Wasn't sure he could get Marsico, but he did
1st T&F state in school history in any event pic.twitter.com/OS17Yb0LDc
— Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) June 4, 2022
Coming soon
For much more from this meet, check back in the coming days on News-Herald.com and in our print edition.
#NHtrack Benedictine's Brandon Boyd 3rd 400 48.84
1st Bengals top 3 at state in open 4 since Justin Fraley's title in 1999 pic.twitter.com/2V4X9UCgmh
— Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) June 4, 2022
#NHtrack Gilmour girls 4x1 2nd 48.81 & Beachwood 3rd 48.94
Highest Lancers girls 4x1 finish since 2009 pic.twitter.com/sbc3Wk1TbH
— Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) June 4, 2022
#NHtrack Jordan Harrison 2nd open 1 10.70
Especially from an outside lane? Nice work young fella pic.twitter.com/ORpDSZ9x03
— Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) June 4, 2022
#NHtrack Makayla White career best 3rd in 100 with a 12.05 pic.twitter.com/t7VHlTRg9y
— Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) June 4, 2022
#NHtrack Karah Henderson 4th 1s 14.82
2nd Gilmour girls hurdler in school history with multiple state top 4s along with DeLana Turner pic.twitter.com/3tnAWHlQ9U
— Chris Lillstrung (@CLillstrungNH) June 4, 2022
