Regional Track Roundup: Harding's 4x100 heading back to state; Starcher wins two crowns

PICKERINGTON — It's a different crew, but a similar result.

For the second straight season, Marion Harding is sending its boys 4x100-meter relay team to the Division I state track and field championships.

The Presidents earned the final automatic qualifying spot at the D-I regional meet held at Pickerington North on Friday, taking fourth in 42.11.

"The 4x1 is new for me. I was on the 4x2 team that made it here, but we couldn’t get out of the region," Brennin Beechum told the Newark Advocate's Kurt Snyder.

Beechum and Trinity Keith are the newcomers to the squad joining holdovers Te'Sean Jefferson and Kaedan Faggs. Khalil Scott and Caden Morris graduated from last year's group that finished third in the state at 42.06. The 2021 group ran a 41.89 to post the fastest time in the state prelims, which is also school record.

So the 42.08 in Wednesday's regional prelims and 42.11 in the finals puts them in the neighborhood with last year's team.

"We know we can compete with them and it makes it a big deal," Jefferson said of surviving against the tough Central District teams in the regional as Canal Winchester won in 41.62 followed by Pickerington Central in 41.74 and Gahanna Lincoln in 41.91.

The feel like they can challenge the state's best by getting into the 41's next week at Ohio State's Jesse Owens Stadium, and they are happy to get the chance.

"It’s an amazing feeling," Beechum said as he finished seventh in the open 400 in 50.11. "I feel so blessed to be in this situation. Just to make it to the state meet after missing out last year is just an amazing feeling."

The Harding girls 4x100 team of Beautifull Drake, Shealana Booker, Bre Card and Abrianna Smith was sixth in 49.28.

Division III Regional

Elgin's Cy Starcher won a pair of Division III regional championships Friday at Chillicothe Southeastern, taking the boys 100 in 11.14 and the 200 in 22.17.

He wasn't alone in winning regional titles. Mount Gilead's Michaela McGill set the regional meet record in the girls 3200 with a time of 10:44.4, while teammate Michael Snopik won the boys 1600 in 4:24.37.

The top four in each event earned automatic state berths, while two at-large spots are possible for the next best two finishes from around the state.

MG's Will Baker and Parker Bartlett finished 2-3 in the boys 3200 in 9:43.39 and 9:44.12 respectively. Also finishing third was MG's Garrett Lamb-Hart in the boys 110 hurdles in 15.58. Cardington's Loey Hallabrin was fourth in the girls 1600 in 5:20.18, while Elgin's Tiffany Hix was the lone automatic state qualifier in Friday's field events, going 9-foot-8 for fourth in the girls pole vault.

Mount Gilead's girls 4x100 group with Grace Shipman, Asia Jones, Faith White and Madilyn Elson was runner-up in 51.57, while Cardington's girls 4x100 team of Hazel Jolliff, Meagan Greenawalt, Alexis Crone and Olivia Holt was fourth in 52.9.

Also for the Indians, the 4x100 boys team of Owen and Logan High, Kyan Davis and Quade Harris was runner-up in 44.03, and the 4x200 team of Matthew Bland, Logan High, Davis and Harris was third in 1:31.74.

Several athletes were hard-luck fifth-place finishers: MG's 4x200 girls team in 1:49.07, Pleasant's Casey Kimball in the girls 1600 at 5:22.35, Pleasant's Whitney Waddell in the girls 400 at 1:01.1, Jolliff in the girls 300 hurdles at 48.56, Cardington's Tyler Rose in the boys 200 at 23.59, Hallabrin in the girls 3200 at 12:06.44, MG's boys 4x400 team in 3:32.95 and MG's Owen High in the boys high jump at 6-feet.

Others making the finals and scoring points were MG's Gavan Davis in the boys 110 hurdles (sixth, 15.75), Elgin's girls 4x200 relay (sixth, 1:53.1), Elgin's girls 4x100 relay (sixth, 53.48), MG's Aaron Gannon in the boys 800 (sixth, 2:00.62), Northmor's Lucas Weaver in the boys 800 (seventh, 2:01.58), Cardington's girls 4x400 relay (sixth, 4:19.65), Pleasant's 4x400 relay (eighth, 4:21.91) and Jolliff in the girls long jump (eighth, 14-10).

Other regional finalists were Cardington's Magi Hallabrin in the girls 800 (10th, 2:25.61), Pleasant's Kalyn Kimball in the girls 3200 (10th, 12:48.28), MG's Grace Shipman in the girls pole vault (ninth, 8-4), Hix in the girls long jump (13th, 14-3.25), Northmor's Duston Sanders in the boys shot put (11th, 42-1.5), Northmor's Kahlan Ball in the girls discus (13th, 92-6) and MG's Mikala Harris (14th, 84-1).

Mount Gilead's boys team took home the runner-up trophy with 65 points, trailing Ashland Crestview's 66.5.

rmccurdy@gannett.com

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This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Regional Track Roundup: Harding relay to state; Starcher wins 2 titles