Area athletes delivered another impressive day of performances Friday at the OHSAA Jesse Owens Track and Field State Championships, collecting a state runner-up finish, multiple podium appearances, and several All-Ohio honors across Divisions III, IV, and V. Athletes from Bellefontaine, Benjamin Logan, West Liberty-Salem, Mechanicsburg, Urbana, Indian Lake, and Calvary Christian all competed on the state’s biggest stage as championship races and field event finals took center stage in Columbus.
Among the top performances of the day, Mechanicsburg’s Beckett Negley earned Division V state runner-up honors in the 1600-meter run with a personal-best time of 4:16.73. West Liberty-Salem’s Chloe Griffith sprinted to a third-place finish in the Division IV 100-meter dash, while Benjamin Logan’s Carter Daniels secured a third-place finish in the Division III pole vault. Mechanicsburg’s Clair Rodgers added a fourth-place finish and personal best in the Division V 800-meter run, and Calvary Christian’s John Gaertner earned All-Ohio honors with a seventh-place finish and personal best in the same event.
Bellefontaine’s Callie Shumaker also put herself in position for a big finish to the weekend, qualifying for Saturday’s championship finals in both the 100-meter hurdles and 300-meter hurdles. West Liberty-Salem added several more All-Ohio performances, including podium finishes in the girls 4×100 relay, boys 4×100 relay, boys 4×400 relay, boys 110-meter hurdles, and boys 200-meter dash as area athletes continued to make their mark at the state meet.
View Day 1 results for area athletes HERE.
OHSAA Division III State Championships
Bellefontaine Chieftains
Girls
Bellefontaine’s Callie Shumaker advanced to two championship finals after a strong day in the hurdle preliminaries.
Shumaker qualified eighth overall in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.29 to secure a place in Saturday’s final. She followed that performance with an even stronger showing in the 300-meter hurdles, placing sixth in 45.41 to earn another trip to the championship round.
Grace Brown wrapped up her season in the Division III 3200-meter run, finishing 12th overall in 11:27.81.
In the field events, Kelsie Snapp earned All-Ohio honors in the shot put. Snapp recorded a throw of 38-10 to place seventh in the state and secure a podium finish for the Chieftains.
Benjamin Logan Raiders
Boys
Benjamin Logan’s Carter Daniels reached the podium in the Division III pole vault.
Daniels cleared 15 feet, 2 inches to finish third in the state and earn All-Ohio honors. He narrowly missed adding to that mark, coming up short on three attempts at 15-6 before concluding an outstanding season with a top-three state finish.
Girls
Abby Vance represented the Raiders in the Division III 200-meter dash.
Vance crossed the finish line in 25.81 to place 11th overall, narrowly missing a berth in the championship final.
Indian Lake Lakers
Boys
Gavin Henry competed in the Division III 110-meter hurdle preliminaries.
Henry finished 15th overall in 15.38, bringing his season to a close just outside the qualifying positions for Saturday’s final.
Girls
Addison Beck represented the Lakers in the Division III high jump.
Beck was unable to clear the opening height of 5-0 and was recorded as a no height in the competition.
Urbana Hillclimbers
Urbana’s Vincent Lightle capped his season with a top-10 finish at the state meet.
Competing as the Hillclimbers’ lone state qualifier, Lightle placed 10th in the Division III 3200-meter run with a time of 9:44.61 while racing against Ohio’s top distance runners.
Following the race, Lightle reflected on his performance and what it meant to represent Urbana on the state’s biggest track and field stage.
OHSAA Division IV State Championships
West Liberty-Salem Tigers
Boys
West Liberty-Salem continued its impressive state meet with several podium finishes and multiple events that came down to fractions of a second.
Taryn Bradley earned All-Ohio honors in the Division IV 110-meter hurdles, finishing seventh in 15.30. Bradley missed sixth place by just one-hundredth of a second.
Sam Kidd secured an All-Ohio finish in the 200-meter dash, placing fifth in the state in 22.89.
Caleb Larson added another state appearance for West Liberty-Salem, placing 13th in the Division IV 800-meter run with a time of 2:01.94.
Asher Cole and Brayan Gullett competed in a loaded Division IV 1600-meter field. Cole finished 12th in 4:22.19, while Gullett placed 14th in 4:26.74.
West Liberty-Salem’s 4×100 relay team of Jackson Henry, Sam Kidd, Tanner Myers, and Kamden Yang earned All-Ohio honors with a sixth-place finish in 43.12. The Tigers were just two-hundredths of a second away from fifth place.
The Tigers’ 4×200-meter relay team of Jackson Henry, Brevin Louden, Jake Lauck, and Taryn Bradley narrowly missed the podium. West Liberty-Salem finished ninth in 1:30.05, missing All-Ohio honors by just one-hundredth of a second.
The Tigers closed the day with another podium finish in the 4×400 relay. Brevin Louden, Sam Kidd, Jake Lauck, and Taryn Bradley combined to finish seventh in 3:26.89 and earn All-Ohio recognition.
Four seniors within the Tiger boys squad reflect on the weekend and give their thoughts on what the weekend held.
Girls
Division IV Girls Shot Put | Ava Poppe (13th – 35-07)
Chloe Griffith raced to a third-place finish in the Division IV 100-meter dash, crossing the line in 12.81 to earn All-Ohio honors.
She was just able to qualify yesterday in the 8th position, and Griffith comments on bouncing back from ‘a lot of doubt’ to finish with the bronze.
The Tigers’ 4×100 relay team of Tori Douthwaite, Lea Brickerson, Gwen McCullough, and Chloe Griffith also reached the podium. The quartet finished third in the state with a time of 48.80 to secure All-Ohio honors.
OHSAA Division V State Championships
Mechanicsburg Indians
Boys
Mechanicsburg standout Beckett Negley delivered another memorable performance on the state stage.
After a second-place finish in yesterday’s 3200-meter race, Negley captured Division V state runner-up honors in the 1600-meter run, finishing second in a personal-best 4:16.73. He crossed the finish line just 0.58 seconds behind the state champion while earning another All-Ohio honor for the Indians.
Girls
Mechanicsburg’s Rodgers sisters represented the Indians in the Division V 800-meter final.
Clair Rodgers earned All-Ohio honors with a fourth-place finish and a personal-best time of 2:16.10.
Isabelle Rodgers finished 14th overall in 2:23.55 to conclude her season at the state meet.
Calvary Christian Spartans
Calvary Christian’s John Gaertner turned in one of the best races of his season in the Division V 800-meter final.
Gaertner ran a personal-best 1:57.24 to place seventh in the state, earning All-Ohio honors and a podium finish for the Spartans.
Gaertner describes the feeling of being at the State competition and finishing on the podium with the best time of his career.
