The Bellefontaine girls highlighted a strong night for area teams Friday at the West Liberty-Salem Invitational, finishing runner-up in a tightly contested field behind a school-record performance from Grace Brown and a dominant showing in the hurdles and throws.
Bellefontaine Girls – 2nd Place (93 points)
Bellefontaine finished second overall with 93 points, just behind Versailles (101) and narrowly ahead of Liberty Center (92) and Anna (84) in one of the meet’s closest team races.
Grace Brown turned in one of the top performances of the night, winning the 3200-meter run in 11:23.87 while setting a new school record and personal best in the event.
Callie Shumaker added another event title for the Chieftains, winning the 100 hurdles in 15.97. She also scored in the 200 with a fourth-place finish in 27.29 and later ran on Bellefontaine’s fourth-place 4×400 relay team.
Bellefontaine dominated the throwing events behind Kelsie Snapp, who swept both titles by winning shot put with a mark of 39-1.5 and discus at 147-8.
The Chieftains also got multiple scoring performances from Kaileigh Flora, who placed fourth in the 800 (2:32.18 season best), eighth in pole vault (8-0), and helped the 4×800 relay team to a third-place finish alongside Grace Brown, Layla Davis, and Hannah Wilson in 10:15.29.
Layla Davis added points in both sprint events, finishing fifth in the 400 (1:02.52) and eighth in the 200 (28.03), while Jillian Ullom placed eighth in the 100 dash (13.77).
Additional scoring came from Sloan Stolly, who was fourth in the 100 hurdles (17.48), and CeCe Reier, who placed seventh in the 3200 (13:20.33).
Bellefontaine’s relay teams also contributed key points, with the 4×100 relay team of Brooklynne Kuntz, Cameo Greene, Ava Layman, and Sloan Stolly placing seventh in 55.33, while the same group finished fifth in the 4×200 relay in 1:53.63.
West Liberty-Salem Girls – 5th Place (72 points)
West Liberty-Salem celebrated Senior Night with a fifth-place finish on its home track, powered by sprint wins from Chloe Griffith and a pair of relay victories.
Griffith won the 100 dash in 13.09 and anchored both winning sprint relays. West Liberty captured the 4×100 relay in 50.18 and the 4×200 relay in 1:47.33 with teams of Tori Douthwaite, Lea Brickerson, Gwen McCullough, and Griffith.
Ava Poppe placed second in shot put with a throw of 36-6 3/4.
West Liberty also got third-place finishes from Elise Longshore in pole vault (9-6), Malia Miller in the 1600 (5:35.71), and Isla Leichty in the 3200 (12:44.36).
Additional points came from Tori Douthwaite, who placed fifth in both pole vault (9-6) and the 200 (27.91), while Malia Miller added a fifth-place finish in the 800 (2:32.56).
Lyndee Harrison finished seventh in shot put (31-10 3/4), the 4×800 relay team placed eighth in 11:13.74, and Lea Brickerson scored with an eighth-place finish in the 400 (1:14.14).
West Liberty returns to action Monday at the OHC Championships at Greenon.
Benjamin Logan Girls – 6th Place (53 points)
Benjamin Logan finished sixth overall and was led by a standout all-around performance from Abby Vance.
Vance won long jump with a mark of 16-10.5 while also placing second in both the 100 dash (13.10) and 200 dash (26.35). She also anchored Benjamin Logan’s fifth-place 4×100 relay team.
The Raiders received additional points from Storm LeVan, who placed eighth in the 300 hurdles (52.98) and competed on multiple scoring relay teams.
Benjamin Logan’s 4×100 relay team of Daylin Varner, Storm LeVan, Scarlett Elliott, and Vance placed fifth in 52.89, while the 4×200 relay team of Varner, Nahla Payne, Scarlett Elliott, and Aleah France finished seventh in 1:55.45.
The 4×400 relay of Peyton Smith, Elliott Butler, Daylin Varner, and Aleah France placed eighth in 4:39.49.
In field events, Kyla Godwin placed fourth in discus (106-9), Kaylee Hays was fifth in discus (106-1), Autumn Cline finished sixth in shot put (32-10.25), and Madi Oakes took sixth in high jump (4-8). Joplin Schneider added a seventh-place finish in high jump (4-6), while Penelope Elliott was seventh in pole vault (9-0).
Benjamin Logan next competes at the CBC Championships next week at Jonathan Alder.
