Area athletes delivered big performances Thursday night during Day 1 of the Division III Southwest Regional track and field meet at Piqua High School, highlighted by a regional championship, a pair of state qualifiers, and another school record performance.
Benjamin Logan’s Carter Daniels claimed a regional title in the pole vault in dramatic fashion, while Indian Lake’s Addison Beck secured a trip to the state meet in high jump. The Lakers also saw Gavin Henry advance to Saturday’s hurdle finals after breaking his own school record in preliminaries.
Benjamin Logan Raiders
Benjamin Logan’s Carter Daniels delivered one of the top performances of the night Thursday during Day 1 of the Division III Southwest Regional meet at Piqua High School.
Daniels captured a regional championship in the pole vault after clearing 16-0, once again breaking his own school record. The Raider senior faced pressure throughout the event, surviving at 15-2 on his final attempt to remain alive in the competition before eventually soaring over 16-0 to secure the regional title.
Daniels showed tremendous composure and determination during the competition, battling back from the brink before producing the winning vault. He will now advance to the Division III State Meet next Friday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus.
Indian Lake Lakers
Indian Lake athletes also turned in several strong performances Thursday night at the Division III Southwest Regional meet, with the Lakers qualifying an athlete to the state meet and advancing another into regional finals.
Addison Beck earned a trip to the state championships in the high jump after placing fourth with a clearance of 5-3. Beck secured one of the automatic qualifying spots and will now compete at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium next week.
Beck also competed in both sprint events against a loaded regional field, finishing 12th in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.76 and placing 12th again in the 200-meter dash after crossing in 26.38.
Gavin Henry advanced to Saturday’s finals in the 110-meter hurdles after posting a new school-record time of 14.92 in preliminaries. Henry broke his own previous school mark of 15.14 and now has a chance to qualify for state in Saturday’s final.
In field events, Terra Beltz placed 14th in shot put with a toss of 30-9, while Carter Barnett finished 15th in long jump with a leap of 18-3.5.
Regional competition will continue Saturday at Piqua High School with finals competition and additional state berths on the line.
