COLUMBUS — When Mansfield Christian senior Riley Patrick walked through the gates of Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on the campus of The Ohio State University in 2025, she just wanted to take in the moment.
When she walked through them again in 2026 for the Ohio High School Athletic Association Jesse Owens Track and Field State Championships, she wanted to own the moment.
And she most certainly did when she ran a new personal record time of 11:05.43 to take fourth in the Division V girls 3,200-meter run and earn the second All-Ohio outdoor track honor of her career.
“Last year, I went in with no expectations of confidence in my race,” Patrick said. “But, God made a way and we ended up here and I enjoyed the experience. This year, I had more goals and not a laid-back approach. Last year, I ran 11:30 here and that is a huge improvement. I am happy with that.”
Patrick now has seven All-Ohio honors between cross country, indoor track and outdoor and will be going for No. 8 on June 5 in the 1,600-meter run. Regardless of her finish, she goes down as arguably the greatest runner in Mansfield Christian history despite not running her freshman or sophomore year and only joining the team with the push of her teammates.
“It’s not something I saw coming,” Patrick said. “I didn’t pick up this sport until last year and have only really been training for 18 months. I loved every moment of it, but I feel like the biggest impact I can made is showing my teammates my attitude, my work ethic and my gratefulness. If I can plant those seeds in my younger teammates, I will be way happier leaving the program in good shape rather than win a bunch of state titles and being a bad teammate.”
Robinson turns at-large bid into All-Ohio honor in high jump
When Crestview senior Lane Robinson earned an at-large bid out of the regional meet and into the state championships in the Division IV high jump, he tampered his expectations.
He blew way past them on Thursday, June 4 when he finished tied for fifth in the event at the Ohio High School Athletic Association Jesse Owens State Track and Field Championships at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on the campus of The Ohio State University.
How does one go from at-large to All-Ohio?
“Man, I don’t even know,” Robinson said. “I prayed and prayed and prayed all week and practiced really hard every day. We had an off day on Wednesday and that helped my mentality. We had 12 jumpers left at 6-2 and I thought I was done. I kneeled down before my jump and asked the Lord to guide me through this jump and I cleared it.”
Clearing 6-foot-2 tied Robinson’s personal record and tied him with two more jumpers for fifth place to earn a podium finish. He cleared his first attempt at 6-foot before missing on his first at 6-2.
After that, the competition started missing and left Robinson with a path to the podium.
“People started falling out after I cleared and that was when I thought this could actually happen,” Robinson said. “When I secured at least seventh place, I was in shock and to finish fifth is just amazing.”
The competition started at 6-feet, which was near Robinson’s personal best. It was a tough starting height, but he attacked it with zero excuses.
“It was kind of nerve-wracking because I have only ever cleared one height after that,” Robinson said. “I thought I had no chance to get over it and then, I just put it all in God’s hands. I sat there and thought it was the same starting height for everyone so I just needed to stop freaking out about it and clear bars.”
Robinson ends his career as a first-time All-Ohioan, an accomplishment he is going to need some time to believe even happened.
“Not at all,” Robinson said. “It is a dream come true. Looking back on the entire season and how well I was jumping before I stress fractured my foot and then to come back to win conference, place third at districts, get out of regionals as an at-large pick and now be in the Top 5 at state is just one crazy ride I’ll never forget.”
Crestview’s Zoe Kuhn has unforgettable day in Division IV pole vault
Going into the Division IV girls pole vault competition, Crestview sophomore Zoe Kuhn was just happy to be sitting in Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium competing with the best of the best.
She might as well include herself in that conversation after she earned a fifth-place finish in the event to earn the first All-Ohio honor of her career. She joins her brothers Ross, a state champion for Crestview during his career, and Liam, a veteran in the All-Ohio pole vault circles, to complete the family tradition of standing on the podium at the Jesse O.
“I came in with the mindset to have a day where I jump and have fun,” Kuhn said. “All you can do at state is be proud that you made it this far and enjoy the experience. My brothers are All-Ohioans and I was really eyeing a Top 8 finish so I could join them.”
Kuhn made short work of 9-feet-06, 10-feet and 10-06 making each jump on her first attempt. It set the stage for her 11-foot jump, which would be a new PR. After missing on her first, she nailed her second and kept that momentum going as she cleared 11-04 on her first attempt.
“I cleared 11-feet and I was so excited,” Kuhn said. “My first attempt at 11-4, I scraped the bar and I was just waiting for it to come down and when it didn’t, I just let out a scream and felt a huge weight off my shoulders. I can’t believe I did that.”
She saved her best performance for last.
“I had a huge double-PR day,” Kuhn said. “My training all year led to this. I am a three-sport athlete, so I don’t get to train as much as a lot of these girls out here. What I have to focus on is technique and weight and speed training and continue to sharpen my technique throughout the season.”
With two more years left to vault, Kuhn is going to take the sport more seriously from here on out.
“I am going to stay in the weight room and focus on building my strength and speed,” Kuhn said. “But I really want to start jumping more consistently in the offseason. Maybe Sundays I can go jump and work on my technique.”
Desterhaft completes Day 1 with All-Ohio honor in long jump
Lucas junior Joey Desterhaft has a busy state meet with three events to compete in. In his first event of the weekend, he already nabbed All-Ohio honors to get the hard part out of the way.
He went 21-06.75 in the Division V boys long jump championships to take seventh place overall.
“I am pleased I got on the podium, but I wanted more than seventh,” Desterhaft said. “I know I had more in me, I know I am capable of more. I had one jump where I barely fouled that felt really good, but I made podium and I can take that into next year.”
Next year, he will be ready for the crowd noise and after earning the first All-Ohio honor of his career, he will be a veteran when he makes it back next season. He still has the 110- and 300-meter hurdles finals to run.
“It is so cool to run here,” Desterhaft said. “There isn’t much of a warm up area, but seeing the size of everything and so many people here watching is intimidating. But running against so many amazing athletes is so much fun.”
Lucas’ Ray Lewis completes All-Ohio goal in 3,200
Lucas senior Ray Lewis had an ultimate goal in mind and he had a realistic one, too, when it came to his Division V 3,200-meter run race.
He wanted to break the school record in the event by running lower than a 4:22.2. While he didn’t quite make that, he did run a 9:40.08 and took seventh overall to pick up All-Ohio honors.
“That was my real goal,” Lewis said. “All-Ohio. Top 8. I am happy with that two-mile. I was so surprised by the roar of the crowd and the ambiance of running here. What an incredible feeling.”
Running in much hotter conditions than what he has run in during the regular season, it was an uncomfortable run for Lewis.
“It was hard to adjust,” Lewis said. “I hate running in the hot weather. I’d rather run in 20 degrees and sleet.”
But, it was a run he won’t soon forget. After missing out on All-Ohio honors by one spot in cross country and indoor, Lewis finally caught what had eluded him during his high school career.
“It hasn’t hit yet,” Lewis said. “I know what I did and it is insane to me. I felt like I was a good runner, but not this good. I hope I can continue this in my two races tomorrow.”
Lewis will run in the 1,600 and 800-meter races on June 5 to try and complete the All-Ohio distance triple crown.
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: 5 All-Ohio honors come home to Richland County after Day 1 of state track
Reporting by Jake Furr, Mansfield News Journal / Mansfield News Journal
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By Jake Furr, Mansfield News Journal | USA TODAY Network
