Joey Francis of Adena won a gold medal, so it’s hard to top the day he put together June 5 at the OHSAA Jesse Owens Track and Field State Championships.
However, he wasn’t the only one producing results from the Chillicothe area at Ohio State’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium June 4 to 7. Twelve individual athletes and one relay team claimed 16 spots on the podium for their events.
Here’s a rundown of how those athletes placed:
Competitors and friends
Zane Trace junior Hudson Williams wasn’t upset about finishing as the Division IV state runner-up in the boys pole vault. There was no shame in finishing second to Chesapeake’s Corey Davis, who posted a state championship vault of 16 feet, beating the 15-4 by Williams.
“Corey is a great jumper. He’s going to Louisville. I love him. He’s my guy,” Williams said. “We’ve competed against each other a good bit. We see each other a lot. We’re in the same district and regional, so we got to know each other pretty well.”
Williams, who owns a personal record of 16-5 1/4, made his first attempt at 14-4 and second attempts at 15 feet and 15-4, but he couldn’t reach 16 feet this weekend.
“I’ve been over 16 feet a few times, and I would like to be there more consistently,” he said. “I’m pretty happy with the product today.”
Opponents calm her nerves
Ryanne Moore of Piketon was making her first state appearance in the Division IV girls high jump, so there were understandable rookie jitters. But it was her fellow competitors who settled down the junior.
“The girls here are amazing. Everyone is so nice,” Moore said. “When I first got here, I was really nervous before I jumped. Talking to the girls calmed me down. My coaches calmed me down, too.”
After the warmups, she was ready to go. Moore got the opening height of 5 feet on her first jump and did the same at 5-2 and 5-4, but at 5-5 she missed her three attempts to end in a third-place tie with Kynli Crossland of Patrick Henry. The winning jump was 5-7 by Lola Donohue of Fairland.
“It’s knowing to trust myself. I know what I’m doing, and I just have to do it,” she said.
McAllister ‘grateful for where I’m at’
Chillicothe thrower Trace McAllister gave no hint of disappointment about where he ended up on the podium of the Division II boys discus. Third place with a best-toss of 174-5 was more than okay with him.
“If I had gone lower, I’d still be very grateful for where I’m at, but (third) just feels right,” the junior said.
Leading into state, he said he was feeling good and practicing well. And when the weather was dodgy on Saturday, he simply rolled with it.
“I just give it all to God through my whole day every single day,” McAllister said. “I pray and focus on Him, and He’ll just let me go.”
As for the atmosphere around the state meet, he’s a fan of that, too.
“It’s fun,” he said. “I love track and to see all the people running around us and the people in the stands. It’s just crazy.”
Witnessing history
Waverly’s Paige O’Bryant couldn’t scoff at a third-place finish in the Division III girls long jump, not when the champion set a Division II-III meet and stadium record as Shelby’s Madison Henkle did in going 19-11 1/2.
“It’s amazing to be with someone like that,” O’Bryant said. “It’s a blessing in its own way. To be able to watch that and see that, it really pushed me that I could be in that company of greatness.”
O’Bryant wasn’t bad herself. She went 18-0 1/2.
She never fouled in the competition and put a 16-11 3/4 on the board to safely get herself into the finals with her first leap. Her third-place effort came on her second attempt.
“I was around the area I expected to be. I just wanted to be on the podium in the top eight. Anything there would make me happy,” she said. “It always feels good to get that first jump in. It sets your pace. After that, you are playing with house money.”
O’Bryant endured a several hour rain delay Saturday evening but still finished fourth in the girls 100 meters in 12.38 seconds.
Other Chillicothe-area placers
Zane Trace’s Sophia Williams was a runner-up in the Division IV girls 400, clocking a 56.93. Sophomore Meena Abdul-Basser of Beechwood won the race in 54.77.
To go with his state title in the Division IV boys long jump with a leap of 22-3 1/4, Francis was third in the 400 at 48.7. Also finishing third was Chillicothe’s Jayden Beverly in the Division II boys 800 with a 1:52.15.
Finishing fifth were Adena’s Vanessa Conley in the D-IV girls 1600 at 11:21.26 and Unioto’s Levi Beam in the D-III boys pole vault at 14-10.
Taking sixth were Paint Valley’s Whitney Utz in the Division V girls high jump at 5-2, Adena’s Katie Burns in the D-IV girls high jump at 5-2 and Southeastern’s Rowan Runkle in the D-IV girls shot put at 39-5.
Karlie Peters of Southeastern was eighth in the D-IV girls 300 hurdles in 46.13 and the Unioto boys 4×200 relay was eighth in 1:29.08.
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This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Dozen area individuals bring home medals from OHSAA state track meet
Reporting by Rob McCurdy, Marion Star / Chillicothe Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Rob McCurdy, Marion Star | USA TODAY Network
