Area athletes gearing up for state track and field championships

CHILLICOTHE − There won't be a lack of representation for local schools in the state track and field championships at Ohio State's Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium this weekend.

Far from it, in fact. Twenty-five athletes from eight local schools will be joining hundreds of others from around the state in the chance to bring hardware back to their respective programs. Of those athletes, there are those who qualified in two events or more, and one managed to qualify for four individual events.

There will be plenty to see from local athletes over the two-day tournament, so here's a quick breakdown of who to watch and what to know before the state championships this weekend.

Adena Warriors

The Warriors will have two members of its girls team headed up to the state championship this year. Claire Robinson, after just missing the cut for pole vault last season, qualified with an impressive second place at the regional meet in Heath last week with a vault of 10-4.

Sydney Foglesong will make her third trip to the state tournament for both shot put and discus. She placed as a regional runner up for discus and took third in the shot put. Foglesong placed third in the state for discus last season, and she's projected for another strong showing in her senior season.

Huntington Huntsmen

Ryan Marion headlines the Huntsmen as their sole representative for the state championships this week. The senior qualified for the shot put after a fourth-place finish at regionals last Friday with a throw of 49-5. He also managed to place as the runner-up in the Division III district tournament at Nelsonville-York in mid-May, and he claimed fourth in the event at the Scioto Valley Conference meet toward the end of the regular season.

Paint Valley Bearcats

One of the standout local favorites at all three division levels this season will be Paint Valley's Cole Miller. The senior took first in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and long jump at the regional meet in Heath last week, and he placed fourth in the 110-meter hurdles. Miller set a program and regional record in the long jump with a jump of 23-2.75, another program record after his 21.93 in the 200, and his 15.2 in the hurdles set his own personal record.

Piketon Redstreaks

After qualifying for the state meet in discus last season, Alan Austin makes his return in two events. He saved himself a spot in both the discus and shot put this year after ending last week's regional meet in second and third place in each respective event. The senior also placed second and third in discus and shot put respectively at the Division II district meet at Washington Court House two weeks ago.

Unioto Shermans

Unioto will be well-represented in Columbus. Ten of the Shermans have booked their tickets to state, and four of them qualified in at least two events.

The relay team of Ashton Beverly, Caden Larue, JJ Larue and Turner Markko will compete in the boys 4x800, while Beverly, JJ Larue, Kyan Clark and Maddox Fox will take part in the 4x400 relay. Beverly also qualified for the 800-meter run, and Fox will take part in the boys 300-meter hurdles.

For the girls, Gwyn Eldridge, Briana Nelson, Ava Rooker and Cameron Walker will take part in the 4x800 relay. Walker, a freshman, also qualified for the 1,600-meter run after picking up a regional championship in the event, as well as the 3,200-meter run after coming in third at regionals.

Waverly Tigers

The Tigers have two runners − Mitch Green and Paige O'Bryant − pulling into Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium this weekend. Green secured his spot in the boys 1,600 after pulling second-place finishes at both the Division II district and regional meets.

O'Bryant, as a freshman, will make her first appearance in the state tournament for the 100-meter dash. She placed second in the event at districts, and posted a time of 12.50 for fourth place at regionals.

Westfall Mustangs

Much like the Tigers, the Mustangs will be shipping up a pair of their own runners to the state championships. For the Mustangs, however, both of their competitors will be in the same event. Josh Trapp and Caitlin Shipley punched their tickets for the boys 800-meter run and girls 800-meter run respectively. Shipley took second place in her event, while Trapp filed into third place in his.

There's also a precedent set with each of their qualifying runs. Shipley is the first state qualifier for the girls 800 in program history, and she's the first member of the girls team to qualify for state in a distance event since 1993. Trapp, on the other hand, is the first state qualifier in the 800 for the boys team since 1989, and his regional time of 1:59.21 is the fastest time for a member of the Westfall boys team in over 15 years.

Zane Trace Pioneers

The Pioneers are also rolling into Columbus with a bevy of representation. Wyatt Vick qualified for the boys 800 after taking second place at regionals on Saturday, and Charley Clyne saved his place in the boys 400-meter dash after taking third place at the regional meet.

Nalin Robinson qualified for discus behind a 170-9 throw at the regional meet which earned him third place. Spencer Brower will compete in shot put after taking second place at regionals with a throw of 54-8.

For the girls, Marie Souther punched her ticket to the state championships after posting a time of 2:20.34 in the 800-meter run at regionals − which was good enough for third place. Kendra Detillion will take part in discus after taking fourth place at regionals with a throw of 120-1.

This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Area athletes gearing up for state track and field championships