Ashland County Track and Field athletes to watch this spring

ASHLAND − Spring time is here and you know what that means...track and field folks!

Time to get outside and watch everything that track and field has to offer, whether you enjoy field events, gravitate towards sprinting, are intrigued by relay events or get roused up about long distance events, it'll be all there for you this outdoor season. With that, here are the track and field athletes in Ashland County to closely follow this spring.

More: Giving it their all: Hard work pays off in 3-peat track title for Crestview

Reese Landis, New London

Reese Landis is not just well-known in the Ashland County area but across the state for her long-distance running exploits over the years.

More: New London's Landis finishes banner year fourth at XC state meet, three others go All-Ohio

After going the entire fall season without losing a single cross country race she entered, Landis placed fourth at the Division III state cross country meet in November. During this indoor track season, she finished as runner-up in the 3200 meters at the Division II/III indoor state track meet at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio. That's also translated over into outdoor track. Landis' main event is the 3200 but she also operates in the 1600.

Landis was an All-Ohioan as a sophomore in the 3200 (7th place) at the 2022 Division III state track meet and has reigned in that event as a three-time Firelands Conference champion (2021-2023), including winning the 1600 last season. As a junior last season, Landis was on a roll. To go along with winning the Firelands Conference title, Landis won district and regional titles in the 3200 and went into state final as one of the top favorites. However, she wasn't able to finish the final, which took her out of position to make the podium (top-eight finish).

Coming into her senior season, Landis is bound to be hungry to make a return trip to state, get back on the podium and close her career strong.

Tess Shultz, Loudonville

Talk about someone who's surely got some momentum coming into outdoor track season. As a junior, Loudonville's Tess Shultz is pretty well-accomplished so far in her career, and not just on the pavement too.

In November, Shultz became a two-time All-Ohioan in cross country (finished 10th in state meet this season) and carried that over into indoor track season, where she placed seventh in the 1600 and 10th in the 800 at the Division II/III indoor state track meet. The 1600 will be the event to watch her in, as Shultz is a two-time Mid-Buckeye Conference champion in the four-lap race. Even better, Shultz made the podium as a sophomore (4th place) in the 1600 at last year's Division III outdoor state track meet to earn All-Ohioan honors.

With the 1600 state champion (Norwayne's Jaylee Wingate) and state runner-up (McDonald's Megan Hipple) having graduated last year, one can't rule out Shultz's chance at finishing in the top spot come June.

Liam Kuhn, Crestview

Kuhn made quite the impression as a freshman in the pole vault last year.

After a fourth-place finish at the prestigious Mehock Relays in Mansfield last season, Kuhn went on to battle it out with senior teammate Shawn Bailey in multiple meets. At the Firelands Conference meet, Bailey won the title, while Kuhn was second. At the Division III district meet, Bailey won the district title, as Kuhn placed second. Then at the regional meet, Kuhn stepped it up and won the regional title, clearing 13 feet, 4 inches, while Bailey came in third.

At the Division III state meet, Kuhn finished on a high note, placing sixth (highest jump was 14-feet-2) to earn a medal, joining Bailey (5th place). No telling how high Kuhn can climb in Year 2.

Wade Bolin, Crestview

After suffering an ACL injury during the 2022 football season, Bolin would go onto miss the entire track season in 2023 as a junior. Now healthy, the senior will be looking to pick up where he left off during his sophomore year, as he was a Division III state qualifier in both the shot put and discus.

In 2022, Bolin won the Firelands Conference title in the shot put and was runner-up in the discus. In the postseason leading up to the state meet, Bolin won the district title in the shot put and was third in the discus, then went on to win the regional title in the discus while going runner-up in the shot put. Bolin's been busy during indoor track season, where he had a ninth place finish in the shot put at the Division II/III indoor state track meet.

We'll see what his comeback season will look like.

Dana Frazier, Ashland

Frazier has been a steady performer in the pole vault throughout her prep career and as a senior this year, she'll be looking to keep that up, and maybe go a level higher.

A two-time regional qualifier in the pole vault (2021, 2022), Frazier will come into this season as the defending Ohio Cardinal Conference champion and looking to repeat in the event. She wasn't able to make it out of the Division I district meet last year (5th place), so getting to the state meet for the first time seems like the logical next jump for Frazier.

Olivia Todd, Black River

Based on results, Olivia Todd is one of the those track athletes that has shown improvement each year, with her focus being in the two hurdle events. In her sophomore year in 2022, Todd finished fourth in both the 100 and 300 hurdles at the Lorain County Conference meet. She came back last year as a junior, and won the Lorain County Conference title in the 100 hurdles and was third in the 300 hurdles. She was also a Division III district champion in the 100 hurdles, while placing third in the 300 hurdles.

As a regional qualifier last season in both hurdle events, the Cleveland State University track commit is still looking to make it to the big stage at the state meet for the first time. Given the progress she's made every year, Todd (17th place in 400 at indoor state track meet in March) is looking to do just that in her senior year.

Corri Vermilya, Loudonville

Yep, Vermilya isn't half bad on the pavement either. While Vermilya − this year's Division IV Player of the Year in basketball − is known for her play on the hoop court, she also holds her own in track too.

Vermilya has done most of her damage in the 100 and 300 hurdles, where she is a three-time state qualifier (300 hurdles in 2022, 2023; 100 hurdles in 2023). Last season, Vermilya was the Mid-Buckeye Conference and a Division III district champion in the 300 hurdles, while finishing third in the regional meet. In the 100 hurdles, she submitted second-place finishes at the district and regional meet. Vermilya has made it to state twice but in her senior year, she'll be looking to go a step further and make the podium.

Angela Williams, South Central

Consistency might seem like the right word to describe South Central's Angela Williams throughout her track career.

That consistency has been well-rooted in the long jump, where Williams is not just a three-time state qualifier in (2021-2023) but also an All-Ohioan in as well. After finishing 18th in her freshman year at the Division III state meet, then 15th in her sophomore year, Williams jumped up to eighth-place last season as a junior to medal. Another strong suit for Williams, is her ability as a sprinter, where she is a two-time state qualifier in the 200 meters (2022, 2023). At last year's Firelands Conference meet, she swept all three sprint events in the 100, 200 and 400 meters.

During the indoor track season, Williams kept her stride going, as she pulled out an 11th-place finish in the long jump at the Division II/III state indoor track meet. Look out for Williams in her senior year, as a higher place on top of the podium in the long jump could be very much in play.

Isaik Schoch, Mapleton

During last year's outdoor track season, Isaik Schoch just might have been the top male long distance runner in the Ashland County area.

An All-Ohioan at the Division III state cross country meet in the fall (19th place), Schoch was in strong form in the 3200 and 1600 as a junior, where he was the Firelands Conference champion in both. Schoch attempted both distance events at the Division III district meet, where he qualified in the 1600 (3rd place) and missed regionals in the 3200 (7th place). At the regional meet, Schoch clinched the fourth spot in the 1600 to make his first state meet.

In Columbus, Schoch ended up with a 12th place finish in the 1600 state final, four spots off making the podium. Now as a senior and coming off placing 16th in the 3200 at the Division II/III indoor state track meet, don't be surprised to see Schoch jump into the top eight and medal at the state meet in Dayton come June. Whether it's the 3200 or 1600. Or maybe even both.

jsimpson@gannett.com

Twitter@JamesSimpsonII

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Top Track and Field athletes in Ashland County this spring to follow