Licking County Division I athletes enjoy regional track experience
PICKERINGTON — Belief simply needed to overpower doubt for Payton Taylor to begin to excel.
The Newark freshman continued an impressive stretch for the boys track team Wednesday, leaping a personal-best 21-9.5 to place sixth during the Division I regional championships at Pickerington North. Taylor added an inch and a quarter to the previous personal best he set at the district meet.
“It feels good, but I feel like I can do better. My potential’s there,” Taylor said. “I was thinking I could do it (at the beginning of the season), but it felt like something was pushing me back. It was like the devil telling me I couldn’t do it. It was like we were fighting together. I PR’d, so I am happy about that.”
Taylor was one of three Licking County sixth-place finishers that held out hope for a berth to next week’s state championships in Dayton. Those are determined based on the best two performances from outside the automatic top-four qualifiers in each region across the state.
Taylor said Wednesday he picked up a few pointers from Groveport junior Raishad King, who took runner-up. Taylor finished just two inches out of fourth and tied Westerville South’s Cameron Garcia but was awarded sixth based on Garcia’s superior second-best jump.
“When I see people jumping farther than me, it pushes me,” Taylor said. “(King) taught me new form, and I am jumping way better.”
Newark senior Ayden Bidwell also earned a sixth-place medal in the discus, recording a best of 141-4. On a windy afternoon, Bidwell was not able to match his personal best of 151-5 thrown during the district meet, but he did add to a standout postseason highlighted by his Ohio Capital Conference-Buckeye Division championship.
“I got as far as I wanted to go,” Bidwell said. “I wanted to go to the regionals, maybe state, but I can’t complain. That was a huge jump up (last week). It was an out-of-body experience. You don’t expect to throw 150 when I was only throwing low 140s all season. To hear it was great.”
Watkins Memorial senior Andrew Kirk placed right behind Bidwell, taking seventh with a best of 140-11. Kirk won the first flight to secure his spot in the finals.
“The first goal today was to make finals, and the second goal was to get points,” Kirk said. “I did exactly what I came here to do. It was my first time making it out of districts to regionals, so it felt good playing with house money today.”
Granville’s girls 3,200 relay placed sixth in a time of 9:40.13. Senior Kara Bergeron battled out of a pack on the anchor leg, following junior Sophia Poling, sophomore Lily Kronk and junior Avery Ogg for the Blue Aces.
“It’s definitely an honor for all of us to be here and compete with all of these amazing athletes,” said Bergeron, who will compete in the 1,600 on Friday after running an outstanding time of 5:01.83 last week. “We just all wanted to do our best, dig deep and give it all we have. I guess we fell a little short, but that happens. I am really proud of everything we have accomplished so far.”
Granville senior Greyson Ingle cleared 13-0 to place eighth in the boys pole vault.
The Watkins boys are set up for a strong team finish during Friday’s running finals.
Junior Joe McIntosh qualified out of Wednesday’s preliminaries in all of his events, picking up spots in both the 100 (11.13) and 200 (22.70) and joined sophomores Elijah Hardiman and Troy Blankenship and senior Jacob Holbert on the 400 relay (42.65) and Hardiman, junior John Apel and senior Adam Brazier on the 800 relay (1:28.33). Apel also qualified for the finals in the 400 (48.36).
Granville’s foursome of Bergeron, Ogg, senior Caitriona Sproul and sophomore Charlotte Turner qualified for the finals in the girls 1,600 relay (4:01.46).
Granville's foursome of Cohen Stump, Callum Sproul, Owen Kirkham and Lane Hannahs finished 15th in the boys 3,200 relay (8:16.73). Granville sophomore Ayla Cook in the girls 100 hurdles (15.97) and the foursome of Turner, Sproul, junior Hope Mahl and freshman Ivy Miller in the girls 800 relay (1:44.82) did not qualify for finals.
Watkins' Blankenship in the boys 300 hurdles (40.89) did not qualify for the finals nor did he, Brazier, Apel and freshman Connor Black in the boys 1,600 relay (3:26.81). Licking Heights sophomore Emma French was just edged out of qualifying for finals in the girls 300 hurdles (46.63) after a competitor was granted a second attempt due to a block malfunction.
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Licking County Division I athletes enjoy OHSAA regional track
