Track and Field: Zane Trace boys win final relay, place first at Division II district meet

WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE — Wyatt Vick knew how important Zane Trace's finish in the boys 4x400 relay was on Saturday.

The Pioneers needed one final boost in the Division II district meet. They trailed Wheelersburg heading into the final event of the day, and the only chance for a repeat district title lay in a first-place finish in the relay. In spite of the heat, and some fatigue leftover from placing second in the 800-meter run earlier, Vick lined up for the last leg of his last race of the day, alongside teammates Charley Clyne, Peyton Dotson and Riley Hartsaugh.

Wheelersburg held a light grip on first as Vick took the baton from Dotson for the final leg. As he rounded the bend, Vick stormed ahead and crossed the finish line to beat out Wheelersburg's Elijah Brown by two tenths of a second.

"We stayed really close with Wheelersburg the whole time, and I was pretty much right next to him so I was able to run with him and pass at the end," Vick said. "It was definitely the hardest last 100 that I've ever ran in any race before. I was scared the whole time because I thought he was going to pass me."

Vick's effort won the Pioneers the 4x400, and in turn the district title. The Pioneers' boys team placed first with 105 points beating out Wheelersburg by one point.

The Pioneers also had the most district champions of any area team present at the meet. They took first in another relay, the boys 4x200, thanks to the team of Clyne, Hartsaugh, Brice Johnson and Aaden Dunn. The four completed the event in 1:31.96, a time that also beat out Wheelersburg by just over a second. Spencer Brower and Kendra Detillion also earned first for the Pioneers in boys and girls shot put after respective throws of 56-11.5 and 40-8.5.

"Days like this is when you break records," Zane Trace coach Bryan Alley said. "Fortunate that we broke the high school 4x100 relay record, we PRed in the 4x400, we PRed in the 4x200. There was a lot of PRs today."

Nelson leading area runners to regionals

When Briana Nelson last competed in the district meet last year, she came short of a regionals appearance after placing fifth in the girls 3,200-meter run for Unioto. Much of her focus since then has been on improving and breaking through to the next stage in the postseason.

That work is paying off.

On the same track she raced on in districts last year, Nelson cruised to first place in the 3,200 by over 11 seconds with a final time of 12:13.88. She and teammate Ava Fyffe, who placed fourth with a 12:39.94 final, locked down spots atop the podium, as well as their tickets to regionals.

"Last year I was fifth, and that was a real eye-opener because I did want that to happen again," Nelson said. "I feel like I definitely focused more ... I want to be more consistent in my splits, and I was, so that was really good."

Nelson and Fyffe will be in familiar company at regionals. Molly Prochaska from Zane Trace and Paisley Turner of Waverly filed into second and third place respectively in the 3,200. To Nelson, the familiar competition will be a welcome sight next week.

"I just think that a lot of people around our area are really good runners," Nelson said. "That's really great, being from Southern Ohio and having really good people to run against."

O'Bryant making postseason strides

Paige O'Bryant learned plenty from her freshman season. The sophomore reached the state meet last season in the 100-meter dash, where she reached the preliminaries in Division II. Now, O'Bryant has a shot at qualifying in three events. O'Bryant placed first in the long jump Saturday with a 17-3.5 jump, and she placed second in both the 100 and 200 meter dashes with respective times of 12.83 and 26.65.

The biggest improvement O'Bryant has made, in her own eyes, has been her block starts. Aside from working on finishing strong, the sophomore believes the little tweaks she's made have improved her performances this year.

"I've just got to keep working hard," O'Bryant said. "Keep focusing in practice, eating well, sleeping. Just keeping myself and my mental health on top."

Larue continues distance win streak

Caden Larue wanted a a bit better time than his 4:34.76 finish in the 1,600-meter run. His original plan had been to hold a strong pace, but he was forced to pace himself due to the heat from the afternoon sun. Still, the Unioto senior will take the result he earned. Especially after it earned him an individual district championship.

Larue finished six seconds ahead of the rest of the pack in the 1,600. Larue knows his own abilities. He placed first in the 1,600 at the Scioto Valley Conference championships the week prior, and he knew that he had the power to pull through, even in the heat.

"The original plan was to go out hard and try to hold a decent pace, but with the heat it's kind of difficult to do that," Larue said. "So the plan was just to persevere. We got out hot, which was good, but we all felt it instantly. It was just whoever was the toughest at that point."

Division II team scores and results

BOYS

Zane Trace, first place (105); Unioto, fourth place (74.5); Waverly, sixth place (56.5); Westfall, tied for ninth place (22 points); Piketon, 15th place (1.5)

Regional qualifiers: 4x100: Brice Johnson, Riley Hartsaugh, Aaden Dunn, Peyton Dotson (Zane Trace), Sebastian Billasano, Mason Pollard, Blake Osborne, Landyn Russell (Waverly); 4x200: Aaden Dunn, Brice Johnson, Riley Hartsaugh, Charley Clyne (Zane Trace); 4x400: Riley Hartsaugh, Wyatt Vick, Peyton Dotson, Charley Clyne (Zane Trace), Brody Williams, Quinn Eberly, Henry Barnes, Josh Trapp (Westfall); 4x800: Caden Larue, Ethan Purtee, Jayden Lewis, Tanner Beam (Unioto), Gabe Clifton, Jeremiah Miller, Carter Jones, Zarian Canter (Waverly); 200 dash: Peyton Dotson (Zane Trace); 400 dash: Brody Williams (Westfall); 800 dash: Wyatt Vick (Zane Trace), Josh Trapp (Westfall); 1,600 run: Caden Larue (Unioto), Gabe Clifton (Waverly); 3,200 run: William Lynch (Unioto); 110 hurdles: Blayse Jones (Waverly), Charley Clyne (Zane Trace); 300 hurdles: Jack Winegardner, Tanner Beam (Unioto); Discus: Noah Fetters (Zane Trace); Shot put: Spencer Brower, Noah Fetters (Zane Trace); High jump: Blayse Jones (Waverly); Pole vault: Hudson Williams (Zane Trace), Levi Beam (Unioto).

GIRLS

Unioto, third place (80); Waverly, sixth place (53); Zane Trace, ninth place (36); Westfall, tied for 10th place (14); Piketon, 13th place (8.5)

Regional qualifiers: 4x400: Cameron Walker, Ella Pelfrey, Alexa West, Adeline Lloyd (Unioto); 4x800: Cameron Walker, Briana Nelson, Alexa West, Gwyn Eldridge (Unioto), Hadlee Cisco, Brookelynn Burlson, Mallory Roberts, Paisley Turner (Waverly); 100 dash: Paige O'Bryant (Waverly); 200 dash: Paige O'Bryant (Waverly); 800 dash: Caitlyn Shipley (Westfall); 1,600 run: Cameron Walker, Gwyn Eldridge (Unioto); 3,200 run: Briana Nelson, Ava Fyffe (Unioto), Molly Prochaska (Zane Trace), Paisley Turner (Waverly); 300 hurdles: Adeline Lloyd (Unioto); Discus: Kendra Detillion (Zane Trace); Shot put: Kendra Detillion (Zane Trace), Makinley Haynes (Unioto); Long jump: Paige O'Bryant (Waverly); High jump: Adeline Lloyd (Unioto); Pole vault: Reise Grant (Zane Trace).

This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Track and Field: Zane Trace boys place first at Division II district meet