‘Trusting the process’: Ontario boys are runner-up in regional track

LEXINGTON – Aiden Fox is as sly as one.

Obviously, this two-legged Fox is not intentionally playing possum, but some of his competitors have probably been surprised each of the last two weeks as the Ontario junior has gone from fifth in the prelims to second on the podium in the 300 meter hurdles.

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It happened at home in the Division II district track and field meet and again at Saturday’s Lexington regionals as Fox’s runner-up finish in a personal-best 39.59 helped his Warriors finish in a second-place tie with Huron, just two points behind champion Oak Harbor.

As he took a photo of first-year coach Rachel Miller’s team with its runner-up hardware, athletic director Jeff Fisher said it was the highest finish ever at the school.

“I’m just trusting the process of what my coach (Miller) has me doing,” Fox said. “So I just go hard every time.”

Doesn’t sound like someone craftily laying low so that he can sneak up on people in the finals. But whatever he’s doing is working.

“I want to get down to 38 (seconds),” he said. “If I just keep grinding, one day I’ll get here. I think I can do it. As long as I have faith in God, I can do it. I need to come out of the blocks hard and finish strong.”

Fox is one of four Ontario boys to qualify for state in multiple events. He’s also going as a member of the Warriors’ regional champion 4x400 relay team (3:22.56), along with sophomores Landon Foltz and Jace Young and junior Bodpegn Miller.

Miller, a major college football prospect, and Young are triple qualifiers. Miller is also Dayton-bound in the 200 dash (third in 21.98) and as the anchor of Ontario’s fourth place 4x200 relay team (1:29.24). Young advances in the 4x400 and the second-place 4x800 (7:58.04),  both of which he anchors, and in the open 800, where he took fourth (1:53.62).

Junior Dean Morrison locked down state berths in the 4x8 and 3200, taking third (9:53.02) in the latter. Also part of the relay crews are sophomore Xavier Trent and senior  Austin Boughton in the 4x8 and sophomore Grady Muncy, junior Brady Fletcher and senior Quinton Frankhouse in the 4x2..

Young set a school record in the 800, breaking the old mark by former teammate Miles Meisse by nearly three seconds.

Asked if he would call or text Meisse to rub it in, Young grinned and said, “I might. He’s a great guy and that was a great PR for me. I’m absolutely happy with the race. I not only got the school record, I crushed it.”

It might not have even been his best race of the day. Running anchor on the 4x4, it looked like the front-running Young was going to get passed on the back straightaway. But as soon as the Jonathan Alder anchor caught up with Young, he found another gear and held off Alder the rest of the way.

Like most mid-distance runners, Young is part sprinter, which comes in handy when he’s trying to apply a finishing kick.

“I work a lot with Meghan (Willeke-Spurling), our distance coach,” he said. “I ran the (1600) last year, so I stuck with that program.”

Morrison is another member of Willeke-Spurling’s crew having an outstanding season. Like Young, he also PRed in his specialty on Saturday.

“It means a lot to me,” he said about qualifying for state. “My freshman year I played football and had a decent track season, but didn’t make it out of districts. (My sophomore year) was my first year of cross country and I had an OK season, but didn’t make it out of districts (in track) again.

“Last week at districts, I won  (the 3200), which surprised me, honestly, and now I’m going to state. I don’t know how I feel. I feel great, obviously, but it doesn’t feel real. People are right, I guess. Hard work does pay off. When I crossed that (finish) line I think I had the biggest smile on my face. I was like, holy crap, I did it.”

Last week was the first time Miller had run the 200 since ninth grade. Now he’s going to state in that race and two relays, including another 200 as anchor of the 4x2.

“I’m still trying to figure out how to run (the open 200),” he said. “I just have to focus on my form at the end because I get tired. I have to re-accelerate. I’ve got to keep my form.”

The 400 was his race, but he switched to the 200 for districts to prevent a flare-up of hamstring issues in the longer sprint.

Yet there he was Saturday, running the second leg of the 4x4 and helping the Warriors win that race.

“No pain, no gain,” Miller said. “There was a lot of pain, but it was worth it. It feels amazing. All glory to God for everything He has done for me.”

This year got off to a great start for Galion sophomore Jacob Chambers when he won an indoor state championship in the long jump. Now he’s making a second trip to the outdoor state meet and he’s going in three events. He was third in the 100 (10.95), fourth in the long jump (22-2.75) and third in the 4x100 (42.54) where he is joined by sophomore Zach Sallee and seniors Linkon Tyrrell and Gabe Ivy.

All but Tyrrell were on the 4x1 that medaled at state last year.

“I’m definitely happy to get (to state) in a couple events; I wasn’t expecting three,” Chambers said. “Last year (at state) was definitely nerve-wracking, but this year I hope to stay calm, so that we can go out there and do our best, perform the best we can.”

Shelby had a pair of state qualifiers. Graham Yeager was third in the shot put (155-11) and the 4x8 team of junior Luke Baker and seniors Marshall Moore, Indy Mayer and Luke Lesseuer was fourth (8:06.29).

Clear Fork’s Davis Hoeflich was the only area boy to make it to state in an individual event as a freshman, finishing fourth in the high jump (6-4). He created a lot of buzz last year by clearing the top height (6-6) in the nation for a middle-schooler.

Hoeflich has already topped that by one inch at the varsity level, while tweaking his approach to mimic collegiate jumpers.

“I've got (the footwork) down; I just need to perform at state,” Hoeflich said. “I’ve just got to jump my best and prove that I’m not pressured (by expectations). I have to just do me because I know what I can accomplish.”

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: ‘Trusting the process’: Ontario boys are runner-up in regional track