Unioto sweeps Scioto Valley Conference track and field championships

HUNTINGTON TOWNSHIP − Cameron Walker had just one thought on her mind as she began the final leg of Unioto's 4x400 race on Friday − win.

The freshmen knew she had plenty of ground to cover. Huntington had led the 4x400 relay from the first leg of the race, and Unioto remained a step behind. When Walker received the hand-off from Aidyn Danison and took off for the final leg, something in her caught fire. Walker took about 200 meters before she caught up to and overtook Huntington's Tori Smith.

"I don't know what came over me," Walker said. "I had this fire and people said they saw it. Aidyn said she saw it in my eyes. I was just like, 'I cannot lose this for us,' because I knew how important it was for my team and for myself as well. When I caught her, I can't even explain in words how it feels to do that."

Walker stole first place for Unioto in the final leg of the 4x400 to punch in a time of 4:26.31, and in the process aided the Shermans to a much larger victory. Both Unioto's boys and girls team took home first place in the Scioto Valley Conference track meet at Myrl Shoemaker Stadium on Friday night.

Unioto's boys team scored 153 points, and it claimed first place in five events. Its individual winners included Ashton Beverly (800m run, 1,600m run) and Maddox Fox (300m hurdles, high jump), while Beverly, Caden Larue, JJ Larue and Turner Markko combined for a win in the 4x800 relay.

Unioto's girls team scored 175 points and took first in 11 events. Individual winners included Danison (100m dash, 200m dash), Walker (800m run, 1,600m run), Addison Mohan (400m dash), Briana Nelson (3,200m run) and Alexis Book (high jump). Unioto also won all four relay events

"Every girl went in and took care of their spot, and on the boys' side, anything from the distance," Unioto coach Don Ooten said. "Ashton Beverly annihilated his races, and Maddox did his. Even going down to some of the other kids, like Caden Cutright where he comes in and he does three jumps. And a kid like Romance Thomas that works his tail off all year, earns his spot two days before the league meet and he takes seventh place. Two points in an elite conference with Zane Trace as tough as they are, it's big."

Adena's girls came in second place with 159 team points, and they had multiple athletes place third or better in their respective events. Claire Robinson claimed first place in the pole vault for the Warriors, and she broke a milestone in the process. Robinson's cleared height of 10-6 set the program record for girls pole vault. Sydney Foglesong also took home wins in shot put and discus after putting up throws of 37-9.5 and 121-08 respectively.

The Warriors' boys team took fourth place and won a pair of relays in the process. Bryson Smith, Joe Putnam, Liam Ray and Darius Wagner won the 4x200 in 1:38.62. Smith, Putnam, Ray and Dalton Skeens also won the 4x100. Ryan Richendollar took home first place in the 3,200m run after posting a time of 10:01.04, and he finished second in the 1,600 with a time of 4:30.56.

Zane Trace's boys scored 120 team points to take second place in the meet, and it picked up four first-place finishes along the way. Charley Clyne finished the 400m dash in 51.20, and he anchored teammates Andrew Payton, Riley Hartsaugh and Wyatt Vick for a 3:33.56 finish in the 4x400. Zane Pickerrell took first in pole vault with a height of 11-6, and Noah Fetters won the shot put with a throw of 53-4.25.

The Pioneers' girls team picked up 100.5 points and third place in the meet. Reise Grant took first in long jump with a final result of 14-7. Marie Souther completed the 400m dash in 1:03.51 to earn second place, and Molly Prochaska finished second in the 3,200m run with a time of 12:39.19.

Paint Valley's boys team came up with third place and 84 team points after tallying four first-place finishes, all of which came from Cole Miller. The senior won the 100m dash in 11.21, the 200m dash in 22.83, the 110 hurdles in 15.68 and he won the long jump with a final jump of 21-3.

Its girls team took seventh place with 33 team points. One of its highest placements came from Averi McFadden, who finished second in the 100m dash with a time of 13.61. McFadden also completed the 200m dash in 28.77, which was good enough for third place.

Huntington's girls and boys teams both placed fifth by the end of the meet, and they accumulated 60 points and 72 points respectively. Arlene Duty placed the highest among the girls team after breaking out a 52.29 time in the 300 hurdles for first place. Wes Brown added three second-place finishes for the boys after completing the 100m dash in 11.48, the 200m dash in 23.33 and the 400m dash in 51.70.

Piketon's girls team came in sixth place on Friday after racking up 48.5 points, and its boys team took eighth with 43.5 points. Alisabeth Taylor finished first in the girls 100m hurdles with a time of 17.87, and Alan Austin notched the lone win for the boys after putting up a discus throw 177-9.

Westfall's girls team filed into fourth place after amassing 67 points. One of its highest placers, Caitlyn Shipley, finished second in two events. She completed the 800 in 2:29.83, and she breezed through the 1,600 with a time of 5:34.40.

Westfall's boys took sixth place after also earning 67 points. Josh Trapp finished second in the 800 with a time of 2:03.05, and he anchored teammates Henry Barnes, Mason Barnes and Tyler Yates to clock a time of 8:37.73 and second place in the 4x800 relay.

Southeastern's girls team came in eighth place with a team score of 15 points. One of its highest placers was Leila Kiser, who took sixth in the 100m dash with a time of 14.25. The boys team claimed seventh place with a team score of 45 points. Connor Smith put up three solid results for the boys team after claiming third in the 100m dash, fourth in the 200m dash and second in long jump.

This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Unioto sweeps Scioto Valley Conference track and field championships