What's happening in Greater Columbus high school track and field? Here are 5 storylines
Central Ohio track and field athletes are gearing up for league and district meets.
Several programs host invitationals late in the regular season, and those double as tuneups for the championship meets. Among them were the Panther Invitational on April 26 at Hilliard Darby and the Gary Smith Invitational on Saturday at Thomas Worthington.
District meets begin May 14 at Darby, Westerville North and Westerville South.
Here are five storylines for central Ohio track and field:
1. Mahmud helping to lead Olentangy Orange girls
Coming off a successful season for the Orange girls wrestling team, senior Surraiya Mahmud hasn’t missed a beat for the track program.
Looking to earn her first trip to the Division I state meet, Mahmud is the Pioneers’ top performer in the pole vault and shot put.
She qualified for regional last season in both events, finishing seventh in the pole vault (personal-best 11 feet, 4 inches) and 14th in the shot put (32-¾).
“I’ve never been to state for track, so hopefully this year I’ll get a feel for that,” she said.
She prepared for next week’s OCC-Central meet by winning the pole vault (11-0) in the Panther Invitational.
“She is rolling in the pole vault and she’s getting better in the shot put,” coach Adam Walters said. “Pole vault is her main event and she picked up the shot last year. She’s a tough athlete, a great competitor. She really prepares well in both sports.”
Girls track: 12 central Ohio athletes to watch this spring
Mahmud helped the wrestling team win its first OHSAA state title, finishing second at 155 pounds.
“Normally, I transition a lot quicker from wrestling to track and field. However, this year I felt a little more banged up from state,” Mahmud said. “Something was bothering me in my upper left trap (muscle near my neck), so I had to let that heal a little. I took a little more than a week off and spring break was another week off.”
She missed the early part of wrestling season with a dislocated left kneecap.
Mahmud will compete in track at Southern Virginia, and she’s considering whether to also join the wrestling team.
2. Hilliard Darby girls feature solid core
Seniors Ady Armstrong (sprints), Ashley Cornathan (throws) and Paige Simmons-Norris (throws) and junior Gianna Lane (long jump, sprints) are expected to lead Darby in the postseason.
Armstrong was seventh in the 200 meters (25.16), eighth in the 400 (56.15) and 14th in the 100 (12.23) in the Division I state meet last year. She has missed most of the season with a stress fracture in her right fibula, but coach Drew Staten hopes she will be ready for district.
Lane was 12th in the 100 (12.16) at state.
“This is Gianna’s second full season doing long jump and she’s ranked first in the state in that right now,” Staten said. “We’re hoping she can put it all together. She’s really fast right now in the 100.”
Senior Katlyn Delgado-Heaberlin, a first-year track competitor, won the long jump (16-10 ¾) in the Panther Invitational.
“We’ve found some pieces along the way, and it’s all come together,” Staten said. “We’re in a really good spot going into the OCC-(Cardinal meet next week).”
3. Thomas Worthington boys eye strong effort at OCC meet
Thomas boys coach Bill Darling expects a strong showing in the OCC-Cardinal meet.
“We have come a long way,” he said. “We started off awful this year. We’re young and inexperienced, (but we have reached) the point where we’re scoring at invitationals. We’re going to try to get these kids to finals in the conference meet. We were so raw and green, but we’re getting there.”
Darling expects seniors Ethan Morgan (800, 3,200 relay) and Mason Telatnik (3,200) and junior Jeremiah Owusu (high jump) to be key contributors in the postseason.
Boys track: 12 central Ohio athletes to watch this spring
Thomas finished fourth (73) in the Gary Smith Invitational behind champion Gahanna Lincoln (116).
“We take a lot of pride in the invitational,” Darling said. “It’s a long and historic program. We’ve had an invitational of some sort every year since 1948.”
4. Thomas girls hope to make favorable postseason impression
With just five seniors on a team of 76 girls, Thomas coach Andrew Cox expects a bright future for his program. There also are reasons for him to be excited about the present.
“It’s a lot of underclassmen, but they’re young and eager,” Cox said. “It reminds me of pre-COVID, just the attitude and the excitement and wanting to do things together outside of practice. It’s almost back to normal, which is good. It’s taken a while. We’re pretty excited.”
Juniors Jenna Olsen and Andrea Tubbs give Thomas a solid tandem in the throws. Tubbs won the shot put (38-8 ¼) and Olsen was fourth in the discus (123-3) in the Gary Smith Invitational as the Cardinals finished third (69.5) behind champion Solon (118).
“Both of them are great,” Cox said. “It’s been fun. We haven’t had a throwing duo like that. Our struggle has been not scoring in the field. We’re heading in the right direction, which is great.”
Other key contributors should be junior TyEisha Perkins (sprints, 400), sophomore Maddie Miettinen (long jump, relays) and freshman Kira Luca (hurdles, 400). Luca has qualified for the 100 hurdles in the New Balance outdoor nationals June 13-16 in Philadelphia.
5. Whetstone girls look to repeat as City League champions
The City League meet is Tuesday and Thursday at Africentric, and the Whetstone girls will try to defend their title after outdistancing runner-up Eastmoor Academy 143-122 last year.
Key athletes for the Braves are seniors Sophia Nelson (1,600, 800) and Carly Paugh (high jump), juniors Avah Mathis (long jump), Catherine Pierce (sprints) and Nakya Simington (sprints, hurdles) and sophomore Miriam Rule (distance).
Pierce won the 100 (12.37) and 200 (25.06) last season. She qualified for regional in both events.
“The best part of this team is the relationship and the love that they have for each other,” coach Matt Agee said. “The on-track accomplishments that we’ve had have been amazing, but just seeing how genuinely good friends the majority of team (members) are and how they care for each other and cheer and support, (that) has by far been the most special thing to me and what I truly value.”
On the boys side, Whetstone was fourth (78) in the league last season behind champion Independence (106).
“We’re really young,” coach Joe Monda said. “We’re getting excited for next week. ... I don’t think we have enough experience to contend for a title, but if we run what we’re capable of running, we can finish in the top five, which would be a really nice finish for us this year.”
Key athletes are seniors Joshua Conroy (distance), Damian Earley (800, 1,600), Damarion McClinton (sprints) and Emmanuel Watson (400), junior Felix Martin (hurdles, relays) and sophomores Nick Hainen (distance) and Owen Lundine (800, 1,600).
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Central Ohio high school track and field: 5 storylines
