Olentangy Orange’s boys track and field team won its first district title in program history over the weekend, getting the job done with a slew of first-place finishes on the track and another in the field.
The Pioneers finished with 124 points in the Division I District I meet Saturday at Hilliard Darby. Reynoldsburg finished second with 92 points while Pickerington North smoothed out the top three with 62.
Jayden Rodgers, TJ Coates and Hunter Moore led the way on the track.
Rodgers won the 110 hurdles (14.56 seconds), Coates picked up first-place points in the 400 (49.93 seconds) and Moore won the 3,200 (9:19.82).
Orange also got wins from the 4×800 (Tommy Heiden, Tyler King, Andrew Schroff and Moore) and 4×400 (Coates, King, Christian Wright and Zach Harrison) relay teams, finishing in respective times of 8:09.96 and 3:22.16.
Rodgers secured the Pioneers’ win in the field, taking top honors in the high jump with an effort of 6-04.
In Division I District I girls’ action, Liberty finished third with 76 points and Big Walnut closed eighth with 37.
Emma Bower was the Patriots’ lone district champ, winning the 3,200 in 11:00.61. Runner-up honors went to Sam Silber in the pole vault (11-08), Gracie Sprankle in the 1,600 (5:01.53) and the relay quartet of Lauren Walsh, Sienna Sakich, Sydney Englehart and Abby Summers, which finished second in the 4×100 (49.60 seconds).
Golden Eagle standouts included Kaley Rammelsberg, who finished second in the high jump (5-05); and Anna Vrancken, who closed second in the discus (117-01).
District 2
Orange’s girls were almost as good as the boys in the Division I District 2 championship meet, finishing second with 97.50 points Saturday in Hilliard.
Defending state champ Anna Watson set the tone, winning the pole vault while setting a new outdoor state record with an effort of 13-06.25 on the opening day Tuesday afternoon.
Plenty of standout performances were to follow, though. Grace Frye won the discus (125-03), Allison Guagenti finished first in the 1,600 (5:01.12) and second in the 3,200 (11:07) and Mackenzie Blendick nabbed runner-up honors in the 100 hurdles (15.36 seconds).
Olentangy also competed in District 2, finishing seventh with 34 points.
Standouts included Siobhan Szerencsit, who finished second in the pole vault (12-04); Madeline Barnes, who was third in the pole vault (11-08); and Holly Nation, who finished second in the high jump (5-02).
In boys’ action, Olentangy closed third with 63 points and Liberty finished fourth with 53.
The Braves’ Kyle Brookshire picked up the best finish among area athletes, capturing a district crown in the pole vault thanks to his effort of 14-04.
Olentangy’s Anthony Sasso was also solid, closing second in the 800 (1:56.09) while Liberty’s Joseph Johnson was right behind him, finishing third in the event (1:56.41).
The Braves also secured second-place points in the 4×800 (Zach Balthaser, Jeremy Kendle, Grant Maddox and Sasso) and 4×400 (Kendle, Sasso, Joel Michael and Balthaser) relays, crossing the line in respective times of 8:08.09 and 3:24.97.
District 3
Hayes’ girls and boys teams competed in the Division I District 3 championship Tuesday through Saturday in Hilliard, finishing fifth and sixth with respective point totals of 51 and 35.
The girls were boosted by freshmen Ari Avant and Sydney McMillin, who finished third in the 300 hurdles (46.08 seconds) and 200-meter dash (25.70 seconds), respectively. Chase Patton and Madeline Hayes tied for third in the pole vault, each clearing 9-06, and the 4×100 and 4×200 relay teams — which both featured Ashley Smiley, Torie Young, McMillin and Brooke Glesenkamp — collected third-place points with respective times of 49.66 seconds and 1:44.51.
Smiley and Glesenkamp also qualified for next week’s regionals in the field. Smiley finished fourth in the long jump (16-09.25) while Glesenkamp closed fourth in the high jump (5-0).
District 4
The Big Walnut and Buckeye Valley’s boys track teams competed in the Division I District 4 championship in Westerville, closing eighth and ninth when the action wrapped up Saturday afternoon.
The Golden Eagles got standout performances from their throwers. Abe Myers won the discus with a throw of 178-07 while Brandon Mosher won the shot put with a heave of 57-06.
The Barons were powered by Zach Kreft’s runner-up finish in the 1,600 (4:12.43) and third-place showing in the 3,200 (9:44.70).
Other standouts included Kolton Kantzer, who finished second in the high jump (5-10).
Division II
Buckeye Valley’s girls track and field team finished 11th at the D-II championship in Westerville, but did finish with a district champ and regional qualifier to its credit: Nina Hilt.
Hilt won the 100 hurdles in 15.97 seconds while finishing second in the 300 hurdles with an effort of 47.88 seconds.
