Watson sets new state record in pole vault

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Orange senior Anna Watson won a district title in impressive fashion, setting a new state outdoor record with an effort of 13-06.25 in the girls pole vault during the Division I District 2 championship meet Tuesday at Hilliard Darby.

Watson, the defending state champion in the event, won last year’s title by clearing 13-04 at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium — something she’s on track to doing again this spring.

Olentangy also finished with a pair of regional qualifiers in the event. Siobhan Szerencsit finished second with an effort of 12-04 and Madeline Barnes closed third thanks to her mark of 11-08.

Watson wasn’t the Pioneers’ only field event champ, either. Sophomore Grace Frye won the discus with a toss of 125-03, a new personal record.

Olentangy’s Holly Nation also punched a ticket to next week’s regional showcase, nabbing runner-up honors in the girls long jump with a leap of 5-02.

In boys’ action, Olentangy’s Kyle Brookshire won a district title in the pole vault, clearing 14-04. Liberty’s Jared Whitfield also advanced to regionals, finishing fourth in the high jump thanks to an effort of 5-10.

Division I District 1

There weren’t many finals during the first day of the Division I District 1 championship meet in Hilliard, but the ones that were contested produced a trio of regional qualifying relay teams.

Orange’s boys 4×800 relay team (Tommy Heiden, Tyler King, Andrew Schroff and Hunter Moore) won a district crown with a time of 8:09.96 while Big Walnut’s girls 4×800 foursome (Kaitlin Meade, Emma Padgett, Adelee Gartner and Colbi Borland) finished third in 9:45.73 and Liberty’s quartet (Gracie Sprankle, Emma Bower, Emily Matta and Lily Biros) closed fourth in 9:46.75.

Division I District 4

Big Walnut’s Brandon Mosher and Abe Myers won district crowns Tuesday, taking top honors in the boys shot put and discus events with respective efforts of 57-06 and 178-07 at the Division I District 4 showcase in Westerville.

Mosher also advanced to regionals in the discus, finishing fourth with a throw of 137-06.

Buckeye Valley’s Kolton Kantzer also advanced, finishing second in the boys high jump with an effort of 5-10.

SOFTBALL

Alex Thomas connected on a game-tying homer in the fourth inning, but Bloom-Carroll launched a home run of its own in the eighth to escape with a 2-1 extra-inning win in a Division II district semifinal Tuesday in Pickerington.

The Golden Eagles never really got going from the plate. Stacey Walters, Jess Coletta and Katie Neff had singles while Thomas finished with BW’s lone run and RBI.

Thomas did all she could from the circle, allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out seven and walking four in eight innings of work. She fired 141 pitches when all was said and done.

Aubrey Willet, who picked up the win for Bloom-Carroll, was also the hero at the plate, with her extra-inning homer proving to be the difference.

She allowed a run on four hits while striking out two en route to the complete-game win.

Devan Gilmore drove in the Bulldogs’ other run while Bailee Cox had a game-best two hits in the win.

River Valley 9, Buckeye Valley 1

Nicole Peak and Rilee George collected four of the Barons’ five hits, two apiece, but they didn’t amount to runs as River Valley rolled to a Division I district semifinal win Tuesday at Olentangy.

The Vikings set the tone with a three-run first and, after the Barons answered with a run in the second, they added two in the third and four in the fifth to smooth out the scoring summary.

Madi Myers led River Valley with a pair of home runs and five RBI.

GIRLS LACROSSE

Liberty 19, Hayes 3 (Regional Tournament).

BOYS LACROSSE

Buckeye Valley 7, Bexley 6, OT (Regional Tournament); Oakwood 11, Big Walnut 9 (Regional Tournament.

By Ben Stroup

[email protected]

Follow Ben Stroup on Twitter @delgazette_ben.

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