By Rob Hamilton
After the first day of the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference track and field championships, Mount Gilead led in the Blue Division girls’ race, while Northmor had the advantage in the boys’ competition.
Finals were held in the field events and the 3200-meter relay in Tuesday’s Blue Division action hosted by Mount Gilead. The Lady Indians finished with 56 points, while Cardington had 46. Highland and Northmor were tied for fourth with 29 points.
The Indian quartet of Micah James, Hannah Bush, Baylee Hack and Darcy Picker claimed the 3200 relay with a time of 10:07.45. Also picking up a win was Savannah Randall, who took the discus with an effort of 118’10”. MG had a few other athletes earn top-three places.
In the shot put, Skylar Edwards finished second, while Randall was third. Kelsey Kennon was third in the discus and Jadyn Shipman took the same place in the pole vault.
Cardington picked up a pair of wins in the field events. Sage Brannon took first in the long jump by going 15’4.75”, while Nadia Kerman won the shot with an effort of 34’6. Kerman also was second in the discus. Also, Lilly Grooms finished second in the pole vault and Alicia McElwee was third in the long jump.
Northmor’s Hope Miracle claimed the pole vault with an effort of 9’5.25” to pace the Lady Knights on the first day of the meet.
Highland was led by a pair of second-place finishes. The team of Taylor Belcher, Sophia Thompson, Christina Rose and Alex Debord took second in the 3200 relay, while Belcher added a second-place finish in the high jump.
Northmor’s boys tallied 55 points on Tuesday, while Mount Gilead had 42 for second place. Highland was in fourth with 34 and Cardington is eighth with six.
The Knights got a win from Demetrius Johnson in the long jump, as he went 23’3” for first place. Tony Martinez added a victory, winning the pole vault by clearing 11’. The quartet of A.J. White, James Walker, Alec Moore and Mostyn Evans was second in the 3200 relay.
Walker also was second in the high jump, while Kolton Smith finished third. Aaron Berg added a third-place finish in the pole vault.
Mount Gilead’s group of Nicholas Weiss, Brandon Stevens, Casey White and Austin Hallabrin finished first in the 3200 relay with a time of 8:14.01. Colten Clark placed second in the pole vault, while Isaac Arrington was third in the shot put.
For Highland, Javier Vasquez finished second in the shot put, while Zach Baker was third in the discus and Gavin Kafka was third in the long jump.
Cardington’s top finisher on the day was Skyler Streich, who finished sixth in the pole vault.
The running event finals will be held Thursday at Marion Pleasant starting at 4:30 p.m.
Rob Hamilton can be reached at 419-946-3010, ext. 1807. Connect with him on Twitter at @SportsMCS