The Mount Gilead track and field program was able to boast a pair of state champions during the OHSAA state track and field meet, which was held Friday and Saturday.
Competing in the seated shot put on Friday, Bradley Landon took first place out of nine competitors with a state meet record throw of 25’3” to win by over two feet over the second-place finisher. Seated events were added to the state meet in 2013, with a total of eight events contested in that category. Competitors in each event come from schools situated in all three divisions and as such, those results are not included in team point tallies.
In the Division III girls’ meet, Allison Johnson added a win, as she claimed first place in the 800 by over two seconds, finishing in 2:10.53.
Johnson had qualified for the state meet in four events, but elected not to compete in the 400 or the pole vault in order to focus on the 800 and 100-meter hurdles. That decision paid off, as she provided all 18 of MG’s points — good for an 11th place tie with Wheelersburg in the team standings.
In the hurdles, she qualified for the finals on Thursday with a preliminary heat time of 14.72. She then ran 14.77 in the finals to place second in that event.
Also competing for the Indian girls were Jessica Brewer and Isabela Schroeter. Brewer ran in the prelims of the 100, but her time of 13.01 didn’t advance her to the finals. In the high jump, Schroeter cleared 5’ to finish in 11th place.
Mount Gilead’s boys’ team had a strong showing in the meet, finishing in fifth place with 26 points and boasting a pair of runner-up finishes among six podium-worthy performances.
Connor Page won his heat of the 110-meter prelims on Friday with a time of 15.29. In the finals, he improved that mark to 15.21 and finished second in the event. Page also ran with Liam Dennis, Nathen Weaver and Brandon Stevens in the 1600-meter relay. They also won their heat on Friday, finishing the race in 3:25.58. In the finals, they shaved over two seconds off that time, finishing in 3:23.36 to claim second place.
Dennis played a role in two more MG placements in the meet. Individually, he claimed fifth in the 800, finishing with a time of 1:55.72. On Friday, he competed along with Brett Shipman, Casey White and Weaver in the 3200-meter relay, where the team took sixth place in 8:07.32.
Stevens added a seventh-place finish in the 400. He advanced to the finals with a time of 49.9 in the prelims and then finished the finals in 50.27. Micah Tuggle also scored for the Indians, as he was eighth in the shot put with a top effort of 52’5”. Tuggle entered the finals in ninth place, but moved up to eighth on the strength of his final two throws.
Mount Gilead competed in several other events over the two days. Ethan Supplee came closest to placing, as he missed the podium by one spot in the 3200, finishing in 9:54.77 and finishing ninth. Casey White took 14th in the 1600 with a time of 4:33.62, while Kyle White cleared 12’ in the pole vault for 16th place.
Dennis ran the prelims of the 110 hurdles and recorded a time of 16.0, while Page had a time of 41.14 in the 300-meter hurdles prelims. Also, the 800-meter relay of Storm McGinniss, Trevor Ball, Weaver and Stevens ran their preliminary heat race in 1:34.5.
Also in the Division III boys’ meet, Northmor had its 400-meter relay team of Drew Zoll, Aaron Berg, Adam Petulla and P.J. Lower took eighth place. They had a time of 44.06 in their preliminary heat Friday and finished Saturday’s final in 44.19.
The team had competitors in two other events. Tony Martinez cleared 13’6” to tie for 11th in the pole vault. The Golden Knights also ran in the 1600-meter relay. The team of Zoll, Gavvin Keen, Petulla and Alec Moore did not qualify for the finals, though. While running in a pack, Keen, the second leg of the relay, was tripped up. This resulted in Northmor finishing last in their heat and to the Lutheran East team being disqualified for interference.
The Highland boys had competitors in three events in the Division II meet and placed in two of them to finish in a 10-way tie for 37th place with five points.
The team’s 400-meter relay of Brock Veley, Landyn Albanese, Jack Weaver and Chase Carpenter finished in sixth place. After running a time of 43.04 in Friday’s preliminary heat, they finished the finals with a time of 43.06 to reach the podium.
Veley also placed individually. After running a time of 10.96 in Friday’s prelims of the 100, he finished the race in 11.2 on Saturday to take seventh.
Weaver advanced to the finals of the 200 with a time of 22.82, snagging the final qualifying bid. However, his time of 22.84 on Saturday put him in ninth place — just off the podium. Weaver also ran in the prelims of the 100, finishing that race in 11.07.
