GREENE COUNTY — A total of 16 Greene County area high school track and field athletes have qualified to this weekend’s Ohio High School Athletic Association track and field championships, Friday and Saturday, June 1-2 in Columbus.
Eleven area girls and potentially five guys will head to Columbus for the state meet.
Beavercreek High School has the most student athletes headed to state. Riley Buchholz qualified as the lone Beavers boy to advance. He’ll run in the 800-meter run.
Bellbrook’s Hayden Bullock (discus) and the Carroll tandem of Karl Grossman (800) and Sam Janson (400-meter run) will also be in the boys D-I state field.
Beavercreek teammates and good friends Taylor Ewert and Jodie Pierce will see double duty at the girls Division I state meet, as will Pierce’s older sister, Stephanie.
Stephanie Pierce, Beavercreek’s lone senior to get to Columbus, will compete in the girls 800-meter run. She’ll also join Ewert, Pierce and Ashtyn Gluck in the girls 3,200-meter relay.
Jodie Pierce and Ewert will also run in the girls 3,2oo-meter individual run.
Bellbrook’s McKenna Kramer is the other Division I state competitor from Greene County. Kramer returns to Columbus to compete in the girls high jump.
In Division II, Carroll discus thrower Julia Keller will be in the state championship field. Keller’s discus throw event is the very first field event scheduled at the state championships this year. The Division II girls discus competition begins at 9:30 a.m. Friday, June 1.
Of all the regional times recorded throughout Ohio last weekend, Carroll’s girls mile relay team of Alaina Casey, Ava Lickliter, Meghan Schrand and Taylor Smith turned in the quickest time (4:03.78) for a relay foursome not to finish fourth or better. As a result, the Carroll four will attend the state meet as the first alternate.
No area girls qualfied to Columbus in Division III this season.
Legacy Christian’s Isaac Erlundson will make a return trip to the state Division III meet. Erlundson will compete in the mile (1,600-meter) run.
Perhaps there is a technicality that could send one more area athlete to Columbus, too.
According to the OHSAA, the top-4 finishers in each regional final event were to advance to Columbus and the state championships. However, as of Sunday night, the OHSAA had Legacy Christian runner James Brads listed as a boys state qualifier in the Division III 800-meter run. Brads placed sixth at the Piqua regionals.
A complete state track and field championship schedule, ticket information and parking alerts can be found on the state track championships tournament link: http://ohsaa.org/Sports-Tournaments/Track-Field/Track-Field-2018/2018-OHSAA-Track-Field-State-Championships-Coverage-Page.
