Fairfield senior Bennett Hodson finishes 17th at 800m state championships
COLUMBUS — Fairfield senior Bennett Hodson worked four years at the high school level to make his final race at the biggest stage of them all, and that is what he accomplished on Saturday on the campus of The Ohio State University in the Division III 800-meter race.
Hodson raced his way to a 17th-place finish in his final high school race, representing the Fairfield Lions as one of just two athletes to compete at the state event this year. Hodson finished with a time of 2:01.92, with his first lap time being 59.14 and second lap at 1:02.79.
“Running at state in general is an awesome experience,” Fairfield senior Bennett Hodson said. “The game plan I had went right for the first lap, but the second lap it didn’t go as well as I would have liked. It went downhill, but besides that, it was a great experience.
“I also want to congratulate my teammate Brandtson (Duffie) for winning the state championship. It was great to be a part of the first duo to run in the same event at state from Fairfield.”
The Fairfield senior worked mightily hard to get to this point of the season, proving rankings wrong and not only having a successful regular season, but he raced well all throughout the postseason races with his times advancing him each week all the way to the state championships Saturday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
“It was an end to a very good season and couldn't be prouder of Bennett as he had a goal of going to state. Bennett didn't do as well as he hoped, but just getting there was a thrill as he had an excellent season,” Fairfield head coach Rodger Marsh said. “Bennett is furthering his career in college and he will be successful.”
Entering the state championships, Hodson was described by head coach Rodger Marsh as “self-driven,” and his times this season proved that as this postseason he cut his time by as many as 16 seconds from the Southern Hills Athletic Conference Championships to the OHSAA State Championships, which is a span of around one month.
Hodson finished with a SHAC time that came in at 2:16.57 for second place. Next, he followed that performance with a district time of 2:03.54. At the regional championships, he placed third overall, qualifying for state with a time of 2:00.09, which is his PR time.
“It all started out with my freshman year. In cross-country, I didn’t have a chance to make Top 7 then, and I knew I could do better. From that summer, I trained hard, and from there on out I trained harder and harder,” Hodson said. “Without all of that training, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
Saturday was the second time Hodson raced at the state track championships, as last year he was a member of Fairfield’s state-qualifying 4x800m relay team. Not only that, Hodson is a three-time state qualifier for the Fairfield cross-country team, as he also raced at that event this past fall with the Lions, where as a team they were sixth place overall. As a junior and sophomore, Hodson was a member of the FHS cross-country teams that had back-to-back fourth-place finishes.
Hodson will be attending Kentucky Christian University for both cross-country and track & field.
“I want to thank my family, and a lot of them were there today watching, and also Brandtson’s family for all their support too. Thanks to the Leesburg community for being with us all the way. Also thanks to God for everything,” Hodson said.