Moon, Blair stand on podium; Fairfield, Whiteoak, McClain athletes compete at state track and field tournament
Top row: Fairfield's Remi Moon and Whiteoak's Weston Blair stand on the podium in their respective events; and bottom row: pictured l-r are state track and field athletes Faith Donley, Mylie Lovett, Becca Bergstrom, Kaitlyn Jett, Luca Matesic, Lily Barnes, Larah Henson, Sawyer Blair and Keegan Eyre. (Photos by Fairfield Athletics, Whiteoak Athletics and Stephen Forsha)
Thursday and Friday saw Highland County well represented at the 2024 OHSAA Division II and Division III State Track and Field Championships, held at Welcome Stadium in Dayton.
The final high school event of the season was capped off with Whiteoak junior Landen Eyre winning a state championship in the 3200-meter run in Division III competition (click here for full article), and he also was third place in the 1600-meter run.
There were others who also competed at a very high level from Highland County. Fairfield freshman Remi Moon placed eighth overall in her state debut in the Division III girls high jump event, where she had a height of 5-2. She entered the event with a PR height of 5-4 at regionals.
Also making the podium was Whiteoak senior Weston Blair, who in the 800-meter run for Division III raced to a sixth-place finish to gain a spot on the podium. Blair finished with a time of 1:56.12. He entered the state race with a regional time of 1:56:45.
The Whiteoak boys 4x800-meter relay team of sophomores Keegan Eyre and Sawyer Blair, plus junior Landen Eyre and senior Weston Blair, were 14th place at state in the Division III race with a time of 8:26.33.
Fairfield senior Faith Donley ran the Division III 400-meter race on Thursday, where she finished in 17th place in her state debut. Donley had a time of 1:00.36. The senior entered the race with a PR time of 58.89 at regionals.
In Division II competition, McClain’s 4x100-meter relay team of senior Luca Matesic, sophomore Becca Bergstrom, sophomore Mylie Lovett and senior Kaitlyn Jett finished in 18th place with a time of 51.70.
McClain had a second girls relay team race at state, that being a Division II 4x400-meter relay race, where they finished in 16th place with a time of 4:09.8. The team consisted of Jett, Matesic, freshman Larah Henson and Bergstrom.
MHS senior Lily Barnes competed for the third time at state in the discus throw, ending her high school career with a 13th-place finish in the Division II event. Barnes threw for a best distance of 115-01 in her three attempts.
Publisher's note: A free press is critical to having well-informed voters and citizens. While some news organizations opt for paid websites or costly paywalls, The Highland County Press has maintained a free newspaper and website for the last 25 years for our community. If you would like to contribute to this service, it would be greatly appreciated. Donations may be made to: The Highland County Press, P.O. Box 849, Hillsboro, Ohio 45133. Please include "for website" on the memo line.
