13 Highland County athletes qualify for 2024 OHSAA Track & Field State Tournament
Highland County athletes qualifying for state include: (top row, l-r) McClain's Kaitlyn Jett, Katie Cook, Brenna Wright and Luca Matesic and Whiteoak's Weston Blair, Landen Eyre, Sawyer Blair and Keegan Eyre; (center, l-r) all in second-place podium spots, McClain's Kaitlyn Jett and Becca Bergstrom (top) and Brenna Wright and Larah Henson (bottom) and Fairfield's Remi Moon; and (bottom) in fourth-place spot, McClain's Lily Barnes, and in fifth-place spot, Fairfield's Faith Donley. (Photos by Jimmy Barnett, Tim Bolender, Doug Hughes and Jim Jones)
A total of 13 Highland County athletes have punched their tickets for the 2024 OHSAA Track & Field State Tournament after their qualifying finishes at the Div. II and Div. III regional meets.
Hillsboro and McClain athletes competed at the Division II Region 7 meet in New Concord, held May 23 and 25, while Lynchburg-Clay, Fairfield and Whiteoak represented the county at the Division III Region 11 meet at Heath on May 22 and 24.
Highland County had one regional champion, with Whiteoak junior Landen Eyre winning the 3200-meter run with a time of 9:24.20.
There were also regional runners-up, including Fairfield freshman Remi Moon placing second in the high jump with a mark of 5-4.
McClain’s 4x100 relay team of seniors Kaitlyn Jett and Luca Matesic and juniors Katie Cook and Brenna Wright also placed second in the finals with a time of 50.14.
Eyre also qualified for state in the 1600-meter run, as he was third with a time of 4:19.38.
Whiteoak senior Weston Blair advanced to state in the 800-meter run with a third-place finish at regionals and a time of 1:56.45.
McClain’s Jett and Wright, along with sophomore Becca Bergstrom and freshman Larah Henson, made state in the 4x400 relay with a time of 4:07.28, good for third place and setting a school record in the process.
McClain’s Wright qualified for state in a third event, this time as an individual in the 100-meter hurdles, where she was third with a time of 15.63.
In the discus event, McClain senior Lily Barnes was fourth with a throw of 127-01, as this will be her third time competing in the event at state. That was also a personal best throw for Barnes.
Fairfield senior Faith Donley qualified for state with a fifth-place finish in the 400-meter dash, as she had a finals time of 58.89 for a new school record.
Rounding out the state finalists were Blair and Eyre each qualifying for state alongside their younger brothers, sophomores Keegan Eyre and Sawyer Blair, in the 4x800 relay race. The team finished sixth at regionals with a time of 8:14.68.
Other regional results for Highland County athletes included the following.
Div. II
Girls
• 4x800 Relay: 14, HHS (Bree Bailey, Taylor Thoroman, Ramsey Haines, Jailyn Williams), 10:37.99.
• 100m Hurdles: 7, Kobie Miles, HHS, 16.52; 13, Adalynn Snyder, MHS, 17.33.
• 100m Dash: 14, Luca Matesic, MHS, 13.33.
• 4x200 Relay: 12, HHS (Alizeh Hudson, Chanel Captain, Kobie Miles, Olivia Covault), 1:52.65.
• 4x100 Relay: 7, HHS (Meredith Dietrick, Chanel Captain, Kelsey Gilkison, Allison Browning), 52.13.
• 400m Dash: 16, Olivia Covault, HHS, 1:03.53.
• 300m Hurdles: 10, Kobie Miles, HHS, 48.80; 11, Brenna Wright, MHS, 49.04.
• 800m Run: 5, Jailyn Williams, HHS, 2:20.87.
• 4x400 Relay: 7, HHS (Alizeh Hudson, Jailyn Williams, Kobie Miles, Olivia Covault), 4:12.55.
• Shot Put: 8, Lily Barnes, MHS, 36-4.25.
• Pole Vault: 14, Becca Bergstrom, MHS, 9-00.
Boys
• 110m Hurdles: 13, Collin Swackhammer, HHS, 16.70.
• 400m Dash: 13, TD Matesic, MHS, 52.81; 14, Cooper Swope, HHS, 52.86.
• 800m Run: 10, Tate Davis, HHS, 2:00.78.
• 3200m Run: 7, Corbin Winkle, HHS, 9:58.96; 16, Rason Brunck, HHS, 11:35.48.
• 4x400 Relay: 14, HHS (Austin Bledsoe, Tate Davis, Ryan Howland, Cooper Swope), 3:36.89.
• Shot Put: 15, Ayden Clemons, HHS, 42-02.
• Pole Vault: 8, Austin Bledsoe, HHS, 12-08; 11, Jackson Crago, MHS, 12-00.
• 4x800 Relay: 5, HHS (Corbin Winkle, Ryan Howland, Chris Sowders, Tate Davis), 8:12.03.
Div. III
Girls
• 4x800 Relay: 13, FHS (Kennedy Zink, Aylah Humphreys, Ginny Trent, Faith Donley), 10:46.30.
• 100m Hurdles: 9, Avery Teeters, FHS, 17.39; 13, Landry Teeters, FHS, 17.93.
• 100m Dash: 13, Vivian Henninger, FHS, 13.54.
• 4x200 Relay: 16, FHS (Madalyn Combs, Landry Teeters, Avery Teeters, Vivian Henninger), 1:56.68.
• 4x100 Relay: 13, FHS (Madalyn Combs, Mya McIntosh, Remi Moon, Vivian Henninger), 54.08; 14, LCHS (Samantha Merry, Macy Etienne, Jade Massey, Autumn Wilkin), 55.13.
• 300m Hurdles: 10, Avery Teeters, FHS, 50.40; 11, Landry Teeters, FHS, 50.42.
• 200m Dash: 14, Vivian Henninger, FHS, 27.97.
• 4x400 Relay: 16, FHS (Avery Teeters, Landry Teeters, Kennedy Zink, Faith Donley), 4:30.29.
• Discus: 14, Matalynn Conrad, WHS, 92-00.
• Long Jump: 12, Autumn Wilkin, LCHS, 15-4; 15, Jade Massey, LCHS, 14-5.
Boys
• 800m Run: 11, Keegan Eyre, WHS (2:02.53).
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