Whiteoak's Derrick Ison finishes 12th in State Div. III 400m race
COLUMBUS — Whiteoak sophomore Derrick Ison made his Division III OHSAA Track and Field debut Friday in the 400-meter dash, bringing the Wildcats back to state competition for the first time in 13 years.
In the 400 event, Ison finished with a time of 51.38 in the second heat of the prelim race for a 12th-place overall finish. Ison was sixth in his heat at the 108th State Track and Field Tournament at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
Racers must finish in the Top 9 to race in the state finals, with Ison being .19 seconds away from the ninth-place time, which was Archbold sophomore Jack Fisher at 51.19.
Earlier in the week, Ison told The Highland County Press he was excited to make the state event.
"I was excited to make it,” Ison said. “As a freshman, I finished sixth at regionals (you have to finish Top 4 to earn a state berth), and after that, I promised my coach and my family I would make it to state this year."
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The winning time was Kyle Storm, a Berkshire senior, at 49.64. In second place was Lutheran West senior Nick Knudsen at 49.74, and in third was Hiland sophomore Matt Troyer at 49.95.
The rest of the Top 9 included: senior Levi Wyse (Archbold) 50.32, freshman Jerome Buckner (Columbus Academy) 50.48, senior Timothy Stevenson (Cedarville) 50.61, senior Ben Olewiler (Ashland Crestview) 50.73 and Fisher.
In 10th overall in the prelims was sophomore Austin Sloan (Upper Scioto Valley) 51.27, followed by senior Aaron Schulz in 11th (Lake Center Christian) with a time of 51.34.
Following Ison in the standings were junior Caleb Moore (Springfield ECA) at 51.84, and senior Erik Johnson (Lehman Catholic) was 14th at 51.88. In 15th was senior Jake Cropper (Georgetown) at 51.90, and in 16th was Africentric senior Diontae Saunders at 51.94.
The finals of the 400m race will be held at 10:35 a.m. on Saturday.
As for Ison, to reach the state championships he raced his way into the event with an excellent season, including a 50.56 time at regionals and a 51.17 time at the district championships. To win the Southern Hills Athletic Conference championship this year, Ison ran a time of 52.0 at the conference event.
"I've gotten quicker throughout the year," Ison said earlier this week. "My coaches, parents, teammates and brother have pushed me to be my best, so it has helped me a lot this year.”