HN’s 1600 relay wins at Regionals, several area athletes make state

FOSTORIA — Several area athletes are advancing to compete at the State Track and Field Championships next week after strong performances on the final day of the Division III Regional at Fostoria High School on Friday. 

Hardin Northern’s 4×400 and 4×200 relays both excelled, Riverdale had multiple standouts and Upper Scioto Valley’s Kevin Smith made it to state in shot put. 

The top four placers in events advanced to state and a few athletes could possibly earn at-large bids. 

The Hardin Northern boys tallied the most points of any area team with 31 for eighth place and qualified for state in four events. 

The Riverdale girls took 10th with 23 points and the Falcon boys were tied for 22nd place with eight points. 

The USV boys were tied for 26th as a team with six points. The Ridgemont and Ada boys each had two points to tie for 39th. 

The day started with a bang for Riverdale’s Auhdra Myers, a senior who went 17-3.25 on her first long jump attempt to break her own school record and put herself in great position to make state. That held up through preliminaries as the best jump but was passed in the finals, giving her a runner-up finish in the event.

“She had a really good week at practice,” Riverdale coach Blake England said. “She got a lot of preparation. She came with the right mindset and I’m so happy for her. She’s been here three years in a row and just couldn’t quite get over the hump. Today she kind of conquered those demons and got that big first jump out of the way and just went from there. I’m really proud.”

Not long after the long jump finished, Myers was on the track for the 100 dash. She clinched another state spot by finishing fourth in 12.71.

Riverdale junior Kendel Rall finished fifth in the 300 hurdles in 47.68, not good enough to qualify automatically for next weekend. However, review of other times across the state indicate that she will receive the second at-large bid and also be headed to Columbus.

Both Myers and Rall went to state last year on relay teams, but the Falcons were unable to send one this year. The 1600 team of Rall, Allison Woodruff, Myers and Eden Barnes finished eighth in 4:10.15.

Woodruff placed in a pair of events, taking sixth in the 3200 run in 12:05.68 and seventh in the 1600 run in 5:24.86. Chloe Powell also competed in the 800 run and finished 15th in 2:37.08.

“Every one of our girls that competed today competed all out,” England said. “The intensity gets ratcheted up when you go to regional finals. … I’m just so proud of their efforts. They’re bummed because they get there and expect to make it, but I’m just happy about their efforts.”

Riverdale’s Daniel Donaldson finished the 800 run in 2:00.22, Ethan Warren completed the 1600 run in 4:45.22, and the 800 relay team of Daniel Donaldson, Luke Donaldson, Nick Tackett and Zack Tackett finished in 1:33.63.

Hardin Northern’s 1600 relay quartet of Zeb Wilson, Wesley Newton, Carter Curtis and Riley Newton was Regional champions and set a new school record with a time of 3:26.61. They also advanced to state by earning second in the 800 relay in 1:31.90.

Wilson notched third and set a personal record to make it to state in the boys 800-meter run in 1:56.19. 

Curtis also qualified for state in the boys 400-meter dash with a PR of 51.24 for fourth.

Smith finished third in the boys shot put finals with a throw of 50-5.75 on his fifth attempt to advance to state. 

Ada’s Jackson Brown was seventh in the boys 110-meter hurdles in 16.09. 

USV’s Joe Parker crossed the finish line 10th in the boys 1600-meter run in 4:50.73.

Riverdale’s Jack Dusseau missed placing in the high jump, topping 5-10 to tie for 10th. Andrew Woodruff was 16th in the 3200 run in 10:53.23.

The state meet begins with Division III events at 9:30 a.m. next Friday at Ohio State University’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus.