STATE BOUND!

Local athletse headed to OHSAA State Track Meet

June 1, 2022

<p>Myla Toole, North Adams High School</p>

<p>Cody Hesler, North Adams High School</p>

<p>Samantha Seas, Peebles High School</p>

<p>Payton Johnson, Peebles High School</p>

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By Mark Carpenter

People’s Defender

Records were broken and dreams continued as Southeastern High School in Chillicothe hosted the OHSAA Division III Region 11 Regional Track Meet on May 25 and 27. Twenty two of the regional events featured Adams County athletes and out of that mix, five individuals from the county advanced to the next level and will be participating in nine different events.

That next level is the highest level, the OHSAA State Track Meet, and three from North Adams and two from Peebles will be competing for a coveted state championship. Competing in the state meet from North Adams High School will be seniors Myla Toole and Sierra Kendall along with sophomore Cody Hesler, and from Peebles it will be sophomores Payton Johnson and Samantha Seas. Toole, Kendall, and Johnson will all be making return trips to the state meet, having been there last spring.

In 2021, Toole went into the state meet as the regional champion in the 3200M Run and placed 10th overall. This year she will be headed to the state meet as the regional champion in the 1600M Run, after winning the regional race in a school record time of 5:09.64. The NAHS senior, who is headed to Xavier University in the fall, also will be running in the 3200M again at state, placing third overall in the regionals with a time of 11:24.92.

Kendall will also be making a repeat trip to the state meet, after competing in three events at the 2021 state level and placing third in the state in the Long Jump. This year she enters state competition with a pair of regional championships under her belt. Kendall won the regional Long Jump with a jump of 17’2” and also won the regional title in the 100M Hurdles, where she broke the North Adams school record with a winning time of 15.83. She will also be competing in the 300M Hurdles at the state meet after placing second at regionals with a final time of 46.20.

Another North Adams school record fell in the Boys 400M Run, where sophomore Cody Hesler placed fifth with a time of 51.21. Normally, fifth place would come up short to qualify for state, but Hesler earned one of two at-large spots. The top four finishers in each region automatically qualify, but there are also two at-large spots for the two runners with the next best times and Hesler earned one of those spots and therefore will run in the state meet.

Peebles’ Payton Johnson will also be returning to the state meet, after competing there in the 100M Dash last spring, and she will again be in that event as she placed second overall at the regional meet, blazing a time of 12.65. Johnson will also be a competitor in the 200M Dash at the state meet after finishing fourth at the regional meet with a time of 26.56.

Finally, Peebles sophomore Samantha Seas will be joining Myla Toole at the start line for the 3200M Run, as Seas placed fourth at the regional meet with a time of 11:34.10, good enough to advance to the state meet.

The OHSAA Division III State Track Meet will be held later this week, June 3 and 4 at Jesse Owens Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus. The schedule of events can be found at https://ohsaaweb.blob.core.windows.net/files/Sports/Track-Field/2022/2022StateTFMeetSchedule.pdf.

Tickets must be purchased online at https://www.ohsaa.org/tickets or ticketmaster.Jesse Owens Stadium is a cashless facility. You will need to pay electronically for your ticket, concessions, and any souvenirs.

A number of other Adams County athletes competed in last week’s regional meet, but failed to qualify for the stet meet.

• Ryland Wikoff, Manchester- 100M Dash, Long Jump

• Alan McCoy, Peebles- 200M Dash

• Arbutus Wuest, West Union- 800M Run

• Garrett Emerson, North Adams – 1600M Run

• Peebles- Boys 4 x 100 Relay

• Peebles- Boys 4 x 200 Relay

• North Adams – Boys 4 x 400 Relay

• Jacob Campbell, North Adams- High Jump

• Cory Reed, Peebles- Long Jump

• Christopher Oldfield, Peebles- Long Jump

• Adelyn Shupert, West Union- 800M Run