In the first blended, 11-team Northern Lakes League track and field meet at Clay Memorial Stadium on Friday, two newcomers squeaked out dramatic the team titles in the final event over defending NLL champions.
In the girls meet, Whitmer totaled 110.5 points to edge 2023 league winner Perrysburg, which ended at 109 points.
“It was a total team effort,” Whitmer girls coach Eric Browning said. “Every one of ours girls is leaving here exhausted and happy. We started this in January. We had a goal of winning this league, and these girls practiced so hard. I'm proud of them. They won this in practice.
“We were TRAC champions last year, NLL champions this year, and I think we're going to be better next year. We've got a great group of leaders.”
On the boys' side, Fremont Ross edged last year's NLL winner Southview 117 to 115 to capture the crown.
“Our throwers went 1-2 in the shot and the discus, so we had 36 points right off the bat,” Ross coach John Elder said. “That's what we needed. They've been steady all year. And, we counted on our big guys — Kameron Walker, Jadrian Brown, and William Kiser.
“We got a great win in the pole vault, which we didn't expect. That was a huge difference-maker. We were glad to break in [to NLL] the right way. This is a good, tough league that we're in, and this was hard.”
Beyond the points, how close was it?
In the 1,600-meter relay race that closed girls competition, Perrysburg placed second to pick up eight team points, while Whitmer's Panthers finished fifth to collect five points. The Yellow Jackets were just 0.83 seconds behind first-place Northview in that race, and a win would have given Perrysburg 10 points and a half-point team victory over Whitmer.
In the meet's final race, the boys 1,600 relay, Ross placed fourth to collect five points, one spot behind Southview's Cougars, which got six points for taking third. Southview finished just 1.49 seconds behind race runner-up Northview and 2.04 behind winner Perrysburg.
Moving up one spot would have given the Cougars a tie for the title, and winning the 1,600 relay would've have meant a two-point team win over Ross.
Whitmer and Ross joined the NLL this school year along with other members of the now-defunct Three Rivers Athletic Conference.
The Whitmer girls were led individually by junior Azurie Garrett, who swept the girls hurdles races, winning the 100 highs in 15.47 seconds and taking the 300 lows in 44.88.
“I feel like I was able to support my team,” Garrett said. “It makes me happy to see their reaction when we win. We didn't think we were going to do it. But, we had faith. We prayed together, and we kept encouraging each other. Whether we did bad or good, we still uplifted each other.”
The Panthers also got a win from senior Kylie Niedzwiecki, who cleared 10 feet, 6 inches in the pole vault, and Whitmer also won the 800 relay.
Stealing the show overall individually was Springfield senior girls sprint star Maira Scott, who will continue her career at Southern California. She recorded a four-peat of league titles in all three of her races (100, 200, 400), setting NLL records in two of the three.
The Blue Devils' speedster began by winning the 100-meter dash in a record time of 11.66 seconds. She added a win in the 400 in a record 54.74, and capped her final league meet by winning the 200 in 23.83, just three-hundredths of a second off the league-record time (23.80) she ran in the 2023 meet.
“It's still crazy thinking about it,” Scott said of her NLL career. “It amazes me, the growth I've seen since my freshman year. But, that's all because of my amazing coaches, the amazing support system I have, and the ability God has given to me.
“Overall, I'm excited for what's to come, and I'm grateful. Like with any athlete, you put pressure on yourself. For me, I like the pressure. When people bet on me, I like to be able to prove myself, and make my teammates and my family proud.”
A model of consistency and steady improvement, Scott had won the 100, 200, and 400 NLL titles the previous three years, improving her times in each race each year except for her final 200 effort.
Scott’s junior-year preliminary (11.41) and winning (11.42) times in the 100 in last June's state meet at Ohio State University's Owens Memorial Stadium were just off the state-record time of 11.38 set by potential 2024 Olympian Abby Steiner of Dublin Coffman as a senior in 2018.
Perrysburg senior Hannah Kersten swept the girls distance races, winning the 1,600 in 5:00.95 and blazing to an NLL-record 10:58.59 in the 3,200.
Other girls individual winners included Southview sophomore Myranda Bottles in the long jump (17-0¾), and three Fremont Ross competitors — junior Reese Smith (121-6 in discus), sophomore Kilee Kidd (5-4 in high jump), and freshman Tierra Parker (36-8 in shot put).
In winning the boys team title, Fremont Ross was paced by two seniors who posted double wins — Walker in the 200 (22.38) and 400 (48.69), and thrower Dominic Brown in the discus (160-10) and the shot put (55-5).
“I just did my best to be a role model for our underclassmen,” Brown said. “We all got here together, and we progressed together. I did my best to share my knowledge as an athlete with them, and help them to see different viewpoints.
“At the end of the day, you have to do your best for your team. I think that's where the camaraderie comes in. This is super cool.”
The victorious Little Giants, who last won a boys league track title in 2010 in the former Greater Buckeye Conference, also got a win from sophomore Evan Luc in the pole vault (13-6), and from their 800 relay team.
Southview senior Logan Howe was the lone boys individual triple winner, adding titles in the 110 hurdles (14.20) and 300 hurdles (39.20) to the long jump victory he earned here on Wednesday (20 feet, 7¼ inches).
Senior Connor Long of Anthony Wayne doubled up in the distance events, winning the 1,600 in 4:16.24, and taking the 3,200 in 9:27.75.
Other boys event winners included Perrysburg senior Samuel Lawanson III, who took the 100-meter crown in 10.96 seconds, Clay senior Jayden Williams who won the 800 title in 1:55.38 in a photo finish that broke a timing tie with Findlay's Adrian Stechschulte, and Clay sophomore Derek Harmer, who was first in the high jump (6-4).
First Published May 11, 2024, 3:46 a.m.
