It was a strong start for Benjamin Logan’s boys and girls track and field teams Thursday after the first day of action at the Division II district meet at Graham High School.
The Raiders lead the boys 14-team field with 38 points after scoring four events. Milton-Union is second with 25 points and Clinton-Massie is third with 18 points. West Liberty-Salem is currently sixth with 12 points and Indian Lake is ninth with five points.
Ben Logan’s girls are slightly ahead of Northwestern 20-17 after scoring three events. Bellefontaine’s girls are sitting in third with 16.5 points, Carroll is fourth with 14 points, while Indian Lake and Clinton-Massie are tied for fifth with 10 points each.
The top four placers in each event move on to the Division II regional in Piqua next week. The top four times in each qualifying event move on to Saturday’s finals.
Several area athletes advance to the regional meet in finals events on Thursday, including two district titles.
Ben Logan’s Davontae Fahle won the boys long jump with a leap of 21-6 1/4, while WL-Salem’s boys 3,200 relay of Isaac Brown, Josh Spinner, Tate Yoder and Dylan Lauck won with a district meet record and a new school record of 8:11.49.
Also in boys finals events, the Raiders saw Jace Wical take runner-up in the pole vault (13-0), Marshall Jackson finish runner-up in the discus (142-1) Gabe Hemmelgarn place third in the discus (134-6) and the Raiders’ 3,200 relay of Keaghan Stahler, Blake Rhoades, Tayte Williamson and Tucker Munz finish fourth (8:30.3). The Lakers’ Dustin Franks was fourth in the long jump (20-6).
For the girls, placing second were Ben Logan’s Isabel Henderson in the high jump (4-10) and Bellefontaine Katie Pool in the shot put (33-10 1/2). Placing third were the Chiefs’ Ashlyn Gonterman in the high jump (4-8), the Lakers’ Grace Pequignot in the shot put (33-2) and the Raiders’ 3,200 relay of Georgia Bates, Mylee Boysel, Sami Meeker and Dani Widmark (10:27.2). Ben Logan’s Izzy Heater also took fourth in the shot put (32-9).
A handful of other area athletes also placed in the top eight on finals events Thursday, but did not advance to the regional.
In girls events, taking fifth was the Indian Lake girls 3,200 relay of KaiLea Miller, Ella Wagner, Chloe Sparks and Ava Huffman (10:39.8), finishing sixth was Bellefontaine’s Carmen Shumaker in the shot put (32-1 1/4), while an eighth-place effort came from Ben Logan’s Ella Studebaker in the high jump (4-6).
In boys events, placing eighth were Ben Logan’s Alec Rodenberger in the high jump (18-9 1/4) and WL-Salem’s Tyler Douthwaite in the pole vault (11-6).
Ben Logan’s boys had several individuals qualify to Saturday’s finals. That included Brady Burrey in the 100 and 200, Sam Whitten in the 100, Max Leezer in the 200, Hunter Lattimer and Mitch Vance in the 400, Keaghan Stahler in the 800, Yale Scheiderer in the 110 hurdles, Rhoades in the 1,600, the 400 relay of Lattimer, Leezer, Gavin Gibson and Whitten and the 1,600 relay of Lattimer, Munz, Stahler and Vance.
The Raider girls qualified Meeker in the 200, Henderson and Ezrah McGue in the 400, Mylee Boysel and Bates in the 800, the 400 relay of Studebaker, Mya Burrey, Madison Plikerd and Meeker, the 800 relay of McGue, Burrey, Meeker and Bates and the 1,600 relay of McGue, Henderson, Studebaker and Bates.
Moving into the finals for WL-Salem’s boys are Logan Phillips in the 110 hurdles and 400, Garrett Richardson in the 110 hurdles, Jace Wade in the 100, Andrew Kimball in the 300 hurdles, Owen Harrison and Brown in the 800, Lauck and Spinner in the 1,600, the 400 relay of Mason Powell, Dylan Glunt, Trevor Berry and Wade and the 1,600 relay of Kimball, Phillips, Gabe McGill and Brown.
Indian Lake’s boys advanced Franks and Brant Parsell in the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles, Reid Vance in the 800 and the 1,600 relay of Vance, Kaleb Hurley, Parsell and Corbin Burba.
The Laker girls advanced Reece Martin in the 100 hurdles, Jalan Martin in the 400, the 400 relay of Jalan Martin, Elayna Richardson, Allexxie West and Raelyn Parsell, the 800 relay of Reece Martin, Richardson, West and Jalan Martin and the 1,600 relay of Miller, Sparks, Richardson and Reece Martin.
Qualifying for the Chieftain girls were Gonterman in the 200, Emma Middaugh in the 800 and the 400 relay of Gonterman, Parker Penhorwood, Shumaker and Maggie Howard.
The Division II district meet concludes Saturday with field events starting at 3 p.m. and running events starting at 4 p.m.