After missing last track season because of the coronavirus pandemic, Benjamin Logan’s boys and girls programs picked up right where they left off — Central Buckeye Conference Mad River division champions.
Both squads repeated that feat Friday after winning division titles in 2019. It marks the 11th consecutive league title for the boys program and sixth for the girls program.
The Raider boys ran away with the CBC Mad River title after scoring an impressive 168.5 points. Northwestern took the runner-up spot with 104 points with Indian Lake a close third with 97 points.
“The biggest thing was getting back out here and competing,” said BL boys head coach Kevin Butler. “It was so much fun to watch these guys. The excitement they had coming into it and proving what they could do was pretty cool. They worked really hard and being able to watch that come to fruition was pretty cool too. It’s 11 in a row now without last year and 12 since I’ve been coaching. It’s a good feeling for the program.”
It was a local battle in the CBC Mad River girls division as Ben Logan fended off an improved Indian Lake squad to win 158-144. Northwestern came in third with 111 points.
“I feel like we knew it was going to be tough with Indian Lake,” said Ben Logan’s girls head coach Mike Coder. “They’ve improved so much. Where they were strong we were weak. We put together people in spots and they performed better than they thought they could. They were motivated to do well tonight. We feel blessed to come out ahead and really had some young girls step up.”
London pulled away with the CBC Kenton Trail boys division to win with 147 points. Bellefontaine was runner-up with 113 points and Tecumseh rounded out the top three with 97 points.
Jonathan Alder dominated the CBC Kenton Trail girls division with an eye-popping 181.5 points. Kenton Ridge was runner-up with 83 points, Tecumseh was third with 70 points and Bellefontaine took fourth with 68 points.
Two local athletes also earned individual honors Friday. Indian Lake senior Dustin Franks was named the Mad River boys division most valuable athlete and Ben Logan freshman Georgia Bates was named the Mad River girls division most valuable athlete.
Franks carried the Laker boys by winning a Mad River title in the 110 hurdles with a new division record of 15.88 and also won the 300 hurdles (42.5) and high jump (6-0). He took second in the long jump on Tuesday.
Bates won a Mad River title int he 800 with a new division record time of 2:26.04. She was also on the winning 800 relay and 1,600 relay that set new Mad River records along with the winning 3,200 relay on Tuesday.
Boys Results
Ben Logan’s boys were powered by three relay teams that set CBC Mad River records on Friday. That included Mad River titles for the 400 relay of Sam Whitten, Max Leezer, Gavin Gibson and Hunter Lattimer (45.16), the 800 relay of Whitten, Max Leezer, Gavin Gibson and Mitch Vance (1:33.36) and the 1,600 relay of Whitten, Gibson, Tucker Munz and Keaghan Stahler (3:37.9).
Others earning Mad River championships were Whitten in the 100 (11.7), Vance in the 400 (53.5) and Marshall Jackson in the shot put (49-5).
Runner-up finishes came from Leezer in the 200 (23.8) and Stahler in the 800 (2:05.6) with third-place finishes coming from Gibson in the 100 (11.8), Vance in the 200 (24.1) and Blake Rhoades in the 1,600 (4:55.3).
Recording fourth-place finishes were Lattimer in the 400 (54.3), Munz in the 1,600 (4:57.5), Yale Scheiderer in the 110 hurdles (17.3) and Gabe Hemmelgarn in the shot put (44-3 1/2).
Coming in fifth was Tayte Williamson in the 800 (2:12.5) and taking sixth was Scheiderer in the 300 hurdles (46.1).
“Marshall Jackson won the shot and discus, which was pretty impressive,” said Butler.
“Mitch Vance won the 400, was third in the 200 and anchored our 1,600 and 800 relays that set records. Sam Whitten winning the 100 was pretty cool. We had some big time stuff from our guys, but if you’re going to score that many points you have to do that.”
In addition to Franks, Indian Lake saw a runner-up finish from Brant Parsell in the 300 hurdles (43.7) and third-place finishes from Brandan Rettig in the shot put (46-11), Reid Vance in the 800 (2:07.8) and the 1,600 relay of Parsell, Vance, Ian Wischmeyer and Colin Burba (3:40.6).
A fourth-place finish came from the 800 relay of Vance, Wischmeyer, Burba and Kaleb Hurley (1:36.8), while fifth-place finishes were earned by Parsell in the 110 hurdles (17.3), Hurley in the 200 (24.9) and 400 (56.5) and the 400 relay of Burba, Reid Notestine, Elijah Slagle and Caden Gaunt (50.2).
Placing sixth were Nate Cummins in the 1,600 (5:05.2) and Dalton Longwell in the shot put (39-9 1/2).
Winning CBC Kenton Trail titles for Bellefontaine’s boys were three of its relay teams. That included the 400 relay of Kailyn Organ, Max Varner, Evan Baker and Harper Scott (45.2), the 800 relay of Organ, Varner, Baker and Scott with a Kenton Trial record time of 1:34.3 and the 1,600 relay of Scott, Organ, Varner and Jaquan Mundy (3:35.7).
Second-place finishes came from Colin Deitsch in the high jump (5-8) and Micah Fogan in the shot put (47-6 1/4), while fourth-place finishes came from Mundy in the 300 hurdles (44.09), Scott in the 100 (11.6) and Varner in the 400 (52.2).
Taking fifth were Mundy in the 110 hurdles (18.1), Connor Skidmore in the 800 (2:04.6) and Tony Stewart in the 3,200 (10:36.3).
A host of sixth-place efforts came from Organ in the 200 (24.2), Justin Carper in the 800 (2:07.8), Micah Woolf in the 110 hurdles (18.2), James Holt in the 300 hurdles (46.7), Gavin Wilson in the 3,200 (10:57.2) and Carter Snapp in the high jump (5-4).
Girls Results
Ben Logan’s Mad River title wins came from the 3,200 relay on Tuesday, Bates in the 800 (2:26.04), Kate Vickroy in the pole vault (7-6), the 800 relay of Bates, Ezrah McGue, Mya Burrey and Sami Meeker with a new CBC Mad River record of 1:50.2 and the 1,600 relay of Bates, McGue, Isabel Henderson and Kerry Copenhaver with a new CBC Mad River record of 4:20.6.
Finishing second were Dani Widmark in the 1,600 (5:38.6), Henderson in the 400 (1:03.4) and the 400 relay of Ella Studebaker, Burrey, Meeker and Madison Plikerd (53.6).
Placing third were Meeker in the 200 (27.9), McGue in the 400 (1:04.4), Mylee Boysel in the 800 (2:33.7), Hannah White in the 100 hurdles (17.8), White in the long jump (14-0) and Alexis Sutherly in the pole vault (7-6), while fourth-place finishes came from Studebaker in the 100 hurdles (18.2), Meeker in the 100 (13.6), White in the 300 hurdles (52.7) and Burrey in the long jump (13-8 1/4).
Also for the Raiders, Burrey was fifth in the 100 (13.7) and Izzy Heater took sixth in the discus (89-6).
Indian Lake’s girls set two CBC Mad River records in two events. Megan Kimbler won the long jump title with a leap of 15-3 to set a new record, while the 400 relay of Elayna Richardson, Raelyn Parsell, Ava Huffman and Allexxie West won with a new Mad River time of 53.28. Reece Martin also won a title in the 100 hurdles (17.20).
Posting runner-up finishes were Richardson in the 100 (13.4) and 200 (27.9), Reece Martin in the 300 hurdles (51.4), West in the long jump (14-9 1/4), the 800 relay of Huffman, Richardson, Reece Martin and Jalan Martin (1:51.03) and the 1,600 relay of Miller, Sparks, Huffman and Jalan Martin (4:31.2).
Earning third-place finishes were Ella Wagner in the 1,600 (5:53.7) and Grace Pequignot in the discus (93-10), while fourth-place finishes came from KaiLea Miller in the 800 (2:36.5) and 1,600 (6:00.1), Jalan Martin in the 200 (28.04) and 400 (1:04.9) and Reece Martin in the pole vault (7-0).
Taking fifth were Parsell in the 300 hurdles (52.8), Wagner in the 800 (2:48.2) and Callie Notestine in the pole vault (7-0) with sixth-place finishes coming from Parsell in the 100 hurdles (18.7) and Chloe Sparks in the 400 (1:07.3).
Bellefontaine’s girls saw a Kenton Trail title win from Katie Pool in the discus (105-3), while runner-up efforts came from Ashlyn Gonterman in the 200 (27.09) and pole vault (8-0) and Alexis Robinson in the discus (104-6).
Placing fourth was Parker Penhorwood in the pole vault (7-6) and taking fifth was Emma Middaugh in the 800 (2:41.6). Sixth-place efforts were added by Ella Reier in the 400 (1:08.7) and Montanna Buck in the 3,200 (13:42.9).