By ROB HAMILTON
The Mount Gilead track teams swept the Division III regional titles at Fairfield Union High School on Friday.
The boys finished with 67 points to finish 13 in front of Columbus Academy, while the girls tallied 55, while second-place Colonel Crawford had 47. The regional was divided into two days, with some field events and the 3200-meter relays being contested on Wednesday and the majority of the running events, as well as the rest of the field events, happening on Friday.
The Indians were able to boast a number of state qualifiers on Friday. For the boys, Austin Hallabrin won the 1600 with a time of 4:28.23, while Kyle Ciballi qualified for state in the same event, running fourth in 4:33.2.
The team also won the 1600-meter relay, as Brandon Stevens, Hallabrin, Ciballi and Deondre Cook took first in 3:28.54. Shipman also advanced in a pair of individual events, running second in the 300 hurdles in 40.18 and fourth in the 110 hurdles with a time of 15.3.
Also advancing to the state meet was Jonah Barnett, who took third in the 200 in 22.7.
The 800-meter relay team of Cook, Barnett, Dustin Fraizer and Shipman just missed out on advancing, placing fifth in 1:32.93; while the 400-meter team of Stevens, Barnett, Fraizer and Cook was sixth in 45.51.
Stevens also took sixth in the 400 with a time of 52.89, while Nicholas Weiss was sixth in the 800 in 2:01.76 and Casey White ran seventh in the 3200 in 10:13.7. Hallabrin also ran in the 800, finishing 15th.
The Lady Indians also had a pair of regional champions on Friday. Olivia Brewer won the 100 in 12.48, while Jenna Shipman took first in the long jump with an effort of 16’7.5”. Shipman also advanced in the 800 by finishing second in 2:18.53. She added a fifth-place finish in the 400 in 59.34.
The team had a number of other place-winners. Brewer was fifth in the 200 in 26.35, as was Darcy Picker in the 800 (2:22.98). The 400-meter relay of Makaylee Elkin, Addison Chapman, Corrin Watts and Brewer took sixth in 52.37, while Micah James finished seventh in the 1600 in 5:38.3. Also, Hannah Bush placed ninth in the 1600 and Savannah Randall took 13th in the discus.
The Northmor boys finished 12th overall with 23 points and sent another competitor to the state meet on Friday, as James Walker finished fourth in the high jump after clearing 6’2”.
Collin Berg took sixth in the 300 hurdles in 41.61, while Demetrius Johnson took eighth in the 200 in 23.31. Kolton Smith placed eighth in the 110 hurdles in 16.17 and also was 10th in the high jump. Also, Spencer Adams ran 14th in the 1600.
For Northmor’s girls, Karalee Patterson tied for eighth in the pole vault, clearing 8’. Isabelle Ditullio finished 12th in the 3200.
Cardington’s girls also competed, with Lilly Grooms clearing 8’6” in the pole vault to tie for fifth. Nadia Kerman added a 14th place finish in the discus.
Division II at Lexington
Competing in the Division II track meet hosted by Lexington on Saturday, Highland’s Lydia Morgan finished 14th in the discus.
Rob Hamilton can be reached at 419-946-3010, ext. 1807. Connect with him on Twitter at @SportsMCS
