NEW CONCORD — The second day of the Regional track meet concluded Saturday, May 25 at Muskingum University.
There will be a total of six student-athletes from Fayette County, one from Washington High School and five from Miami Trace High School, heading on to compete in this week’s State tournament in Columbus.
For Washington, Rayana Burns placed second in the finals of the 400-meter dash with a time of 58.77 to advance to the State meet. Burns, having recently completed her junior year, is now an eight-time State qualifier for track and field.
A recent graduate of Miami Trace, Macy Creamer, advanced to the State meet in three events Saturday.
She placed fourth in the finals of the 100-meter dash in 12.87.
Creamer was fourth in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 46.75.
Creamer also anchored Miami Trace’s 4 x 100-meter relay. The team of Lilly Litteral, Isabella Vanover, Alyssa Butler and Creamer recorded a new school record time of 51.00 to finish second.
In the finals of the 110-meter hurdles, Washington’s Trent Langley placed sixth in a time of 15.63. Wyatt Cory of Miami Trace was eighth in 15.80.
In the 1600-meter run, Cloe Copas of Washington was 10th out of 15 in a time of 5:36.61.
Miami Trace’s Mallory Conklin placed 12th in 5:46.04.
Copas was also 10th in the 3200-meter run in a time of 12:36.13.
In the 800-meter run, Miami Trace’s Jotham Lewis was 15th with a time of 2:16.27.
Washington’s 4 x 400-meter relay placed seventh in the finals with a time of 4:13.65. That team was composed of Rayana Burns, Halli Wall, Chloe Lovett and Tabby Woods.
In the shot put Saturday morning, Washington’s Sterling Smith placed sixth with a best throw of 48’ 5”.
For Hillsboro, Draven Stodgel was second at 53’ 9 1/4”. Teammate Deon Burns placed fourth to give the Indians a pair of State-qualifiers with a best distance of 52’ 3 1/2”.
In the pole vault Saturday, Washington’s Megan Downing tied for 14th place, clearing 9’ 0”.
Erin Bogard of Warren broke a 12-year-old Regional record with a new mark of 12’ 5” to win the event.
On the girls’ side, Miami Trace placed in a tie for 13th place with the team from West Holmes, each with 18 points.
Washington placed in a three-way tie for 20th place out of 39 teams with 10 points.
The Miami Trace boys placed 23rd with nine points.
Washington was tied for 26th place with six points.
Tuscarawas Valley won the girls’ meet with 55 points. Fairfield Union was second with 50 points.
Warren won the boys’ Regional title with 69 points. Sheridan was second with 52 points.
Hillsboro placed 10th, scoring 24 points.
“I definitely missed it last year,” Megan Downing said. “I went through a little hiccup in life and stuff. Once I figured all that stuff out, coming back this year, this was a good way to end my senior year. It made me feel like I completed something; I did something.
“I didn’t expect to make it back after not vaulting for a year,” Downing said. “It was a nice award to know that I was able to come back here and finish off high school on a good note.”
Downing was a Regional qualifier in the pole vault as a freshman.
Her dad, Tim Downing, was also one of her coaches.
“She cleared eight, eight-six and nine without a problem,” Downing said. “At nine-six, everything was pretty much off. And that happens. Sometimes we get nervous. As a coach and as a dad, I am very proud of what she’s done. I’m very proud of her effort. She worked all season at the YMCA and when she wasn’t there she was at practice, trying her best.
“To take a year off and then come back, and to take first place in the conference (FAC) and then to come down here and make it through the first three heights is fantastic,” Downing said. “I couldn’t ask for more.”
“It wasn’t my best performance today,” Sterling Smith said. “I felt like I did pretty good. It was a little lower than at Districts, but, I feel like I did okay.”
Smith’s personal best in the shot put is 51’ 9”.
“My form was a little off today,” Smith said. “This competition creates a really good atmosphere. It pushes you to try and do your best. It’s fun to be out here with these guys.
“I hope to come back here and break (Mark) Bihl’s record, of course,” Smith said.
Trent Langley and Wyatt Cory were asked about their finals run in the 110 hurdles.
“It was pretty good,” Langley said. “I hit a few hurdles. I did my best and that’s all that matters to me. I’d say it’s been a pretty good year for me, overall. I’ve done the best I’ve ever done so far.”
Langley’s personal best in the event is 15.35.
“My run could have been better,” Cory said. “I slipped on the first hurdle, but, it wasn’t terrible. Everyone else ran better races.”
“It was good,” Lilly Litteral said of the start of the 4 x 100-meter relay finals. “I had a good block start and our hand-off was really good.”
“It was really good,” Isabella Vanover said. “I’m super-excited to go to State. We were ranked third at first and then fourth and now second.”
“It felt good,” Alyssa Butler said. “Just going to State as a freshman is an accomplishment. We broke the school record twice, today and Thursday.”
“It was awesome today,” Macy Creamer said. “We definitely all ran stronger than we did on Thursday. We had better hand-offs, for sure and that definitely helped a lot. I’m looking forward to breaking another record at the State meet.”
“Our kids ran really well today,” Washington head coach Louis Reid said. “It just goes to show all the hard work that they’ve put in all season long, it paid off today. We didn’t end up where we wanted to in a couple of events, but, I was really happy with how they went out and competed.
“Our 4 x 4 ended up eighth,” Reid said. “If you look at where they started the season, they ran a 4:34 and today they finished up at 4:13. That’s a huge drop. Last year we just missed making the Regional final. This year they made the Regional finals, so we’re hoping next year to take the next step. Three of those legs return. We’re going to miss Tabby Woods, she’s a senior. She’s come a long way. We’ll return Chloe Lovett and Halli Wall and Rayana.
“Cloe Copas ran well in the mile (1600),” Reid said. “It was a much faster pace than she’s used to. We knew it would take a special race. She ended up 10th in the two-mile (3200). That was a difficult one on a day like this (hot and humid).
“Megan Downing had a good day in the pole vault,” Reid said. “She cleared the first three heights easily. She was in it at 9’ 6” but so were 10 other girls. They were having a great day.
“For Megan to miss last season and to come back and compete at the Regional at a high level, I was very proud of her effort,” Reid said.
“Ray got second in the 400,” Reid said. “We didn’t even know if she would be here. This is her sixth meet of the season. She’s run pretty well and worked pretty hard. She’s heading back (to State) again. She’ll have another week of practice and hopefully she’ll continue to improve.
“I’m really happy with our overall team effort,” Reid said. “Our team has done a good job. The girls have worked hard all season and it shows.”
“It was tough,” Tabby Woods said. “It was super hot outside. I’m really proud to run with the team I have. We did good this year. I’m very proud.”
“It was a great experience, running down here with some of my best friends,” Halli Wall said. “I’m so proud of us for making it to the finals. We shaved a ton of time off and I’m just so thankful for this experience.”
“I’m glad I got to experience this,” Chloe Lovett said. “Because, not a lot of people have. I’m just lucky to be able to come out here and do this with everyone.”
Wyatt Cory will compete in the Division II pole vault Friday at 9:30 a.m. at the Jesse Owens track at The Ohio State University.
Also on Friday, Macy Creamer will run in the 100-meter dash semifinals at 2:20 p.m.
The Miami Trace 4 x 100-meter relay will run at 2:50 p.m.
Rayana Burns will run in her heat of the 400-meter dash at 3 p.m. and Creamer will go in the 300-meter hurdles at 3:20 p.m.
