HILLSBORO — Many years from now, when someone asks, who was it that won the final-ever South Central Ohio League boys track championship, folks can reminisce and say, ‘well, that was Miami Trace.’
The Panthers finished the meet on Thursday with 130 points, edging the host Indians by four points.
Clinton-Massie was third with 91.5 and McClain placed fourth with 90.5.
Wilmington was fifth with 89 points, followed by the Washington Blue Lions in sixth with 74.5.
Chillicothe scored 30 points for seventh and East Clinton was eighth with 25.5 points.
Last season, Hillsboro won the boys’ SCOL track title, followed by McClain in second and Clinton-Massie third.
Chillicothe was fourth last year and the Panthers were fifth. Wilmington was sixth, Washington seventh and East Clinton eighth.
It was the 10th SCOL track and field title for Miami Trace in the history of the league. Track and field dates back to 1928 in the SCOL.
“The SCOL championships saw a great team effort by both the boys and the girls track and field teams from Miami Trace,” Panther head coach Brent Noes said. “We knew going in to the finals that it was going to be a tight race on the boys’ side and how important each and every point was going to be.
“We talked about everyone doing his job and scoring both competitors in each event,” Noes said. “And for the most part they did just that. One of the best things about coaching, is seeing the athletes step up and accomplish things they weren’t sure they could do. We really relied on the senior leadership to motivate the younger boys regarding expectations and to provide them with confidence.
“Both the boys and girls teams really came out ready to compete,” Noes said. “On both sides there were athletes who were asked to do things that were best for the team and not necessarily for themselves. This meet proved what teamwork is all about.
“On the girls side, there were only two seniors and four juniors who competed in the league meet,” Noes said. “The rest were all freshmen and sophomores. For a young girls team they did not back down. They welcomed the challenge and gave it everything they had.
“As a staff we could not have been prouder of the way that both teams competed and performed as Miami Trace athletes,” Noes said.
Drake Litteral won the SCOL title in the 100-meter dash in 11.08.
Elijah Sauceda placed fifth in the finals in 11.40.
Litteral won the 200-meter dash in a time of 22.35.
Sauceda was fifth in 24.08.
For Washington, Caden Smith was 11th in the 100-meter dash in 12.34 and 11th in the 200-meter dash in 24.93.
Ethan Smith of Washington was 15th in the 100-meter dash in 13.33 and Dillon Steward was 14th in the 200-meter dash in 25.40.
Sauceda captured the 400-meter league title in a time of 52.45.
Washington’s Bryce Coy was 14th in the 400 in 1:01.18 and Will Baughn was 15th in 1:01.86.
Brandon Underwood of Washington won the 800-meter league title in 2:02.00.
Jotham Lewis placed third in the 800-meter run in 2:06.45.
Washington’s Kameron Morris was eight in 2:13.50.
The Panthers’ Jake Atwood was 10th in 2:15.69.
Blake Pittser took second in the 1600-meter run in 4:46.11.
Jacob Whitaker of Clinton-Massie won the event in 4:40.88.
Morris was fourth in 4:54.90 and Josh Trimmer was 13th in 5:20.33.
Atwood placed seventh in 4:59.77.
The Panthers placed second and third in the 3200-meter run as Pittser took second in 10:33.79 and Simon DeBruin was third in 10:55.03.
Chris Conger of Washington was ninth in the 3200 in 11:48.92. Connor Lane placed 12th in 12:13.41.
Washington’s Caleb Rice won the 110-meter hurdles at the SCOL meet in 15.65.
Teammate Trent Langley was fourth in 16.55.
Wyatt Cory of Miami Trace was fifth in 17.16.
In the 300-meter hurdles, Landree Gray of McClain took top honors in 42.16.
Justin Reed of Miami Trace was fifth in 44.37 and Caleb Rice was eighth in 45.42.
McClain won the 4 x 100-meter relay in 44.42. That team was composed of Tristan Pitzer, Gray, Tyler Jackson and Jensen Knaff.
Miami Trace was fourth in 46.42. Those team members were Noah Wiseman, Nick Elrich, Caden Sweitzer and Drake Litteral.
Washington was sixth in 46.72. Making up that relay were Jacob Rice, Caleb Rice, Miguel O’Flaherty and Dillon Steward.
Miami Trace won the 4 x 200-meter relay in a time of 1:33.79.
That relay consisted of Wiseman, Sauceda, Reed and Litteral.
Washington was fifth in 1:38.83. That team was made up of O’Flaherty, Caleb Rice, Caden Smith and Steward.
Clinton-Massie won the 4 x 400-meter relay in 3:36.58. Those runners were: Cole O’Bryon, Devon O’Bryon, Christian Poynter and Wil Calendine.
Miami Trace placed third in a time of 3:43.51. Those relay members were Nick Foody, Atwood, Brandon Arledge and Wiseman.
The Blue Lions took fifth with a time of 3:47.11. That relay featured O’Flaherty, Trimmer, Morris and Underwood.
Clinton-Massie won the 4 x 800-meter relay on Tuesday in 8:26.41. Those student-athletes were: Jacob Whitaker, Alex Hudson, Zach Chowning and Tanner Olberding.
Miami Trace was second in 8:37.04. Those runners were Blake Pittser, Jake Atwood, Simon DeBruin and Jotham Lewis.
Washington was fifth in 9:01.65. That team was Morris, Congerm, Trimmer and Underwood.
Jeremy Hayton of Hillsboro won the high jump at 6’ 4”.
Richie Burns of Washington was seventh at 5’ 4”.
For the Panthers, Andrew Amore was ninth at 5’ 4” and Wyatt Cory was 10th at 5’ 4”.
Austin Goolsby of Hillsboro won the pole vault at 15’ 0”.
Levi Davis was Washington was third at 12’ 0”; teammate Liam Downing was fifth at 11’ 6” and Cory of Miami Trace was sixth at 11’ 0”.
Goolsby won the long jump at 21’ 6 1/2”.
Dillon Steward was seventh at 18’ 5”; Miguel O’Flaherty was ninth at 18’ 2”. Amore placed 12th at 17’ 4 1/2”.
Miami Trace’s Wes Seyfang won both throwing events.
He captured the shot put at 45’ 7” and the discus throw at 136’ 2”.
Trevor Hicks of Washington was fourth in the shot put at 41’ 9” and fourth in the discus throw at 118’ 11”.
Miami Trace’s Brad ‘Bull’ Mossbarger was ninth in the shot put at 38’ 9 1/2”. He placed seventh in the discus throw at 115’ 2”.
Washington’s Adrian Butterbaugh placed fifth in the shot put at 41’ 7 1/4” and 10th in the discus throw at 105’ 7”.
Next on the track schedule is the Division II District meet at Washington High School Tuesday, beginning at 4:30 p.m. and Saturday, May 20 at 10 a.m.
SCOL Track & Field Championship History
On the boys’ side, since 1928, Circleville won the most SCOL track titles with 20.
Wilmington was next with 13, followed by Washington with 12.
Miami Trace finishes with 10 SCOL titles, followed by Hillsboro with four, Chillicothe and Clinton-Massie, each with three, Franklin Heights and London, each with two and McClain with one.
