Ten Events To Watch At The D1 Ohio State Championships

Ten Events To Watch At The D1 Ohio State Championships

The top ten events at the Ohio State Indoor Track & Field Championships.

Mar 3, 2017 by Johanna Gretschel
Ten Events To Watch At The D1 Ohio State Championships
By: Mark Dwyer

The 2017 OATCCC Indoor State Championship will take place at the Stile Athletics Field House on the campus of the University of Akron on Saturday, March 4th. Learn how to watch live on FloTrack here.

This championship meet is the marquee event on the Ohio indoor calendar as the best athletes from throughout the state will make their way to Akron in hopes of attaining individual and team titles.

Fantastic track and field action is expected to be demonstrated in all of the specific disciplines and below we provide a sample of some of the intriguing storylines that we will be closely following.

Natalie Price of Granville High School is the #1 ranked Ohio athlete in the 400m and she'll be looking to cap off her indoor season with the state title in Akron. Price will be challenged by Pickerington Central's Jaydan Wood (Ohio #2) and Emma Lane (Ohio #3) of Mentor High School. All three girls have posted stellar 400m times this season, led by the 55.35 effort that Price produced at the MileSplit Scholastic Showcase at Spire meet.

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Pickerington Central's McKenzie Long brings a seed time of 7.55 for the 60m to States.

In the 60m competition, several girls are headed to Akron with championship aspirations. McKenzie Long from Pickerington Central enters with a tie for the top seed time with her 7.55 mark and it's expected that she'll have a strong field of sprinters who will challenge her for the title. Kaylyn Heath of Lakota East shares the top 60m time in D1, as she matched Long's 7.55 effort at the recent MileSplit Scholastic Showcase at Spire meet. Other notable athletes in the field include Granville's Natalie Price and Abby Steiner of Dublin Coffman High School, the two-time defending champion in both the 60m and 200m who is battling back from an ACL tear over the summer. Price enters state's with an Ohio #4 time of 7.59 while Steiner has secured an Ohio #6 with her 7.69 result.

Alison Guagenti of Olentangy Orange High School will be seeking the 1600m win, but she'll have formidable challengers to contend with as she pursues the state title. The talented 1600m field includes Solon's Olivia Howell and Hilliard Davidson's India Johnson among others. Alison Guagenti brings the top seed time of 5:05.19 with her to Akron this weekend.

Sophie Carrier of Shaker Heights High School enters the 3200m race with the top seed time of 10:55.39 which she achieved at the MileSplit Scholastic Showcase at Spire meet. Carrier will be joined in the 3200m field by a host of talented runners including Hannah Rasmussen of King's High School who currently occupies the Ohio #1 1600m time with her 5:00.32 performance from the recent Akron Rubber City Open meet. Rasmussen is also highly ranked in the state in the 3200m with her 11:06.59 effort from the Cedarville Richey Tune-Up meet in January.

On the boys side, Connor Duricky and Matt Peare are the top ranked 60m Hurdles athletes entering the state championship. Lake Catholic's Duricky has an 8.06 seed time while Matt Peare is not far behind with his mark of 8.08.

Travis Marx from Reynoldsburg High School enters the state meet with a terrific seed time of 22.00 in the 200m, but it may take a sub 22.00 effort to claim the title due to the impressive collection of talent that Marx will have to contend with on Saturday. His list of challengers include Pickerington Central's Zavien Parker, Dorian Hooker from Sylvania Southview and Thomas Worthington's Kainnan Ramsey.

The 400m championship could come down to a battle between Pickerington Central teammates Zach Robinson and Terry Simuel. These two PC Tigers enter the state championship with the top seed times of 49.82 for Robinson and 50.03 for Simuel.

Johnny Lukins is aiming to cap off his fantastic indoor season with an 800m state title in Akron. Granville High School's Lukins has the top D1 time this season with his 1:55.49 performance at the MileSplit Scholastic Showcase at Spire meet.

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Dustin Horter and Andre Bollam-Godbott will put spirited efforts toward winning the 1600m.

A loaded field has been assembled for the 1600m race with all 18 qualifiers entering with a time of 4:30 or faster. Among the state title favorites are Dustin Horter from Lakota East High School and Brunswick's Andre Bollam-Godbott. Horter has the #1 seed time of 4:14.73 while Bollam-Godbott is 3rd in the D1 rankings with his 4:16.33 effort from earlier this season.

In the 3200m competition, the field will need to work together to upset the heavy pre-race favorite Hunter Moore of Olentangy Orange High School. Moore enters the state championship with an Ohio #1 time of 9:03.05 and his mark is 9 seconds clear of the next highest seeded athlete and his time also represents a U.S. #3 ranking.

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Archived Competition Footage


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