Marion-area sending 47 field event qualifiers to track regionals

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May 22, 2026 - 05:54

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Marion-area sending 47 field event qualifiers to track regionals

All across central Ohio, Marion-area athletes competed in field event district finals from May 19 to 21.

There were 47 who qualified for regionals by placing in the top four. Of those athletes, 11 were champions. Here's a closer look at how the field event athletes fared at districts.

Division II at Hillard Darby

Marion Harding's Theo Collins won the boys pole vault with a finish of 11 feet, 4 inches. He will now compete at the D-II Lexington regional.

Division III at Hillard Darby

Winning district championships were Highland's Kynzie Green n the girls shot put at 38-8 1/2 and discus at 130-2, Highland's Hudson Howell in the boys high jump at 5-10 and River Valley's Finley Blevins in the girls pole vault at 11-6.
Others advancing to the Muskingum regional are RV's Jackson Kloha (second, boys discus, 144-9), Highland's Jett Black (second, boys pole vault, 14-0), RV's Colt Craig (third, boys pole vault, 13-4), RV's Ben Isler (fourth, boys pole vault, 12-6), RV's Madalynn Gwinner (third, girls shot put, 35-10 1/2, second, discus, 119-4), RV's Averie Strine (second, girls high jump, 4-9) and Highland's Ava Fichtner (third, girls pole vault, 8-6).

Division IV District A at Granville

Northmor's Riley Cooper and North Union's Gabby Lindsey each won district titles. Cooper took the girls high jump in 4-11 and Lindsey earned the girls long jump at 16-3 1/4. The regional will be held at Harding Stadium in Marion.
Those earning runner-up spots were North Union's Collin Welch in the boys pole vault at 11-6, NU's Xavier Gruber in the boys high jump at 6-1, NU's Griffin Osborne in the boys long jump at 20-2 and Northmor's Macie Witherall in the girls long jump at 14-5 1/4.
Third-place finishers were North Union's Jack Kemp in the boys long jump at 19-6 1/2, Northmor's Haylee Walker in the girls pole vault at 8-0 and Northmor's Elizabeth Ruhl in the girls high jump at 4-8.
Taking the fourth and final advancing spots were Elgin's Drew Brown in the boys discus at 142-8 and Northmor's Ryann Brinkman in the girls pole vault at 7-6.

Division IV District B at Granville

Winning championships and advancing to the Harding Stadium regional in Marion were Cardington's Blake Bertke in the boys shot put at 50-10, Northmor's Conner Stockdale in the boys long jump at 20-8 1/4 and Elgin's Kadence Gear in the girls high jump at 5-0.
Runners-up were Mount Gilead's Kasen Wallace in the boys pole vault at 14-0 and Elgin's Bailey Abbott in the girls pole vault at 8-0.
Third placers were Northmor's Thomas Detwiler in the boys shot put at 49-2 1/2, Northmor's Levi Hunter in the boys pole vault at 14-0, Cardington's Lundyn Blevins in the girls pole vault at 8-0 and Cardington's Sydney Meade in the girls high jump at 4-8.
Getting the fourth and final spots were Detwiler in the boys discus at 143-5, Pleasant's Keean Perriguey in the boys long jump at 18-6 3/4 and Elgin's Jordan Wall in the girls discus at 102-0.

Division V at Granville

Gwen Hershner of Mount Gilead was the lone area champ at this district, winning the girls pole vault at 9-7. She and the other event qualifiers will move on to the Cuyahoga Heights regional.
Five took runner-up medals: Ridgedale's Britton Pottkotter (boys shot put, 43-9 1/2), MG's Abby Leonhard (girls shot put 36-8), MG's Cassady Irwin (girls discus, 113-8), MG's Kenlee Trainer (girls pole vault, 8-6) and MG's Maelii Whipple (girls high jump, 4-6).
Leonhard was third in the girls discus at 111-2 as was teammate Jaely Lease in the girls shot put at 35-8.
Pottkotter was fourth in the boys discus at 136-0. Teammate Colt Rawlins was fourth in the boys high jump at 5-6. Ridgedale's Maddie McKenzie was fourth in the girls long jump at 14-7 1/4.

4x800 relay finals

Ridgedale's boys won the D-V Granville district in the 4x800-meter relay with a time of 8 minutes, 5.48 seconds, while the MG girls were third in 10:22.44 to advance to Cuyahoga Heights.
Northmor's girls won District A for Division IV at Granville with a 10:37.14, while the North Union girls were third in 11:57.22, and the North Union boys were fourth in 8:51.98.
Mount Gilead's boys won D-IV District B in Granville with an 8:28.01, while Pleasant's boys were fourth in 8:38.08, and Cardington's girls were fourth in 10:52.14.
Highland's girls got the final spot with a fourth in 10:18.72 at the D-III Hillard Darby district.

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This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Field event champions crowned in central Ohio district track meets