Potential on display in girls track

High school track and field season is off and running. Here’s a quick rundown with a portion of the area’s top talent and some things to know about the season:

10 athletes to watch

Emily Belovich, Catholic Central: Junior distance runner qualified for regional in both 1,600 and 3,200 meters last season.

Molly Bolender, Cedarville: Senior was a double qualifier at regional in the 200 and 400 dashes.

Emily Bonk, Greeneview: Senior hurdler is a favorite to reach state after qualifying for regional in both the 100 and 300 hurdles.

Lianne Masqulier, Greenon: Senior looks for a return trip to state in the 1,600.

Iman Salhieh, Kenton Ridge: Sophomore sprinter reached regional in 100 dash.

Rachel House, Mechanicsburg: Senior holds school record in 1,600 and 3,200 and was regional qualifier in 1,600.

Madison King, Northeastern: Senior should make a run at state as regional qualifier in 1,600.

Korynne Berner, Northwestern: Sophomore finished fifth at regional in high jump and also qualified in long jump; will also throw discus this season.

Morgan Freyhof, West Liberty-Salem: Sophomore finished fifth in 100 dash at regional and qualified in the 200.

Kennedy Harshaw, Yellow Springs: Senior thrower's best event is the shot, in which she qualified for regional.

5 things to know

1. There's a youth movement at Northwestern, Southeastern and Yellow Springs. Of the 25 girls on Northwestern, two are seniors. As for Southeastern, 80 percent of the roster is made up of freshmen and sophomores. Yellow Springs has two seniors out of 13 on the roster.

2. West Liberty-Salem is strong in the throwing events. Senior Mallory Sparks is a regional qualifier and will attend Wittenberg University next season. Junior MacKenzee Hartley is a regional qualifier in the shot and is being recruited by Division III programs.

3. Shawnee senior Elizabeth Walton and sophomore Zion Aikens give the Braves a boost in the field events. Aikens finished fifth in the shot at regional and Walton was sixth in the discus.

4. As one coach said, the regular season is just a glorified practice for what really counts: league championships. The Ohio Heritage Conference is May 15 at Greeneview, the Greater Western Ohio Conference is May 16 at Centerville, the Central Buckeye Conference is May 17 at Benjamin Logan and the Metro Buckeye Conference is May 17 at Yellow Springs.

5. The second season — the postseason, that is — begins with the district meet the week of May 19-24. The regional follows May 28-31. Visit www.swdab.org for sites and division placements. The high school track and field season runs its course at the state championships in Columbus. The state meet will be held June 6-7 at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.

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