Beavercreek won the distance medley relay (10:32.13) and received another first from triple jumper Matthew Riekens (43 feet, 1.75 inches) to post the first-day boys lead, 20-17 over host Wayne.
Mason was second in the distance medley relay and added a sixth in the high jump to hold an 11-10 advantage over Minster for the girls team lead. Minster senior Jordyn Heitbrink won the high jump (5-5) to account for all of Minster’s points.
The meet continues at 3:30 p.m. Friday with finals scheduled for approximately 6:30. The two-day meet has drawn 67 complete boys/girls teams and 1,434 entrants.
There were no prelims in the 300 hurdles and Smith will enter Friday’s final with the fourth-best previously posted seed (39.00). He also will be part of the Wildcats’ 4x100 relay.
However, Springfield’s effort to make a midseason statement took a severe hit when junior Quincy Scott failed to qualify for the finals in the 100 and 200. Running into a stiff wind in the 100, no one broke 11 seconds. Scott was buried with a prelim of 11.79. He didn’t have any better success in the 200 (22.96).
Scott will enter Friday’s long jump seeded first (22 feet, 7 inches) and will join Smith in the 4x100 relay.
“It’s been a little rough for the first month,” Smith said, “but we’re trying to get back to the times we had last year. We’ll get there.”
Both Smith and Scott also are football standouts who are being recruited. Smith said the University of Cincinnati has mentioned Smith could play both football and run track. Iowa and Akron are interested in him running track.
Both started as cornerbacks last season for the Wildcats. They’ll likely return to those positions and see playing time on offense, too.
• The boys and girls Clark County Championships will be held Saturday at Northeastern. Competition begins at 10 a.m. and will conclude approximately at 7 p.m.
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