Track and Field: Shawnee sweeps rainy Clark County Championships

The Shawnee High School boys and girls track teams pose for a photo after winning the Clark County Track and Field Championship on Monday, May 5, at Northwestern High School. JACOB BENGE/CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

The Shawnee High School boys and girls track teams pose for a photo after winning the Clark County Track and Field Championship on Monday, May 5, at Northwestern High School. JACOB BENGE/CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Rain postponed the Clark County Track and Field Championships last week, but that only prolonged wins for the Shawnee boys and girls teams.

Originally scheduled for Tuesday, April 29 at Tecumseh High School, the postponed meet resumed Monday at Northwestern where the Braves girls scored 153.5 points, beating both Springfield (132) and Northwestern (108).

Shawnee’s boys squad also claimed the championship with 146 points ahead of both Northwestern (100) and Emmanuel Christian (93.5).

The Shawnee girls entered the county meet last week after a 10th-place finish April 25 in Troy, and the rain forced the Braves to wait six days before claiming Monday’s titles and five first-place finishes.

“It was hard because we had come off of Troy Relays where we had all performed really well and they were excited for the county meet,” Shawnee coach Sara Lee said. “It took a little bit to reset, kind of get our mind right, but they were excited for today, so it was good.”

Shawnee High School's Logan Smith competes in the 300 meter hurdles event at the Clark County Track and Field Championships on Monday, May 5 at Northwestern High School. MICHAEL COOPER/STAFF

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Shawnee sophomore Ella Foreman broke Tiffany Brigham of South’s 21-year-old meet record in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.87 seconds.

Lee also said Foreman stepped in and anchored the girls 4x400 relay team to another win. The team posted a time of 4:23.74 and earned 10 points in the event.

“I’m really grateful to have done it,” Foreman said. “My hard work has really paid off, and I just feel like it was a good night for all of us, and I’m so glad that we came out here and ran how we did.”

Foreman said weather was a factor in how she and her teammates prepared for the county meet, but gaining her focus at the Northwestern track was key.

“I was getting in my head at first, but then I just decided, I was like, ‘I’m going to do the best I can do, and that’s all that I can do,’” Foreman said. “And so I did that, and I think I did really good along with everybody else.”

Shawnee High School's Addison Mattern competes in the 300 meter hurdles event at the Clark County Track and Field Championships on Monday, May 5 at Northwestern High School. MICHAEL COOPER/STAFF

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Three Shawnee sophomores claimed wins in their events. Addison Mattern won the 300 hurdles with a 49.84 time, and Lola Derr and Reese Chilcote placed first and second in the girls 800 with times of 2:33.98 and 2:34.92, respectively.

Springfield’s 4x100 relay squad set a new meet record by just under one second with a 50.05 time.

Another meet record fell in the girls 100. Kenton Ridge senior Shanya Coleman ran 12.09 and broke Shanay Portis’ meet record of 12.45 at South in 2008.

Northwestern senior Alaina Freeze vaulted 12-foot-1 to finish first in pole vault, establishing a new meet record also. Freeze set a new personal record last Friday after the postponed Clark County meet by posting a 12-6 result at the Wayne Invitational.

Freeze was joined by Northwestern senior Taylor Scott in setting new meet records at their home track. Scott threw 133-9.5 breaking Rene D’Alaiso of Greenon’s 2001 record in discus and 37-1.5 in shot put to place first in her events.

Emmanuel Christian's Grady Schaadt competes at the Clark County Track and Field Championships on Monday, May 5 at Northwestern High School. MICHAEL COOPER/STAFF

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The Shawnee boys 4x400 relay team topped its own meet record set in 2018 by winning a 3:28.06 result. The Braves boys 4x100 relay team also won the event with a 44.35 time in the second heat.

The Braves boys duo of Gregory Lange and Logan Collier earned Shawnee 18 points in the 400. Lange finished with a first place time of 50.79 and Collier was behind him at 51.37.

Logan Smith and Billy Zanish continued Shawnee’s run in the boys 300 hurdles as the seniors placed first and third. Smith won the event with a 41.56 time.

Northeastern senior Eli Thompson won the boys pole vault and set a new meet record of 15 feet, besting the previous record of 14-2 by Cameron Algren of Greenon in 2019.

Warriors boys sophomore Crew Estep won both the boys shot put (53-9.5) and discus (152-4.5).

Lee said she was “super proud” of the Braves who ran “things they weren’t expected to” during the Clark County meet lasting over a span of six days and through a rain delay of more than 40 minutes.

“That was huge on the girls side,” Lee said. “And the boys (were) just solid all the way around.”

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