CHILLICOTHE – Centerburg throwers Ben Riegel and Ian McKnight have been pushing each other all season long.
The two qualified for the Division III regional meet held on Wednesday, May 26, and Friday, May 28, at Southeastern High School.
Riegel qualified for next week’s state meet in two events, winning the shot put with a throw of 58 feet and finishing second in the discus at 158 feet, 5 inches. Riegel’s mark in the shot put set a new school record.
“When I started throwing my freshman year … I never thought I could make it this far,” said Riegel, who qualified for state for the first time. “Every meet I go to, my goal is always to PR and do my best. I definitely have a chance to win (next week) or at least do well.”
McKnight made it to the finals with a toss of 46-7.5, but ended his career with a ninth-place finish.
“I didn’t expect too much walking into it,” McKnight said. “I’m just happy I got to do it. After the whole pandemic put a stop to it last year, I’m just happy to be here. I gave it my all. I would always like to throw further, but I can’t say I didn’t try.”
For McKnight, Riegel pushed him to get this far.
“He’s inspirational,” McKnight said. “Going all the way back to sophomore year — my first year — my goal was always to beat that guy. He did get a little further and further away. But I always wanted to be where he (is).”
“(McKnight) is one of my best friends,” Riegel said. “To have somebody to compete with and train together … in the end, you both are going to get better. It’s a great thing to have.”
Chloe Goulter also qualified for the Trojans thanks to a second-place finish in the 200-meter with a time of 26.43 seconds.
“I’m pretty happy with (my finish),” Goulter said. “This is my first time (qualifying for state) and I’m pretty psyched.”
Mount Gilead’s Allison Johnson stole the show by breaking the regional record in the 800 with a time of 2:11.06 to win the title.
“I didn’t know the regional record was something to go after,” Johnson said. “We were just practicing a run-through of what we could do next week. Postseason is really all about places. Going out there and winning is the end goal at the bare minimum.”
But that took a back burner for Johnson, who was happier with the relay win in the 4x800 on Wednesday that set a new Region 11 record. She teamed with Michaela McGill, Olivia Millisor and Emily Hanft to win the relay with a time of 9:22.71.
“It’s amazing to share that win with those girls,” Johnson said. “We’ve all just worked so hard and it’s finally showing. Being able to go after that after not having a season ... it’s even better to share that, better than any individual win.”
Johnson, who qualified for state in four events, also won the 100-meter hurdles (14.23) and the 1,600-meter run (4:54.39).
Hanft qualified with a third-place finish in the 1,600 (5:11.37) and a fourth-place finish in the 800 (2:20.83).
McGill qualified in the 3,200 (11:18.6), and Millisor was sixth (11:40.44).
The group led the Mount Gilead girls team to a regional championship with 82 points, beating out 37 other scoring teams. Centerburg was 17th (13), East Knox finished tied for 18th (11), Northmor was 22nd (8), Cardington was 23rd (7) and Danville finished tied for 33rd (2).
The Mount Gilead boys team finished fifth (31) out of 43 scoring teams, behind champion Crestview (70). The Trojans were 10th (20), the Pirates were 17th (14), Fredericktown was 19th (12) and the Bulldogs came in 23rd (10).
The top four finishers in each region qualify, and two at-large berths also qualify based on statewide times.
Dillan Moreland took a spill crossing the finish line in the 800. He finished fifth (2:00.61) just behind New London’s Tyler Twining (2:00.58), seemingly ending his run in that event.
“I have next year and I’m going to let that fuel me for next year,” Moreland said after the race. “I tried to attack at the end of that race. Everybody else in the race had just as much left as I did, so I couldn’t do it.”
Moreland did qualify for state, however. He was also part of the Bulldogs’ 4x800 relay team with Nathan Streby, Scott Bates and Samuel Whitney (8:16.72) that qualified with a third-place finish.
“It’s just an unreal feeling,” Moreland said. “We’ve worked so hard — me, Sam, Streby, Scott — the amount of work we put in ... that’s been our goal since Day 1. It feels really good.”
Fredericktown’s 4x800 relay team of Thomas Caputo, Owen Krabill, Xavier Platt and Titus Krabill (8:20.22) also qualified despite a fifth-place finish.
Caputo (9:46.81) qualified in the 3,200 as well, thanks to a second-place finish behind Eli Fullerton of Belpre (9:35.72).
The East Knox girls’ 4x100 relay team of Emily Opfer, Madison Annett, Haleigh Landis and Alexandria Magers also qualified, finishing third (52.86).
Seamus Walsh, Eric Mowery, Brett Shipman and Michael Snopik qualified in the 4x800 (8:11.5) with a second-place finish on Wednesday.
Snopik finished third in the 1,600 (4:27.45), Garrett Lamb-Hart was third in the 110-hurdles (15.50) and Grace Shipman was third in the pole vault (8-0).
Walsh, Snopik, Matthew Bland and Quade Harris qualified with a third-place finish in the 4x400 (3:37.69).
The 4x200 team of Madilyn Elson, Asia Jones, Grace Mowery and Isabela Schroeter finished fourth (1:51.82) to qualify. They also finished sixth in the 4x100 (53.66).
Schroeter qualified in the high jump as well, finishing second with a jump of 5-2.
Danville’s lone representative, Alenah Boeshart, reached the podium with a seventh-place finish in the 100-meter (13.1). It was her second appearance at regional.
“I feel pretty great because the last time I was here — my freshman year — I just made it to the semifinals,” the junior said. “I’m proud of myself for making it farther on to regional finals. I’m working for state next year, hopefully.”
The Division III state meet begins on Friday with half of the field-event finals at 10 a.m. at Westerville North. The 4x800 final along with the preliminaries of the remaining track events begin at 2 p.m. on Friday. The other half of the field-event finals are slated for 10 a.m. on Saturday, with the track-event finals beginning at 2 p.m.
