WESTERVILLE – Four events. Three firsts and one second.
Mount Gilead senior Allison Johnson’s performance at the OHSAA Division III state track and field meet at Westerville North can be classified as nothing short of extraordinary.
”It’s really amazing,” Johnson said. “I’m so grateful for the opportunity. Especially with COVID-19 last year and the unpredictability of that. That taught me to be grateful and live in the moment, because of the possibilities of what could be next.”
She placed first in the 1,600-meter run (4 minutes, 56.18 seconds) on Saturday, June 6, beating the other runners and the 90-plus degree heat on the track surface. Johnson shared the podium with teammate Emily Hanft, who was sixth (5:10.56).
“The way I do the mile is to go out very controlled, and then we throw pushes at 600 meters and 1,000 meters, just break up the field a little bit, “ Johnson explained. “Going in prepared for that, and then having it go exactly the way I expected it to was a bonus. I went 75–80 (seconds per lap) and then, I went 66 for my last lap. I felt really strong through the whole thing.”
Johnson only had a short break before running in her best event — the 800 meters, winning it in a time of 2:08.81. She smashed the meet record (2:09.77) formerly held by Barnesville’s Stephanie Morgan. But Johnson’s performance wasn’t enough to break her own Division III state record of 2:00.37.
Hanft finished 17th (2:27.19).
“I figured I would just see how it went after the mile,” Johnson said. “I just tried to keep in mind that there are bigger goals, like trying to win the meet.”
In fact, going into the 800, she was confident after running in the anchor leg of Friday’s 4x800 relay. Johnson, along with teammates Michaela McGill, Olivia Millisor and Hanft, won the event on Friday, June 5, with a time of 9:19.54.
“I knew if I was within a hundred meters of (the leader) I could get her,” Johnson said. “It was really exciting. Everybody went out there and competed with heart and I couldn’t be more proud of them for stepping up and doing their job.”
Johnson was also second in the 100-meter hurdles (14.85). Mackenzie Hartman of Cincinnati Seven Hills (14.51) was first.
McGill, a junior, stood on the podium a second time, placing eighth (11:25.10) in the 3,200-meter.
Also for Mount Gilead, Isabela Schroeter was 10th (5-feet-0) in the high jump. In the 4x800, Seamus Walsh, Eric Mowery, Brett Shipman and Michael Snopik finished 10th (8:12.20). In the 4x400, Snopik, Walsh, Quade Harris and Matthew Bland were 16th (3:35.29). Snopik was ninth in the 1600 (4:26.04). Garrett Lamb-Hart was 13th (16.28) in the 110-meter hurdles. Schroeter, Madilyn Elson, Grace Mowery and Asia Jones were 18th (1:51.11) in the 4x200 preliminaries.
The Mount Gilead girls team totaled 42 team points to finish second out of 63 scoring teams, behind West Liberty-Salem (52 points).
Fredericktown senior Thomas Caputo placed third in the 3,200-meter (9:34.54), which was won by his friend and rival Eli Fullerton of Belpre (9:27.14), whom Caputo defeated in a head-to-head duel to win last fall’s cross country state championship. Caputo was leading with two laps to go but faded to third place, hanging on to gain a high spot on the podium.
“(Fullerton) is a good guy,” Caputo said. “He’s fun to race with. Obviously, the goal was first place. I fell a little short, but third isn’t too bad.”
Caputo also finished 12th in the 4x800 (8:17.07) with teammates Xavier Platt along with Owen and Titus Krabill. It was a strong showing for a team that was seeded 16th.
“This is a good way to end it,” Caputo said. “It was a fun ride. A really fun ride. I’ll remember all the connections I have made. Running is fun. It’s competitive, but there are a lot of good guys here. I’ll probably miss that the most. I was blessed that I could grow up participating in Fredericktown sports.”
Senior Ben Riegel of Centerburg landed a spot on the podium, placing seventh in the shot put (54-6). He was 10th (149-11) in the discus. Centerburg’s Chloe Goulter was 12th (26.56) in the 200-meter preliminary.
East Knox junior Dillon Moreland was 14th in the 800-meter (2:00.59). Moreland and teammates Sam Whitney, Scott Bates and Nate Streby finished 16th (8:25.86) in the 4x800. The Bulldogs’ team of Emily Opfer, Madison Annett, Haleigh Landis and Alexandria Magers were 17th (52.78) in the 4x100 preliminary.
