NORTH ROBINSON — For the first time this season, the Colonel Crawford Lady Eagles faced a real challenge in a big track meet.
It was a challenge the Lady Eagles handled.
Crawford rolled to a win in the Division III district track meet in North Robinson Friday night, finishing with 146 points, while South Central finished second with 118.5.
Seneca East was third with 82, Buckeye Central was ninth with 26.5, Wynford was tenth with 22, Bucyrus was 12th with 11 and Crestline was 13th with nine.
It was a stark disparity from a week ago, when Crawford won the Northern 10 Conference meet by nearly 80 points.
CC senior sprinter Niyah Shipman said she was not surprised by the Trojans mounting a challenge to the Lady Eagles.
“I think the team performed as well as they should have.” Shipman said. “We all did the best that we could and I’m proud of this team.”
Shipman added that the Trojans were a very good team.
“It’s kind of a shock that we didn’t blow out a team like we normally do but, at the same time, they’re a good team. But we held strong,” she added.
On the boys’ side, Seneca East used its great depth to overwhelm the field. The Tigers scored 120 points, well ahead of second place Crestview, which finished with 96.
Colonel Crawford was third with 78. Bucyrus was fourth with 54, Buckeye Central was tenth with 22, Wynford was tenth with 21 and Crestline was 14th with 7.
Seneca East coach Ed Phillips felt that his relays and field events were the difference.
“They just continue to roll,” Phillips said. “Momentum is a great thing, and we have it right now. The field events were great, the relays were great. We got points out of the distance events and the sprints. It was a pretty complete, well-rounded day.”
Phillips was happy with his team’s depth.
“We got 36 points out of the mile and two miles, and that’s a nice chunk,” Phillips said. “We had two placers in a lot, and I’m really excited about the relays.
“We’ve always hung our hats on the relays so to have all four relays going to regionals is a big deal for us,” he added.
The Tigers scored well in every event and the top four placers in every event qualified for next week’s regional.
Ethan Shultz placed third in the pole vault (11-6) and Lucas Bordner (5-8), and Luke Hicks (5-6) placed third and fourth, respectively, in the high jump.
Even Schiefer won the 1600 run with a 4:29.37 and Leo Schreiner was second at 4:30.06. Owen Gahring was first in the 800 (1:59.24). In the discus, Hicks won with a throw of 139-06 and Keeno Ruffing was second with 138-08.
Schiefer also won the 3200 with a 9:49.06 and Schreiner was second at 10:01.64.
In the relays, the Tigers won the 4 x200 with a time of 1:31.97.
The Crawford boys also showed great depth. Logan Goddard was second in the pole vault (12-0), Trevor Vogt was second in the long jump (20-2). Roen Thew finished third in the 110 hurdles (16.59), Shawn Auck was fourth in the 1600 and Vogt won the 300 hurdles. Adam Scott was third in the 800 (2:00.61).
In the relays, the Eagles won the 4×100 (44.08), placed second in the 4 x 200 (1:32.64), and placed third in the 4 x 400 with a 3:31.32.
“We’re very happy today,” Colonel Crawford coach Preston Foy said. “All of our relays advanced which is the first time since coach (Jody) Grove and I have been coaching together.
“And just looking at some things around the state, we’re going to set ourselves up to be in a pretty good spot next week to advance in some of those relays as well,” Foy added.
Bucyrus had several regional qualifiers. Eli Sprague was fourth in the 110 hurdles (11.91) and Kavan Combs was second in the high jump (5-10). Karter Boggs was third in the 1600 (4:32.69) and Sprague was second in the 400 (56.78). Boggs was also third in the 3200 (10:08.52). Buckeye Central’s Corbin Bloomfield won the long jump at 22-0.
Wynford was fourth in the 4 x 200 relay and Wynford’s Anthony Evans captured the 400 with a 51.7. Bloomfield was third in the 400 (52.87).
The Lady Eagles also dominated events.
Shipman was first in the high jump (5-2), and the long jump (17-0), while Hailey Slagle won the 100 (13.20), and Olivia Hardy was third in the 400 (1:01.87). Rylinn Edgington was fourth in the 1600 (5:28.30), C.C. Chase won the 800 (2:23.34) and Slagle placed second in the 200 (27.23) while Ayla McKibben was third at 27.24). Edgington was fourth in the 11:46.25
Crawford won all four relays, the 4 x 800, the 4 x 200 (1:47.6), the 4 x 100 (50.69) and the 4 x 400 (4:07.04).
“We have a lot of depth on our team,” Foy said. “That helps with our relays; we don’t have to run as many kids in our relays. They performed very well because of that.”
Buckeye Central’s Allison Wright was second in the discus (113-0) and the Buckettes were fourth in the 4×400 relay (4:17.43). Wynford’s Zoe Whitmeyer was fourth in the high jump (4-10).
Women – Team Rankings – 17 Events Scored
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1) Colonel Crawford 146
2) South Central 118.50
3) Seneca East 82
4) New London 63
5) Ash. Crestview 57
6) St. Paul 49
7) Lucas 32
8) Coll Western 27
9) Buckeye Central 26.50
10) Wynford 22
11) Mans. Christian 15
12) Bucyrus 11
13) Crestline 9
14) Plymouth 5
Men – Team Rankings – 17 Events Scored
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1) Seneca East 128
2) Ash. Crestview 106
3) Colonel Crawford 84
4) Lucas 57
5) Bucyrus 54
6) Plymouth 42
7) St. Paul 33
7) Coll Western 33
9) Buckeye Central 25
10) Mans. Christian 24
11) South Central 22
12) Wynford 21
13) New London 20
14) Crestline 7
15) St. Peter’s 4