Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Eastwood is once again looking to compete for a league title and beyond this year.
At the Napoleon Invitational, Eastwood's Josie Appelhans won the 100 and 200 with times of 12.90 and 27.26, respectively, while Leah Emch was fourth in 5:34.09 in the 1600 and third in 11:55.98 in the 3200. Mallory Sandberg was third in the 100 hurdles (16.50).
"Josie has worked really hard, especially coming back from a major injury,” Eastwood coach Nathan Howard said. “What makes her so special is how coachable she is — she really wants to get better and is able to take what her coaches tell her and put it into practice. She's also a great competitor.
“Leah has been consistent over the last four years. There aren't a ton of female distance runners that are able to improve every year, but Leah has gotten better every year in both cross country and track. Mallory has been a really strong leader for our team. She sets the example for the younger girls, and she's not afraid to speak up."
There were a number of Eagles who did well in the field events, too, like Camille Foos (4-8 in the high jump), Bella Provo (15-4.5 in the long jump), Kyrie Henline (9-0 in the pole vault), Piper Sutton (8-0 in the pole vault), Kennedy Ameling (99-10 in the discus and 31-0.5 in the shot put) and Harper Rollins-Morlock (31-1.5 in the shot put).
Oak Harbor sophomore sprinter Olivia Cherry is back to lead the Rockets, just one season after she placed in two events at the Division II state track and field tournament.
Last season, Cherry was eighth in the 400 meters and was part of a 4x400 relay team that included Effie Schulte, Kennedy Slates and Olivia May that came in sixth.
At the A.W. Hendricks Invite, Cherry took first in the 400 in 58.42, and teammate Hayley Fallgren was fourth in 1:03.15. Kendall Gaines was second in the 800 (2:28.75), followed by Slates, who was third in 2:28.88. Schulte placed third in the 100 (13.17) and Miyanna Gardner was fourth in 13.29 while May finished fifth in the 200 (27.38)
Camdyn Fauver was third in the 100 hurdles (16.53) and teammate Abigail Coutcher was fifth (17.07). Fauver took fourth in the 300 hurdles (50.42), and Coutcher was fifth in 50.84.
Coutcher was also second in the long jump with a leap of 15-3.5.
Alayna Hall was third in both the shot put (34-5) and the discus (113-0), and Bella Lake had a leap of 10-0 in the pole vault.
Northwood junior Miriam Fowler had a good showing at Lakota Invite, finishing fifth in the 1600 in 5:58.82.
"Miriam has a fantastic work ethic and is the ultimate team player,” Northwood coach Jeremy Lewin said. “I could ask her to run anything, and she would probably do it, if not at least consider it. We are a very young team, and she does an excellent job leading the younger distance runners through their workouts, usually setting the pace on practice runs.
“You will always see Miriam Fowler competing hard and running smart. She ran a 1600 and 800 meters on Tuesday, and when she knew she was ahead enough, she dropped her pace down a touch and saved some energy for her 800 meter, which she ran a season-best time.”
As for Gibsonburg, McKenzie Montgomery is looking to get back to state in the pole vault after a leap of 11-10.00 that got her a third-place finish in Division III. At the Lakota Invite, she finished third with a jump of 9-6.
On the track, she finished the 200 in 28.66 and the 400 in 1:06.12 while teammate Macey Kohler ran a 2:51.45 in the 800. Mary Myerholtz had a showing of 5:51.40 in the 1600.
"(They're) very hard-working athletes and are great teammates," Gibsonburg coach Shane Dyer said.
Led by 2024 graduate Azure Travis in each of the last two seasons, Woodmore finished fourth in Division III last year after winning the state championship in 2023.
Karli Heins had a good showing at the Lakota Invite, finishing fifth in the 100 in 13.43 and seventh in the 200 in 27.96 while teammate Lacey Lipstraw followed closely with a time of 13.45 in the 100 and 28.48 in the 200.
Willow Lewis was second in the 800 in 2:31.53. Wren Lewis was fourth in the 1600 in 5:56.31.
In the field events, Addison Overmyer was second in the pole vault (9-6), Lilian Runion finished second in the long jump (15-7.5) and Stella Strong took third in the discus (108-3).
"Willow Lewis has been our top placer on the track and a trio of senior field athletes lead the team in Addison Overmyer (pole vault), Lilian Runion (long jump) and Stella Strong (discus)," Woodmore coach Lacy Seamans said. "All four of them were also individual regional qualifiers last season.
"We also have some strong freshmen in Karli, Wren and Lacey."
Cardinal Stritch coach Jeff Kesselring has high hopes for two of his relay teams, and notes that Gianna DiGasto has potential.
"We are small but mighty in terms of the squad,” she said. “We have a 4x100 and 4x200 relay team that is growing in their confidence and shrinking time. Juniors Kristina Hernandez, Kristy Dominguez and Alivia Castro and senior Sydney Miller make up that team.
“Gianna DiGasto is working hard to improve her time in the 800 and is also showing awesome growth in shot put and discus."
Genoa fared well at the Hendricks Invite as four runners and three field athletes placed in the top five in their respective events.
Stella Rethman won the 1600 in 5:32.27 and was third in the 3200 in 12:13.76 while Lindsey Brown was second in the 300 hurdles (47.88) and second in the high jump with a leap of 5-0. Tatum Szych was fifth in the 800 (2:40.20) and Kyra Frasure took third in the long jump (15-3.5) and Lynde Hartman was fourth in the shot put (32-7.75).
Lake coach Jason Schober had high praise for two athletes that have gotten off to fast starts in Savannah Little and Lauren Parsons.
"Savannah is a sophomore who was a state finalist last season in the 400 and as a part of our 4x200 relay," he said. “She has our best times in the 100 (12.92), 200 (26.92) and 400 (60.64)."
Little won the 100, 200 and 400 in two meets, and finished first in the 4x400 relay, and at the invite, won the 100, finished second in the 200 and third in the 400.
"Parsons has won the long jump in all three meets she has competed in, including the Van Buren Invite. She was the leadoff (runner) in the 4x400 relay that won (recently)," Schober said. "She also finished third in high jump at the Van Buren Invite."
Parsons has the best long jump (16-4) and high jump (4-10) of the season for the Flyers, and she is also second on the team in the 100 (13.85), 200 (28.92) and 400 (68.4).
At the TPS City Meet No. 2, which was held at Bowsher High School, LaRyah Lee led Waite with a first-place finish in the 100 in 13.40 while Rieley Lee was second in the 200 in 29.14. Jayla Taylor placed third in the 400 (1:13.51), and Jae'lynn Hannah was second in the 800 (2:57.40).
In the field events, Taylor was third in the long jump (13-0.5) and Myonna Lacy was fourth in the high jump (4-6).
Clay senior Makenna Langford led the way for the Eagles, winning the 100 hurdles (15.93) and the 300 hurdles (46.56) in the Napoleon Invite. Emma Martin finished first in the high jump with a leap of 5-2 and a time of 15.94 in the 100 hurdles to finish second.
Jaelyn Rowe was third in the 200 (27.80), Arianna Bench was third in the discus (101-9) and Paige Kidd led three athletes that finished fourth in their respective events — Kidd ran a time in the 100 of 13.48; Audrey Miller had a time of 1:05.62 in the 400; and Emily Schultz had a leap of 14-11 in the long jump.
