Ontario boys and Lex girls win team titles at Division II district meet

ONTARIO — Bodpegn Miller’s hamstring soreness may have been a blessing in disguise.

Normally a 400-meter specialist, Miller won a Division II district championship in the 200 on a blistering Saturday afternoon at his local track.

The Ontario junior won in 22.14 seconds, nearly four-tenths of a second faster than runner-up Trayvon Williams of Edison (22.51).

Additionally, Miller was running the 200 for the first time since his freshman year. A nagging hamstring injury forced him to abandon the 400.

“I usually do the 400 and every time I hit the 250 mark, my hamstring would tighten,” said Miller, a major college football recruit who recently received interest from Ohio State. “Coach said we should try the 200 instead of the 400.”

The 6-foot-4 Miller was surprisingly quick out of the blocks. Coming out of lane six, he has already made up the gap on the outside riders before exiting the turn.

“A lot of people are surprised how quickly I can go out,” said Miller, who also anchored the 4×200 relay teams and third in the Ontario district in the 4×100 relay. “I use my long legs to my advantage.”

Miller was one of three individual district titles for the Warriors, who won the boys team title with 102 points. Jace Young broke a meet record by winning the 800m in 1:56.69, while Dean Morrison won the 3,200m in 10:03.78.

“It’s really close to our school record, so I’m really excited about that,” said Young, who surpassed the previous mark of 1:57.45 set by Upper Sandusky’s Troy Mawer in 2021. “We We worked hard and this is where we are now.”

Morrison led virtually from start to finish in the 3200m.

“Honestly, I expected someone else to try harder and take the lead,” Morrison said. “I feel like when I have someone else to chase, I run faster. I really wanted to have someone in front of me, but I’m happy to lead to the finish.

The Ontario 4×800 team of Morrison, Xavier Trent, Landon Foltz and Young won the district title Thursday with a meet record time of 8:04.88. The 4×400 team of Aiden Fox, Trent, Foltz and Young won in 3:26.83.

Galion’s Jacob Chambers won a district title in the 100. The sophomore won in 10.88.

“I’m running correctly. It wasn’t a PR, but it was still a really good race for me,” Chambers said. “My start needs to improve.”

Shelby’s Marshall Moore won the 1,600 in a meet record 4:26.77. He placed a disappointing fifth at last week’s Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference meet.

“I really wanted to come out strong because my last two mile races I didn’t work hard and I was in position to win,” Moore said. “It’s a PR for me.”

Julian, of Clear Fork, was the area’s only boy winner in the field events. The sophomore won the shot put title Thursday with a throw of 49-4.

Huron finished second to Ontario in the final men’s team standings with 86 points, while Liberty-Benton (85.75) was third. Galion (66) finished fourth, while Clear Fork (41) was eighth and Shelby (37) ninth.

On the girls’ side, Lexington ran away with the team title. Lady Lex accumulated 123 points, far ahead of Huron (94.5). Shelby (75) tied for fourth with Liberty-Benton, while Ontario (54) was sixth and Galion (45) seventh. Clear Fork (16) finished ninth.

Emily Thomas led Lexington with two individual victories. She won the 200 in 26.06 and won the 300 hurdles in a meet record 45.88.

“I didn’t hurdle last year,” Thomas said. “It’s really exciting because it’s my first year.

“I have a bit of a rhythm now.”

Thomas also led the anchor leg of Madison’s winning 4×200 relay team. She teamed with Allison Laury, Olyvia Stoots and Makenna Arnholt to win in 1:44.29.

Princess Timko of Shelby won the 100 in 12.62. Timko teamed up with Jaleeza Zehner, Madison Henkel and Ava Bowman to win the 4×100 relay in a meet record 49.49.

Three regional champions were crowned in the women’s field events. Lexington’s Elyana Weaver won the high jump Thursday with a leap of 5-2, while Galion’s Miranda Stone won the discus Thursday with a record throw of 146-6.

Henkel of Shelby won the long jump competition Saturday with a leap of 17-5.

The top four finishers in each event earned a spot at the regional meet in Lexington next week.