Lexington, Ontario 4x8 open Day 2 of state track with podium finishes

COLUMBUS – Lexington and Ontario’s 4×800 relays started the Division III Jesse Owens State Track and Field Championships about as well as they could’ve imagined.

By 10 a.m. on Friday, they were both on the podium with Lady Lex’s quartet of Katya Prykhodko, Jersie Palmer, Morgan Harrod, and Mia Twedt placing third (9:26.36) and the Warriors foursome of Xavier Trent, Michael Ward, Xander Chitwood, Jase Young finishing fourth (7:52.00).

“The state tournament is all about the place and fighting for it more than it is about times,” Prykhodko said. “All of us look at our times and want to go a little faster here and there, but at the end of the day we put a good race together and got an outcome we’re happy about.”

It was a season-best time for Lexington only bested by Oakwood’s new state record of 9:07.10 and Hathaway Brown’s 9:12.89 which ranked 60th in the nation.

“We all wished we could do a little better, but it went the way it should have … and I always have next year to hopefully get my times down,” Harrod said.

“There’s always a chance of you getting boxed in, so that’s why you just have to get out and not let other people push you,” Twedt added. “Stay in your space, stay in your zone, and run your race.”

That they did shaving more than two seconds off their seeded time.

“This is my first time at a state meet as a freshman, so it feels really good. I like the outcome we had,” Palmer said.

It marked the final relay race for Prykhodko who had some advice for the two freshmen and junior she leaves behind.

“Be confident because the winners are the people whose mind is the calmest and who are confident in their accomplishments on and off the track,” she said. “If you’re calm in your head, you win the race before you even start it.”

That calmness is also what helped the Warriors earn a spot on the podium shortly after Lexington stepped off. Simultaneously battling heat and fierce competition required pre-race preparation.

“It was definitely a challenge, but we did things to combat the conditions like pour water on ourselves and stay in the shade,” Trent said. “Honestly, it’s not the worst (heat) I’ve ever ran in.”

Similar to Lex, Ontario was only bested by some remarkable performances with champion Jonathan Alder running the second-fastest time in the state across all divisions with a 7:48.46, Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy (7:50.89) and Woodridge (7:51.44) both also clocked times that put them among the best dozen in Ohio — even the Warriors time was 14th-best.

“Our time would have won us state last year, it was just more competitive this year,” Chitwood said. “The first leg I ran, I got boxed out and could getting get around the group, and that kind of ruined it.”

That positioning is what forced Young to leave it all on the track as the anchor.

“Especially going to that last leg … I knew our goal as the team was to win and that’s all I cared about it,” he said. “I didn’t care about what the speed was or how much it hurt, my goal was to get closer to Jonathan Alder, which I did, but his second lap … I just couldn’t catch him.”

Coming in seeded second, the Warriors had their sights set on gold. But all things considered, they can’t be too upset with their performance.

“We didn’t really get the goal we wanted … (but) I think we should all be proud of our races,” Ward said. “We all know there was a little more we had to prove today, it just didn’t happen, and that happens sometimes. Progress isn’t always going to be there … our work ethic and our discipline really took us here.”

It was a recurring theme with the distance runners on Day 2 of the state track meet.

Katrina Neal placed fourth in the Division III 3200-meter run finals with a 10:55.88, a new personal best. She was bested by now three-time state champion Sophia Szolosi of Athens who ran a meet record 9:17.47, Napoleon’s Gwenyth Huddle (10:35.05) who had the seventh-fastest time across all divisions, and Marlington’s Irelyn Johnson (10:36.09).

“I am very happy with how I finished,” Neal said. “It was a really good field and all the girls really push you out there.”

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Lexington, Ontario 4×8; Clear Fork’s Neal nab All-Ohio distance honors