Muskingum Valley track and field stars made most of state meet
· Yahoo Sports
COLUMBUS — There were plenty of reasons why it was a memorable weekend at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
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For starters, it marked the first time a state track and field meet was held featuring more than three divisions.
And the Muskingum Valley showed out, led by the first state title in 32 years at Zanesville after Cam Willett claimed the 300 hurdles in Division II.
Willing and able
Willett's school-record time of :37.92 was the best of his career in an event considered by most to be his second-best behind the 110 hurdles. His time was the best mark a Muskingum County hurdler has produced in eight years.
He was the lone area hurdler to earn All-Ohio, but there were many other impressive showings over the course of four days. One was his sophomore teammate Chloe Wahl, who earned her own spot on the podium with a sixth-place finish in the Division III pole vault.
In all there, were 13 individuals — four were runners-up —and four relay teams that sported medals by the end of business on June 7.
Bella of the ball
Maysville senior Bella Van Wey entered the state with confidence and left with two silver medals around her neck for runner-up finishes in the Division III shot and discus. She trailed only Shelby sophomore Emily Mechenbier for supremacy.
"It was a really great week of practice," Van Wey said. "We were feeling ready to go, finally feeling better after (the regional) when I was kind of fighting that illness. Mentally, I felt really ready to go. I was so ready to compete."
The otherworldly Mechenbier, who stands almost 6-4, produced a 154-10 in the discus that ranked as the best throw in the state in 2026, regardless of division. Van Wey's 143-2 was more than eight feet better than third-place Addison Mason, of Sandusky Perkins, and would have been a winning throw in Division I and II.
Mechenbier's 48-0 3/4 launch in the shot was six feet better than Van Wey's 42-4 1/2 that would have placed in the top four in every division.
"I showed up and competed well, and I was really happy with how I finished my career," Van Wey said. "I can't ask for anything more. I threw well. I mean, I wasn't going to throw 49 feet (in the shot) and 160 feet (in the discus). That wasn't going to happen."
Meanwhile, teammate Emma Tamasovich made the final flight before failing to clear 5-4 in the high jump, but she was still was an All-Ohio selection in a group of six who cleared 5-2 to place fifth. Freshman Paige Calendine was fifth in the seated shot at 11-4 3/4.
Miller Time
He called it. Morgan’s Braylon Miller didn’t predict victory in the 400 in the days leading to the state, but he did foresee his best race of the year.
He proved prophetic.
Miller shattered his own personal record and set an even better MVL mark for others to chase with a :48.48. Only Cleveland Glenville’s Jav’ier Kerr, who also eclipsed 24 feet in the long jump, bested him.
“It felt pretty good," Miller said of his victory. "I was excited to get a PR, and I was kind of unsure how everything would go since it got delayed like over three hours (on Day 3). But I was super happy with the outcome. I just stayed locked in the whole time while everyone was waiting."
The latter was a tribute to his experience and maturity as a senior making his second state appearance, He said others were frustrated by the delay.
"I just tried to think about it positively and look at the positive side, how cool and a once-in-a-lifetime moment it is to run under the lights in the state finals," Miller said. "It definitely feels different (at night). Everything feels louder, too. which doesn't make sense, but it's really cool. ... When you are coming down that final 100, you can just hear everyone screaming and it just makes you push really hard."
Big fish in the big pond
Kuklica and Zell, like Miller, saved their best times for the best moment.
While SzolosI gave no quarter as the unquestioned distance ace of the bunch, Kuklica proved she will be primed to make a run at the event 2027 after edging Napoleon's Gwenyth Huddle at the line in a photo finish.
She put so much into the event that she had little left to give for the 800 less than a half out later.
"That time she ran would put her third overall in all divisions," John Glenn coach Doug Joy said. "That was phenomenal."
Joy and distance coach Amy Tooms, whose son Christian won a Division II state title before running at Mount Union, admitted some concerns of her strength after running the 3200 a day earlier.
"But she ran a great race," Joy said. "She held off (Huddle) at the end and that was exciting. ... It was a beautiful night for distance under the lights. (Ashlynn) has always been a gamer, that is why I always bet my money on her. When the lights come on in the brightest moments, she comes to play."
As for Zell, who slashed almost four seconds off his 800 time from a month prior, he stayed with the lead group in an 800 race that saw seven break the 1:55 mark.
His time would have won the Division IV and Division V races, despite being boxed in throughout the race before finding an opening in the final 50 meters.
"Ethan amazes me," Joy said. "He put the work in this year, believed in the system. He let us coach him 100 percent and did what we asked of him and it paid off. A lot of kids want instant gratitude and he believed in the system. You don't want to run your best time at the Jerry Neal or Dan Adams (invitationals), you want to run that at the state."
More highlights
- Tri-Valley's Lydia Ripple was third in the 100 in Division II, breaking her own personal record for the fourth straight week at :24.41. It eclipsed a record that had stood at Tri-Valley since 1993. Teammate Colten Rollison was sixth in the Division II long jump
- Sheridan's Creed Hill was eighth in the Division II boys shot put with a personal-record throw of 56-3 1/2, which ranks second all-time in program history behind former champion Eli Kiener.
- West Muskingum's 4x200 relay of 4x100 relay of Tavyn Hains, Aiden Metz, Grant Rogers and Jaxson Prang was fourth in 1:284 in Division IV; Hains, Morgan Pennington, Rogers and Prang were seventh in the 4x100 relay in :43.15.
- West M's Carter Smith became the first Tornado to place in the high jump in more three decades when he cleared 6-2 to place fifth.
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This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Muskingum Valley track and field had a memorable weekend at OHSAA meet