4/25 Meet of the Week

Our Meet of the Week for the weekend of 4/25 is the Lancaster Fulton Relays. Since it’s still relatively early in the season, we’re treated to a relay-focused meet. Distance relays featured include the 4x1600, 4x800, and DMR, along with the 4x400 and MMR, which will also feature a handful of standout distance runners. In this article, we’ll break down what should be an exciting midseason showcase.

Kicking off the day is the 4x1600. On the girls’ side, top teams include Lancaster — with a relay of Dellinger, Heil, Carpico, and Parrett — and Gahanna Lincoln, featuring Lewis, Landrum, Gomez, and Ille. While both squads have impressive depth, we’re giving the edge to Lancaster, especially with the return of Marisa Heil making her outdoor debut. On the boys’ side, standout teams include Fairfield Union — a Central Ohio D2 powerhouse — with a relay of Walton, Phillips, Reindle, and Runkle; Gahanna Lincoln (Irvin, Goddard, Anderson, Fry); Dublin Scioto (Kinzer, Norman, Evans, Flanagan); Worthington Kilbourne (Klein, Foissett, McComb, Katsares); and Thomas Worthington (Kirk, Nash, Rundio, Jha). While several teams could dip into the low 18s, Fairfield Union is our pick for the win, though they’ll face stiff competition.

The next distance event of the day will be the 4x800 relay. On the girls’ side, Lancaster is the clear favorite thanks to their impressive depth. On the boys’ side, it should be a tight competition between Gahanna Lincoln (Swain, LaCross, Irvin, Towler), Lancaster (Davis, Notestine, Jarrett, McNeil), and Fairfield Union (Walton, Phillips, Reindle, Runkle). All three teams have the potential to dip into the low 7:50s, but Lancaster gets the nod here, as their squad will likely be running fresh.

After the 4x800 comes the final distance-only event: the DMR. On the girls’ side, it’s difficult to interpret the seed times, which appear inconsistent, but we’re picking Lancaster to complete a sweep of the girls’ distance relays. On the boys’ side, expect a close battle between familiar rivals. Leading contenders include Fairfield Union (Phillips, Boyer, Reindle, Walton), Gahanna Lincoln (Towler, Campanelli, LaCross, Swain), and Lancaster (Davis, Boyden, Notestine, Jarrett).

The MMR relay follows, though the exact legs and distances remain unclear. Still, several key distance runners are expected to feature. For the girls, watch for Ruby Lewis (Gahanna Lincoln), Sophia Poling (Granville), and Lancaster’s duo of Marisa Heil and Harper Allen. On the boys’ side, keep an eye on Cohen Stump (Granville) and Beckett Anderson (Gahanna Lincoln).

Due to the heavy emphasis on distance relays earlier in the meet, we likely won’t see many top distance names in the 4x400. However, there will still be a few standout performances to watch for in the final relay of the day.