Boys District 3 Recap

The final district of the day at Hilliard Darby didn’t disappoint, delivering some of the most dramatic and fast-paced boys distance races of the weekend. From breakout performances and tactical battles to heartbreaking near-misses, District 3 brought a mix of excitement and emotion as athletes fought for the final regional qualifying spots.

4x800 Regional Qualifiers: Dublin Jerome, Gahanna Lincoln, Marysville, Westerville Central

Weather didn’t appear to be as much of a factor in this race, with Dublin Jerome narrowly edging out Gahanna Lincoln — both squads running 7:53. Behind them, Marysville and Westerville Central claimed the final two qualifying spots. Watkins Memorial made a strong push to steal the last spot, finishing less than a second behind Westerville Central in a dramatic finish.

1600Regional Qualifiers: Charlie Guerrera, Ethan Ishida, Gavin Swain, Andrew Gould

There was little doubt about the top two finishers — Charlie Guerrera and Ethan Ishida controlled the race from the front. With Guerrera saving energy for the 3200 later, he and Ishida ran a more relaxed race, finishing in 4:17 and 4:18, respectively. The final two qualifying spots came down to a battle between Gavin Swain, Andrew Gould, and Ethan LaCross — a rematch from last week’s OCC Ohio 1600. Swain and Gould held on for third and fourth, while LaCross was disqualified for bumping into Gould in the final stretch, despite also running 4:22 behind Gould.

800 Regional Qualifiers: Lavon Wilborn, Graham Tyler, Austyn Fox, Mack Weithman

This race was wild from start to finish. New Albany sophomore Lavon Wilborn continued his breakthrough postseason with a 1:53.78 to win the district title — the current #6 time in Ohio. The surprises didn’t stop there. The next three finishers all ran under 1:55, each dropping massive personal bests: Graham Tyler improved from 1:56.68 to 1:54.41, Austyn Fox from 1:58.42 to 1:54.64, and Mack Weithman from 2:01.59 to 1:54.97. Weithman made a savvy move earlier in the day, jogging the 1600 after realizing he wouldn’t qualify, conserving energy to run his best race in the 800. The biggest shock came from Owen Towler, the indoor state champion, who failed to qualify — likely due to some sort of illness. Fortunately, he’ll still have a shot at redemption in the 4x800, where Gahanna Lincoln remains a state title contender. Other sub-2:00 finishes included Alex Hohman (1:57.38), Tomek Cymbal (1:58.28), Corbin Morrisey (1:58.36), and Ethan Martinez (1:58.38).

3200 Regional Qualifiers: Charlie Guerrera, Vansh Sethi, Cayden McClure, Max Harder

The final distance race of the day brought a fitting end to an electric meet. As with the other boys’ 3200s at Darby, this one played out tactically, with a pack of five fighting for four spots: Charlie Guerrera, Vansh Sethi, Cayden McClure, Max Harder, and freshman Austin Benedict. Each runner gave everything they had in a hard-fought final lap, but it was Benedict who just missed out in heartbreaking fashion. Districts often come down to the smallest margins, and in this case, a loaded heat left a deserving runner out of regionals.

With District 3 complete, the final pieces of the regional picture are in place. Several athletes head into next week with major momentum after career-best efforts, while others were left just shy in one of the deepest district fields in the state. If the performances here are any indication, the regional round is shaping up to be one of the most competitive yet.