Boys OCC Recap #1

The OCC Ohio, Capital, and Buckeye division meets brought out standout performances across the board, with tactical battles, breakout freshmen, and a few surprise upsets highlighting the distance events. As the postseason approaches, these races gave us a clearer picture of who’s ready to make noise at districts and beyond.

OCC Ohio

4x800: Gahanna Lincoln absolutely showed out in this one, running 7:47 and winning by over 15 seconds. While they had Owen Towler on the anchor leg, what truly set them up for such a strong performance was their first three legs combining for 5:53. That meant Towler only needed a 1:54 to hit their final time—well within his capabilities, as his personal best is several seconds faster. A low 7:40 could be within reach for this squad. Behind Gahanna, Westerville Central finished second in 8:04, with New Albany just behind at 8:05.

1600: There was no rematch in this one—Mick Temple went out hot and never looked back. He ran an impressive solo 4:14, while Owen Towler finished back in eighth at 4:22. Just behind him was freshman teammate Gavin Swain in 4:24. Other sub-4:30 finishers included sophomore Andrew Gould (4:25) and Ethan LaCross (4:28).

800: This race delivered the biggest upset of the weekend across all divisions. Expected to cruise to a win, Owen Towler was stunned by Lavon Wilborn, who surged for a massive personal best of 1:55.19 to take the title. Towler settled for second in 1:55.63. Andrew Dietrich (1:57.29), Alex Hohman (1:57.65), and Tristan Henson (1:59.61) rounded out the top five. Notable freshman performances included Beckett Anderson (2:00.31), Walter Chavez (2:03.12), and Grady Anderson (2:04.18).

3200: As in the 1600, Mick Temple ran away from the field, winning by 10 seconds. A shoutout is due to Austin Benedict, who wasn’t previewed due to his lack of a seed time but finished third in 9:38, narrowly edged out by Liam Irvin in 9:38. The only other sub-10:00 finisher was Andrew Gould, who ran 9:56.

OCC Capital

4x800:This was all Westerville North. They won by a massive 25 seconds, running 7:50 while no other team broke 8:15.

1600:This race can be summed up in one word: tactical. Casey Carlos took the win in 4:27, about 10 seconds off his personal best. Michael Kinzer finished second in 4:29, just ahead of Austyn Fox at 4:29.4. Noah Kemp also stayed with the lead pack and finished in 4:30.

800:Gabe Wise dominated the field, winning in 1:56.61—over four seconds ahead of the next competitor. Sophomore Quinn Robinson finished second in 2:00.88, with Austyn Fox close behind in 2:01.06. Freshman Aaron Maus also impressed with a 2:01.93.

3200:Following the day’s trend, this race was also run tactically. Jeffrey Kerns completed a Westerville North sweep with a 9:47 win. Mckinley Norman was runner-up in 9:55, and Nathan Evans rounded out the top three in 10:02.

OCC Buckeye

4x800:With little pressure from the rest of the field, Lancaster ran some of their B-team and still won comfortably in 8:09.

1600:As expected, Brock Jarrett won a tactical race in 4:29. He was followed by Grant Hamilton in 4:30 and Andrew Perry in 4:32.

800:Jarrett completed the distance sweep with a sharp 1:56.08, finishing 3.5 seconds ahead of the field. Phyel Richardson took second in 1:59.59, and Lancaster received strong efforts from freshmen Kaden Keller (2:01.17) and Jayden Notestine (2:02.37).

3200:Grant Hamilton closed out the day with a 9:58 win. Behind him, Carter Davis, Charlie Cooperrider, and Andrew Perry all finished tightly packed at 10:05.

From dominant wins to razor-thin margins, the conference meets showcased the depth and rising talent in Central Ohio. With district competition next on the schedule, many of these athletes are poised to carry their momentum forward—and some may just be getting started.