Boys Week of 4/12 Recap

Outdoor season is really back now. With big performances across the board from high-level meets like the Stingel Invite and Hilliard Premier, we’re excited to break down all of this week’s action.

Before we dive into the recap, we wanted to provide a quick rundown of how our coverage will look this season. Once again, the OHSAA has realigned the districts, which means this year’s Pickerington North Region is made up of qualifiers from three Central Districts and the lone Southeast District. This change further limits the already scarce opportunities for Central Ohio boys to qualify for regionals — but that’s a discussion for another time.

Despite the new regional makeup, we’re going to continue focusing on the teams that competed in the Pickerington North Region during last fall’s cross-country season. That means schools like Sheridan and Chillicothe will still be featured in our weekly recaps, while schools like New Philadelphia and Dover — who competed in the Northeast Ohio Region — won’t be covered until the regional meet.

With that clarification out of the way, let’s dive into this week’s results!

Stingel Invite: 

The highlight of the week was the Stingel Invite at Pickerington North, which featured the most notable distance results of the weekend. In what will likely be the last week of semi-loaded 4x800s before the postseason, Gahanna Lincoln and Marysville posted impressive marks of 8:01 and 8:07, respectively, while Olentangy Orange took their first real crack at the event this season with an 8:13.

The 1600 produced eight Central Ohio finishers under 4:30 — an impressive showing for what was an opener for many. Lancaster’s Brock Jarrett showcased his closing speed to take down Centerville’s Daniel Emmert in 4:18.47, good for Ohio #3 at the moment. Behind the top two, Tate Ruthers clocked 4:22.3, followed by Owen Towler at 4:23.36 and Casey Carlos at 4:24.53.

The 800 was the least competitive distance event of the day, with only one Central Ohio athlete breaking 2:00 — Lancaster’s Gabe McNeil — who made his all-time outdoor 800m debut with a time of 1:57.86.

The 3200 was another stacked distance event, with indoor 1600m state champion Matthew Schroff taking the win in 9:13. Close behind was Mick Temple in 9:16, making his return to racing after missing the indoor state meet. Tate Ruthers capped off an impressive double by finishing third in 9:25.

Hilliard Premier: 

While it didn’t quite match the results of the Stingel Invite, Hilliard Premier still produced several impressive Central Ohio performances. This meet leaned more relay-focused, featuring both a 4x800 and a distance medley relay (DMR).

Led by Charlie Guerrera, Dublin Jerome won both the DMR (10:35) and the 4x800 (8:15), with no team finishing within 15 seconds of them in either race.

Neither the 1600 nor the 800 produced especially fast times. Hilliard Bradley’s Anton Shishlo was the top Central Ohio finisher in the 1600, running 4:29.09 behind Beavercreek’s Aiden Allen. Worthington Kilbourne’s Ryan Foisset won the 800, dipping under 2:00 with a 1:59.88, followed closely by Jerome’s Tomek Cymbal and Graham Tyler.

The 3200 was the most competitive distance race of the day, headlined by a breakout performance from Jerome’s Lincoln Kelly, who won in 9:28. After a quiet indoor season, Jacob Bolton returned to form with a 9:30 for second.

Other Notable Action: 

While the bulk of the weekend’s highlights came from the Stingel Invite and Hilliard Premier, a handful of strong Central Ohio performances came from elsewhere.

In the 1600, Zee Rabi claimed the Dick Dei Track Classic title in 4:27.81, while Olentangy’s Braydon Nix broke 4:30 for the first time, winning the Berlin Invitational in 4:29.32. Only one other Central Ohio runner broke 2:00 this weekend — Ty Munroe — who ran a solo 1:59.27 at Berlin.

In the 3200, Gordon Kimberly joined his teammate Zee Rabi as a Dick Dei champion, winning in 9:39.

Underclassmen results: 

Moving forward, we’ll be including a section in our weekly recaps spotlighting notable underclassmen performances — the future of Central Ohio distance running.

At the Stingel Invite, the top underclassman performance came from Gahanna Lincoln sophomore Liam Irvin, who ran an impressive 9:46 in the 3200 for his season opener. In the same race, another sophomore, Watkins Memorial’s Pierce Lott, narrowly missed breaking 10:00 with a time of 10:02. 

Freshman Gavin Swain added to Gahanna’s standout underclassmen weekend with a 2:02.7 in the 800, while we also saw strong efforts from Thomas Worthington sophomore Jonah Hein (2:00.88) and Dublin Scioto sophomore Quinn Robinson (2:03.11).

Meanwhile, Hilliard Premier featured dedicated underclassmen races. Dublin Jerome sophomore Carter Hutchinson won the 1600 in 4:32.46, while DeSales sophomore Lucas Steele (10:12) and Jerome freshman Peter Guerrera (10:16) had strong showings in the 3200.

With loaded fields, breakout performances, and plenty of early-season statements, this past weekend showed that outdoor track is officially in full swing. As the weather warms up and teams begin to sharpen for the postseason, expect even more fireworks in the coming weeks. We’ll be here every step of the way to break it all down.