Girls' Week of 5/1 Recap

Wayne Invitational:

The Wayne Invitational, hosted at Wayne High School in Dayton, often brings immense excitement and blazing times, and this year was no exception. The meet kicked off Thursday night with several strong performances, including 12:27 and 9:51 finishes from Gahanna Lincoln in the distance medley and 4x800 relays, respectively. Additionally, Dublin Jerome’s Emma Styn and Westerville North’s Jacalyn Eblin excelled with 3rd and 5th place finishes in the Rising Stars 3200.

Day 2 began with an electric 1600 showdown between two of the state’s top distance runners, Brooke Chapman and Celia Schulte. It was Chapman who narrowly outkicked Schulte, with just 0.27 seconds separating them. Olentangy Liberty’s Elena Aldrink was also in the mix, finishing 3rd in 5:07. Other notable performances included Hilliard Davidson’s Gemma Pusateri in 5:17, Hilliard Bradley’s Lucy Buschur in 5:20, Olentangy Orange’s Cat Szasz in 5:20, and Gahanna Lincoln’s Claire LaCross, Rachel Ille, and Jillian Gomez all finishing under 5:25.

In the 800, Central Ohio’s top finisher was Dublin Jerome’s Abbie McBrearty, who placed 3rd in 2:17. Other notable performances included Olentangy Orange’s Brooke Chapman in 2:18, Hilliard Darby’s Elizabeth Elsass in 2:19, Olentangy Liberty’s Bridget Snider in 2:20, Gahanna Lincoln’s Abby Landrum in 2:20, and Olentangy Liberty’s Katie Boettcher in 2:22.

Central Ohio girls dominated the final event of the day, the 3200, taking the top four spots. Hilliard Davidson’s Erica Kaulen narrowly defeated Dublin Jerome’s Natalie Fouts in 10:43, while Hilliard Davidson’s Mackenzie Kline finished 3rd in 10:50 and Gahanna Lincoln’s Ruby Lewis placed 4th in 10:55. Olivia Smeck also finished in the top seven with an 11:09 performance.

Gary Smith Invitational:

While not at the same level as the Wayne Invitational, there were still several notable results to recap. The 1600 featured a tight battle between Granville’s Elsa Tonnessen and Dublin Coffman’s Nora Crabtree, with Tonnessen edging out Crabtree for the win as both finished in 5:16. The 800 was equally exciting, as Watkins Memorial’s Kate Michael narrowly defeated Dublin Coffman’s Ruby Koenig, finishing in 2:17 and 2:18, respectively. The 3200 was less competitive, as Watterson’s Kaitlyn Van Zandt won comfortably in 11:06.