Week of 2/22 Girls Review

This weekend’s results were dominated by one meet—the Ashland High School High-Performance Invite. This meet was quite selective in who they allowed in, and as a result, we saw some phenomenal performances in nearly every event contested.

So without any further ado, let’s get into it!

Starting off with the shortest distance first, we have the 800 meters, which was won by Olentangy Orange junior Brooke Chapman. This impressive performance was not just an indoor personal best but an overall personal best for Chapman, improving on her old mark by a little over one second.

Also under 2:20 in that same race was Dublin Coffman senior Minori Hudson, who ran 2:19, dipping under the barrier. She is committed to Western Illinois University, and currently sits as the seventh fastest 800 runner in the state. 

Other Central Ohio competitors in the race included seventh-grader Maddie Hobbs, who ran an astonishing time of 2:20, Hilliard Davidson junior Erica Kaulen, who also ran 2:20, and Olentangy Liberty junior Bridget Snider, who matched that mark as well.

Moving up in distance to the 1600 meters, we saw three Central Ohio athletes inside the top six, with the trio of Natalie Fouts, Marisa Heil, and Elena Aldrink crossing the line in fourth, fifth, and sixth place, respectively.

Frankly, I don’t have a ton to say about these performances. All three were impressive but well within what I’ve come to expect of them. Out of the three, I was most impressed by Aldrink, as she had “only” run 5:10 earlier this season. All three are comfortably inside the qualifying position for the state meet and should be vying for All-Ohio honors very soon.

We got to see Natalie Fouts and Marisa Heil double back in the 3200 meters, taking second and third place. However, this time, it was Heil who came out on top, running 10:49 to Fouts' 10:50. Once again, both athletes are comfortably inside the state qualifying picture, with Heil being the projected favorite in the event.

One athlete who improved her chances of qualifying for the state meet was Gahanna Lincoln senior Ruby Lewis. Lewis ran 11:25 to finish fourth on Friday night, which currently puts her at the 17th-fastest time in the state. Gahanna Lincoln now has two athletes on the bubble in the 3200 meters, as Olivia Smeck sits at 18th via her early season win at the Chieftain Mini Invite way back in early January.

Finally, we get to the 4x800-meter relay, where the Lancaster Golden Gales dominated the competition, winning by a comfortable 24-second margin over Centerville. It will be interesting to see what Lancaster chooses to do with their 4x800 at the state meet, as they will have plenty of athletes qualified in other events, and even on a great day, it’s unlikely they could take down US #30 Hilliard Davidson.

In other action across the state, Thomas Worthington ran a solid 4x800 in 10:09 to win the Muskingum Last Chance meet. While that time should barely get them into the state meet, it’s a promising sign for things to come.

Also at the Muskingum Last Chance meet, Lainey Fauth secured her ticket to the state meet, running 11:17 to comfortably defeat Chillicothe freshman Gabby Maranzana by 16 seconds.