Womens' February Recap

800m

Ashland High Performance Meet

There was no shortage of speed across the 800m at the highly competitive Ashland High Performance Meet, as Madison Hobbs, Bridget Snider, and Abigail Young all faced off. Hobbs took the win in 2:16, with Snider and Young running 2:18 and 2:21 respectively, putting their names up at the top of Central Ohio.

Outside of the High Performance meets, there were other very strong marks across the 800m leading into the State Meet. Celia Schulte leads the state with a blazing 2:08 that she ran in New York. Additionally, Kate Michael, Natalie Fouts, Harper Allen, and Abbie McBrearty have all run at least 2:20 this season, and they will all be strong competitors to look for at the state meet this weekend. The race should be a fun one to spectate, with star power in Schulte and a strong Central Ohio pack hunting down a medal.

1600m 

Ashland High Performance Meet

As it always does, the Ashland High Performance meet produced many of the top times in Central Ohio for the 1600m. At the front end of the race, Elena Aldrink beat out Erica Kaulen, both of whom ran under 5 minutes. Additionally, Natalie Fouts, Josie Cox, Lucy Rush, and Beth Baker were able to get under 5:10, cementing their names towards the top of the region this indoor season.

Stepping away from the High Performance Meet, there were other very strong times across the region as well. Brooke Chapman’s 5:02 at Spire puts her name right up towards the top of the lists. Harper Allen, Grace Buskirk, and Emma Donavan have all run very impressively over the month of February as well, reassuring the claim that Central Ohio is full of talent across 1600m. It will be fun to see the battle between these ladies again at the state meet this weekend, as this race is surely going to be one to look forward to.

3200m

Ashland High Performance Meet

Much like the 800m and the 1600m, there was a strong turnout of talent at the Ashland High Performance Meet in the 3200m run. In a very closely contested race, it was Elsa Tonnessen taking the win in 11:07. Mackenzie Kline, Lucy Rush, Ruby Lewis, Beth Baker and Kyla Benedict weren’t far behind her, as that deep pack all made it under 11:20. Watch out for a potential rematch of this race (plus others) at the State Championships this weekend.

As for other marks around Central Ohio, Elena Aldrink leads the region with a blazing 10:23 that she ran at the Spire Scholastic Showcase. Addison Caudill is the only other girl from the region to break 11 minutes, as she ran 10:44 at the fourth OSU qualifier. Amelia Fries and Kaitlyn Van Zandt have also put up head-turning marks, running 11:22 and 11:33 respectively. Like the other distance events, the state meet will be packed with talent from Central Ohio, with many potential all state runners residing in this region.

4x800m

There were good performances from meets all around the state for the 4x800m relay this indoor season. Hilliard Davidson leads the region in 9:15, as they beat out Lancaster at the Wittenberg HS Qualifier #2. Dublin Coffman also triumphed over Granville at the Ashland High Performance meet, but both teams were impressive in their outing as they qualified for the state championships. There was another close duel at the fifth OSU qualifier between Olentangy Liberty and Dublin Jerome, but by the end it was Liberty taking the victory in 9:53.

Other notable marks come from Gahanna Lincoln, Big Walnut, and Bishop Watterson, as they have all done well enough to qualify their teams for the state championship meet this weekend. All in all, Davidson is the star studded team in the relay for Central Ohio, but there is also notable depth in the region with an impressive 6 teams under the 10-minute barrier, once again proving the strength that this region holds.