PHOTOS by Jamie Nygaard / CLICK to enlarge

Boys 4x400 relay 2nd, Matthews 3^rd in girls 1600

By Cort Reynolds

COLUMBUS – Bluffton High School senior Kain Wright topped the podium by winning the 400-meter finals on a hot second day of the Div. IV state track and field meet at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University on Friday, June 5.

Pirates Kohen Anderson, Aubrey Burkholder, Calvin Derstine, Liliana Fleming, Tayte Giesege, Nora Matthews, Maelee Miller, Ethan Sprunger and Gracie Warren also competed on day two, with a total of nine podium appearances in the finals.

KAIN WRIGHT
Pirate speedster Wright captured the 400-meter boys state championship with a personal-best time of 47.87. Ryan Neff of Miami East came in second at 48.54.

Wright had taken first Thursday in preliminary heat one of the 400 with a time of 48.32, the second-best qualifying time amid a field of 16 runners.    

In the 100-meter dash boys final Friday, Wright finished a strong second with a time of 11.02 to Gilmour Academy’s Nathan Lennon, who ran a winning time of 10.95.

Lennon nosed him out at the end with a good finishing kick.

Wright sped to a 10.72 heat one win in the prelims Thursday to earn the second seed in the finals out of 17 runners.

BOYS 4X400
The Pirate boys 4x400 relay foursome of Kohen Anderson, Wright, Calvin Derstine and Ethan Sprunger came in second out of nine teams in the finals Friday with a time of 3:24.69.

The Miami East foursome crossed the line first in the 4x400 finals in 3:20.32.

On Thursday, the Pirate 4x400 quartet took third in heat one and was fifth overall out of 17 to qualify for the relay finals in 3:24.81. 

NORA MATTHEWS
Bluffton junior middle distance ace Nora Matthews finished an impressive third in the 1600-meter final Friday with a personal-best time of 4:59.95. She improved on her time of 5:02.1 at regionals by 2.15.

Alanna Williams of Martins Ferry won the tough 1600-meter race in 4:55.17.

Matthews also came in eighth out of 18 runners in the 800-meter finals Friday with a time of 2:20.29.

Addyson Abner of Valley View lived up to her top seeding by winning the 800 meters in a time of 2:11.0.

MAELEE MILLER
In the 400-meter finals on Friday afternoon, sophomore Maelee Miller finished fifth out of nine runners with a time of 57.78. Beachwood sophomore Meena Abdul-Basser won the 400 finals in 54.77.

On Thursday, Miller had won heat two of the preliminaries and finished second out of 17 sprinters to Basser with a time of 57.07.  

Miller also finished sixth in the nine-girl 100-meter hurdles on Friday with a time of 15.31. Buckeye Local’s Jenna Delvecchio won the 100 hurdles in a time of 14.88.

In the 100 hurdles preliminaries Thursday afternoon, Miller won heat two and posted the third-best time of 15.03 in a field of 17 runners. 

GIRLS 4X200
The girls 4x200 relay quartet of Gracie Warren, Fleming, Aubrey Burkholder and Miller finished a solid sixth in the finals Friday with a time of 1:44.66.

The foursome improved from ninth place out of 18 teams in the semifinals Thursday afternoon. They advanced to the finals with a preliminary time of 1:45.26.

TAYTE GIESIGE
Versatile junior Tayte Giesige competed in the long jump Friday morning and finished a solid seventh out of 18 participants. He authored a best leap of 21-5.25 on his second of six attempts.

Adena’s Joey Francis won the long jump title at 22-3.25.

LILIANA FLEMING
Pirate freshman Liliana Fleming ended up ninth in the nine-girl 300-meter hurdle finals Friday with a time of 46.54. Fairland’s Molly Dunlap took first by 1.37 in a time of 43.97.

Fleming had come in fifth overall out of 18 runners during the semifinals on Thursday with a time of 46.21. She finished third in heat one. 

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