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St. C.’s Vincent wins regional long jump

ATHENS — State bound!

That was the battle cry for a handful of area athletes after Thursday’s opening day of the Division II track and field regional meet at The Plains in Athens.

One individual and two area relay teams punched their ticket to the Division II State Track and Field Championship, which opens one week from today at the Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on Ohio State’s campus in Columbus.

St. Clairsville’s Jordan Vincent will have a chance to defend his state long-jump title after he won the regional gold. Vincent soared off the board to a personal-best mark of 23-0 3/4 to win the title by nearly a foot.

Harrison Central will send its 4×8 team to the state meet as well. The Huskies squad had a break-out performance in clinching the bronze medal.

The team, which is comprised of Sam McClelland, Michael Downs, Eric Leech and Zack Henry, posted an Ohio Valley-best time of 8:08.75 en route to the berth. That time was a 14 second time drop for the Huskies.

Indian Creek’s impressive 4×8 team of Madison Smith, Kelsey Lewis, Sloane Lewis and Aiamyia Dudley is headed to the state meet.

The foursome finished second in a blistering time of 9:20.19, which establishes a new all-time Ohio Valley record. It broke its own mark from earlier this season by nearly 10 seconds.

Along with those qualifiers, numerous others put themselves on the brink of a Columbus trip by qulaifying to Saturday afternoon’s finals in the shorter races.

Defending Division II state champion St. Clairsville had a strong showing in the qualifying round.

Junior Christian Oberdick is on the brink of his first state trip. He turned in a 15.48 to win his heat of the high hurdles. Overall, he’s seeded second.

In the intermediate hurdles, he turned in a 40.70, which is the fourth-best time entering the finals.

Vincent will also return in the 100 meter dash. He earned the final qualifying spot with am 11.40.

Senior DeVon Harris posted a 23.20 to advance to the 200 meter final as the eighth qualifier.

The Red Devils’ 4×2 posted a 1:31.44 to finish second in the heat and it’s also the second fastest time overall.

Buckeye Local’s Matt Smith, who was a state qualifier last season, will run for a return trip in the 400 meter dash. He posted a 51.61, which is the sixth best entering the final.

Steubenville’s Anthony Rice qualified in the highs, posting a 15.81, which is the sixth-best mark in the prelims.

Big Red’s 4×2 advanced by virtue of a 1:31.56, which is the fourth quickest time. The 4×4 team also qualified by virtue of a 3:29.12, which is ranked sixth overall.

Steubenville’s T’Kayla Kelley posted the fastest time in the 100 meter dash qualifying, running a 12.68. She ran a 25.62 in the 200 to advance with the second best time.

Big Red’s 4×2 posted a 1:45.18 to lead the way in the two-lap relay.,

St. Clairsville’s Mechenzie Wood punched her ticket to the 100 meter final with a 12.93, which is the sixth-best mark.

In the 200, Emily Baire qualified to the final with a time of 26.60, which is the eighth fastest time.

The Red Devils’ 800 relay team earned a return trip with 1:49.09. That is the seventh-best time.

The 400 relay team, which won the district last week, set the standard in the semifinal, too. It turned in a 50.31, which was eight hundredths better than Steubenville for the top seed.

The Redskins’ top-seeded 4×4 team, which ran sub four minutes in the district final, posted a 4:00.99 to set the pace in the final event. That mark broke a regional record, which was owned by Steubenville and had stood since 1986.

Indian Creek’s Dudley, who won the district 400 meter title last week, earned the seventh qualifying spot with a 60.48.

Martins Ferry senior Daletha Johnson was the eighth qualifier in the 400 meter dash, posting a 60.61.

The Purple Riders’ 4×4 also advanced, posting a 4:12.99, which is the fifth-best time.

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