2022-06-06T11:14:23+00:00

On a warm final weekend of the 2022 track and field season, the girls ended their year with a 6th place team finish at the OHSAA State Track and Field Championships. Scoring 20 team points and placing in three events, including the first and final events of the meet, the girls helped the team to it’s best finish in the program’s 48 year history.

Friday – Prelims

The 4×800 team started the scoring for the squad as sophomore Ellie Irwin, despite recovering from a mid-week illness, ran a strong opening leg against some of the best middle distance runners in the state. Running error-free, Ellie handed off the baton to junior Sarah Colman, who’s blazing opening 400 moved the team from 15th to 11th overall in but one lap, and, after a season-best overall split, put the team in 9th place by the time she ended her portion of the relay. Junior Sydney Peer looked to move the team up the standings and did just that, running a blistering first lap to move the team into a 7th place position by the time she handed off the baton to her sophomore sister, Sarah. Sarah, running strategically, put in an intelligent first lap, getting the team into 6th with 400m left in their season, before putting on an amazing final lap that saw her move the baton to 3rd place overall. When all was said and done, the girls had re-set their own record (9:17.26) for the fourth time this season and had become the first relay team in program history to finish on the podium at the state championships!

In the sprint events, senior Sophia Kontak ran the third fastest time in WHS history in the prelims of the 100, narrowly missing her own record by .08 seconds, and then ran the sixth fastest time in program history later in the day in the 200, again narrowly missing her own record, this time by .32. By taking 12th and 14th, respectively, the 2022 Great Lakes Conference MVP concluded her individual career on the track as the best sprinter in program history, owning three of the five fastest individual times in the 200 and eight of the 10 fastest individual times in the 100!

Up next, the 4×200 team ended their season with a 10th place finish as Sarah Colman, junior Madison Shami, senior Emma Hennessey, and Sophia concluded a fantastic record-breaking season. Indeed, the foursome not only own the WHS record in the event, but the five fastest ever relay times in the event, and wrapped up their season as a top 10 team in Division 1.

The final individual event of Friday’s prelims saw Emma finish 13th overall in the 300 Hurdles, concluding a fantastic season in the event, before Emma helped anchor the 4×400 squad to a 4th place qualifying spot heading into Saturday’s finals.

Saturday – Finals

Macy Brennan led off Saturday’s finals, and, after the first flight, stood in at 6th place in the Discus despite an injury that required a walking boot. The junior eventually ended her season in 13th place overall, an impressive season that included a GLC Championship en route to owning the second best throw in program history in the event.

Leading off the events on the track, Sarah Peer continued her fantastic season with a tactical performance that saw her run stride for stride with the top miler in Ohio, clocking identical splits throughout much of the four lap event. Ending the race just off her own school record, Sarah become just the third ever athlete in WHS history (and the first since Kalpana Beach, 2009, High Jump) to earn runner-up status. The first athlete to place in the 1600 in program history, Sarah put forth an impressive year-long double, finishing 3rd in the state in cross country and 2nd in the state in the mile, setting school records in both events!

The team’s final event, and indeed, the final event of the entire year, would be the 4×400 Relay. Seeded fourth, the team of Sarah Colman, Sydney Peer, Sarah Peer, and Emma Hennessey came out strong, with Sarah Colman running a fantastic opening split just under 58 seconds. Sydney, clutch as she’s been all season moved the team up the leader board, and Sarah, moved the baton into the fourth position before Emma, doing as she’s done all season long, anchored the team to another fantastic finish, this one just .36 seconds off their own record. In the end, the team ended their season as the 3rd best 4×400 team in the state! Moreover, with their finish, and with 20 total team points scored, the girls enjoyed their best ever State finish in school history, taking 6th out of a field of over 70 teams!