Peebles senior Payton Johnson is the 2024 Southeast District Division III regional champion in the 100M Dash and the 200M Dash and also qualified for the state meet in the Long Jump. (Photo by Danielle Jodrey)
North Adams, Peebles athletes will compete for state titles
North Adams senior Cody Hesler is the Southeast District Division III champion in the 400M Dash and will also compete in this week’s OHSAA State Meet in the 100M Dash. (Photo by Danielle Jodrey)
The North Adams boys 4 x 400 relay team consisting of Beau Hesler, Cody Hesler, Ryan Shelton and Dalton Pence are the Southeast District Division III champions of the 4 x 400 relay and will now compete for a state championship later this week. (Photo by Danielle Jodrey)
North Adams’ Beau Hesler will compete in the OHSAA State Meet in the 800M Run after placing fourth in the Division III regional meet. (Photo by Danielle Jodrey)
Peebles senior Samantha Seas will make a return appearance in the OHSAA State Track Meet after finishing second in the 3200M Run at the regional meet last week. (Photo by Danielle Jodrey)
By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
The track and field success continues for athletes from North Adams and Peebles, who blazed through the Division III Regional Meet last week and will now be headed to compete for state championships in the OHSAA State Meet. No less than four individuals and one relay team will be represented at the state meet, three of them advancing as regional champions.
North Adams senior Cody Hesler, who was earlier voted as the Southeast District Track Co-Athlete of the Year in Division III, has been pointing his efforts all season on a return trip to state and he will be there with a regional title in his possession. The Division III Regional Meet was held on May 22 and 24 at Heath High School and Hesler was the champion of the Boys 400M Dash, winning in a time of 48.78. Hesler also qualified for the state meet in the Boys 100M Dash, placing fourth overall with a time of 11.25.
“It feels great to be able to compete at the state level with all of my boys,” said the North Adams senior. ”Running with my brother is something that I will always be thankful for. I know that I wouldn’t be able to succeed without all of my teammates, coaches, and support system, so I want to give a shoutout to all of these people.”
That brother that Cody speaks of is his brother Beau who will be running in the Boys 800M run as he finished fourth in the regional meet with a time of 1:56.94.
“I’ve watched my brother compete at state the last couple years, so I’m excited to get to go this year too with my relay team and as an individual, “said Beau. “It’ll be fun to compete one last time with my brother.”
The running together that the Hesler brothers mention will be when they take their regional champion 4 x 400 relay team into the state met. The quartet of Cody, Beau, Dalton Pence and Ryan Shelton (subbing for an ill Garrett Emerson) brought home the regional crown with a school record of 3:27.17.
The Green Devils boys squad is coached by Jeff Raines, who is understandably proud of his squad.
“We had a very good regional meet, ” said Raines. “I am extremely proud of all my guys that qualified for regionals. Everyone performed great and it is a good feeling to have four boys and one relay team headed for the state meet. It’s really exciting to see them represent North Adams and the SHAC.”
North Adams also had two more individuals who competed in the regionals but did not advance to state. Coy Fogle placed ninth in the prelims for the Boys 300M Hurdles, while Caleb DeAtley finished 13th in Boys Discus with a throw of 121’10”.
East on Route 32 one of the most outstanding all-around athletic careers in county history will come to a close at the highest level in the state meet. Peebles senior Payton Johnson, also named a Southeast district Track Co-Athlete of the Year in Division III will head to state with her name etched all over the school’s record books in basketball and track and field, and this spring she will return to the state meet with two more regional championships on her ledger. Johnson is the Division III regional champion in the Girls 100M Dash, winning the race in a time of 12.55 and she will also move to state as the regional champion of the Girls 200M Dash, winning that event in a time of 26.08. She will also compete at state in the Girls Long Jump, placing fourth in the regional with a jump of 17’6.25”, which was a personal and Peebles school record.
”That meet for me was really special,” said Johnson. “I’ve never been a regional champion in track before. In past years I always came in second or third, sometimes fourth, at the regional meet. So it felt really good to win two in one day. I’m also going to state in long jump which is something I’ve never done before either. I came really close last year, but this year I practiced even harder and got where I wanted to be. Overall, I’m really excited for the state meet and I’m hoping to make the podium on Friday in all three events! Thank you to my family and friends and my Coach Amanda Myers for all their support.”
Another familiar name from Peebles will finish her illustrious high school career at the state meet, senior Samantha Seas. Carrying on the family tradition, Seas placed second overall in the Girls 3200M Run at the regional meet, earning her spot at state with a personal record time of 11:16.65.
The Indian track squad had three other individuals competing at the regional meet, who unfortunately did not qualify for the next level. Brandon Rayburn made it to the regional finals but fell short with a sixth place finish in the Boys 200M Dash. Though he did not qualify for state, Rayburn set a new PR and a new school record with his time of 22.91. Senior CJ Oldfield closed out his high school career with a 13th place finish in the Boys Long Jump, while Nathaniel Cummings was ninth in the Boys Shot Put with a best effort of 46’6.75”.
While renovations take place at Jesse Ownes Stadium in Columbus, the 2024 OHSAA State Meet will move to Welcome Stadium at the University of Dayton. The competition is set for Thursday, May 30 and Friday, May 31 and will be broadcast on the NFHS Network. The complete schedule can be found at https://ohsaaweb.blob.core.windows.net/files/Sports/Track-Field/2024/2024StateMeetSchedule.pdf.
