FINDLAY – The Ashland High School boys track and field team is at it again.
The Arrows piled up regional qualifiers in 11 different events Saturday when their Division I district meet wrapped up at Findlay High School’s Cooper Tire Track and Field Facility.
The outing resulted in their first team district title since 2019. Ashland shared the crown with host Findlay, totaling 115 points and district champs in three events. The only other team to tally more than 76 points at the site was third-place Fremont Ross (107).
It was a resounding effort for the Arrows one week after they saw their streak of Ohio Cardinal Conference titles end at seven in a row, finishing runner-up to Lexington.
Second-year AHS head coach Ryan Stackhouse said it was nice to see his squad respond in a big way.
“I just don’t think we quite peaked yet at OCC, which was a good thing,” he said. “We just started running really well, putting the right teams and the right guys together.
“Things are just coming together at the right time.”
To earn a piece of the district crown, Ashland’s 4×400 relay of Jayden Goings, Ayden Behrendsen, Gavin Hoffman and Tyler Sauder had to win their race, and they pulled it off in 3:21.27 – beating Findlay’s quartet by more than a second (3:22.81) to snag their title share.
“The guys agreed, ‘Hey, we’re going to refuse to lose,’” said Stackhouse, who said the unit cut 6 seconds off its time from a week earlier. “And that’s truly what they did. Everybody in the entire 4×4 PR’ed.”
Also during the district, the AHS 4×200 relay of Goings, Behrendsen, Jacob Holbrook and Braydon Martin set a new school record in 1:28:58.
Holbrook was the lone individual champ for the boys, winning the 100-meter dash in 11.05. He also advanced in the 200 (third, 22.41).
Others moving on to this week’s regional meet at Port Clinton for the Arrows were Dakota Kruty in the long jump (second, 21-6.75); Goings in both the 300 hurdles (second, 39.51) and the 110 hurdles (third, 15.06); Martin in both the 110 hurdles (second, 14.78) and 300 hurdles (third, 39.61); Sauder in the 800 (third, 1:57.42); K’Tyo Hendershott in the 3,200 (fourth, 9:53.40); the 4×800 of Cameron Arbaugh, Chaden Sampson, Brody Blough and Sauder (third, 8:14.46); and the 4×100 of Goings, Hoffman, Behrendsen and Sauder (second, 42.86).
The Ashland girls squad, meanwhile, placed fifth with 59 team points, totaling five regional qualifiers.
The highlight came from Vivian Walter, who collected district gold with a 15.36 in the 100 hurdles.
Advancing alongside her were Dana Frazier in the pole vault (second, 10-4); the 4×100 relay of Jasmine Duerson, Adria Brock, Brooklynn Boyd and Kendyl Stone (third, 50.98); Aliviah Sauder in the 800 (third, 2:20.21); and Sadie Walter in the 100 (fourth, 12.99).
Ashland’s qualifiers will compete this Wednesday and Friday at the Port Clinton Regional with a trip to state on the line.