Summit Country Day highlights day 2 of OHSAA track state meet
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Summit Country Day, Fenwick, and CHCA dominated the second day of Ohio's high school track and field state championships. The article covers standout performances and results from the competing schools at the OHSAA meet, highlighting which teams and athletes made their mark during the competition. The championships continue to showcase the state's top track talent across multiple divisions and events.
COLUMBUS, OH, One day after Cincinnati Country Day's Luke Schnieber won a pole vault state title, a Summit County Day relay team made it two track and field titles in as many days for Cincinnati.
In the first year with five divisions at the Ohio High School Athletic Association track and field state championships, Fenwick, CHCA and Summit Country Day led the way among the area's Division IV teams, while a pair of sprinters claimed spots on the podium.
Here are the highlights from Friday's action at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. Saturday will see field events in Divisions I, II and III, running semifinals and a handful of finals in DI and DII, and the DIII running finals.
Summit Country Day claims girls sprint relay title
Maddy Amend, Brielle Bryant, Alaina Williams and Ama Karikari brought home Cincinnati's lone state championship on Friday, winning the Division IV 4x100 meter relay in a new overall DIV state record of 48.59 seconds.
Running the anchor leg, Karikari took the baton in second place and caught Girard to win the Silver Knights' first track state title since Braeden Austin, Oscar Loehrer, Oren Jenkins and Matthew Shuler won the 2022 DIII 4x200 meter state title.
"We knew the whole season that we were really close to winning and yesterday during prelims, we were 0.05 (seconds) away, so worked really hard on our handoffs and knew that if I got the stick in first or second, we'd definitely win," Karikari said.
The junior also helped SCD to a fifth-place finish in 4x200 meter relay and took sixth place in the 200-meter dash.
Summit Country Day, which doesn't have a track, was the top local team in the girls standings, tying for 12th place with 17 points.
"We have really hard-working coaches and staff that help us get ready before meets and train before the season starts. It just shows how hard work pays off," Karikari said.
Wyatt Gockerman places in three events for CHCA
With his twin brother, Nate, out for the second half of the track season with various stress fractures, Wyatt Gockerman was thrust into the primary leadership role for the Eagles.
The lineup change allowed him to explore his possibilities in the 3,200-meter run, which led to a new personal best of 9:13 and a third-place finish on the first day of the state championships.
"It honestly helped propel me and give me more motivation because I was able to really have a breakthrough race in the two-mile at regionals," Gockerman said.
Earlier on Thursday, Gockerman and senior Jagger Dollenmeyer helped the Eagles to a seventh-place finish in the 4x800 meter relay.
Both competed in the 1,600-meter run on Friday. Gockerman closed his junior season with a sixth-place finish in 4:18.93, one second slower than his personal best. Dollenmeyer, who will run at Wright State, closed his career with a 13th-place finish in 4:22.41.
"I feel pretty exhausted, especially with how late in the season it is," Dollenmeyer said.
The Eagles were the highest-placing DIV boys team, scoring 17.33 points for 13th place.
Fenwick's Sam Long bags two fourth-place finishes
As one of the elder stateswomen for the Fenwick track team, Samantha Long has shown her teammates what is possible this year. She had a top five 300-meter hurdle time in DIV this year and was a part of numerous school-record relay teams.
The Falcons took 10 athletes to the DIV state meet, including seven freshman, but Long had the most successful day, taking fourth place in the 300-meter hurdles and running the anchor leg of the fourth-place 4x400 meter relay team.
"I passed people early on because I wanted to start out fast and then just tried to maintain it for the rest of the race," Long said of the relay.
In the hurdles, she found her stride rounding the curve into the home stretch, holding off Columbus School for Girls' Hannah Watson and Mineral Ridge's Malayna Wilson.
Long is optimistic about the team's future, knowing they can capitalize on the 10 points they scored this year.
"A lot of the freshmen we have have never run track before. I feel like they definitely look up to the upperclassmen. I was team captain this year and, hopefully, I get to do it again next year because it's really fun, trying to help the coaches," Long said.
Serena Cyprien, Jimere Furr show out in Division V short sprints
Opening up the first-ever DV state meet, Cyprien took third place in the 100-meter dash in 12.73 seconds. Despite running into a tough headwind, the Cincinnati Christian senior's first state championship race brought her the first of two medals.
"It really is all about the start, getting out of your blocks and running through the rest," Cyprien said.
She came back in the 200-meter dash, where she was the top seed from the prelims, and took second place in 25.68 seconds.
Cyprien will run at Wittenberg University and credits her coaches and teammates for her progression this season. She lowered her 100-meter dash time from 13.35 seconds at her second meet to 12.23 seconds at regionals, and dropped her 200-meter time from 26.34 seconds on April 30 to 25.38 seconds in the regional prelims.
She won district titles at both distances and snuck into state by taking fourth place at regionals but made the most of her experience.
"I've never been at a meet with this many people, ever. It's really nice. The support is amazing, all the girls are super sweet and it was a really good opportunity," Cyprien said.
Right after Cyprien finished her 100-meter dash, Furr lined up in lane seven and, 100 meters later, was the runner-up in 11.37 seconds. It was one of his slower times of the season, coming one week after his personal best of 10.75 seconds, but again, he had a tough headwind.
"Everything was feeling good. I made sure I locked in, made sure I stayed focused. My coach told me that the wind would be crazy so he said to make sure my drive phase is longer than usual so, that way, I can cut through the wind," Furr said.
The result was extra sweet because Furr was part of the Lions' 4x200 relay that got disqualified for a false start in 2025. One year after that miscue, he became the first Cincinnati College Prep Academy athlete to stand on the podium at the state meet.
"To come out here and get second means a lot," Furr said.
Which Cincinnati athletes made the podium on the second day of the 2026 OHSAA track and field state championships?
Events are listed by division, starting with DIII.
DIII boys 3,20-meter run: 5. James O'Driscoll, Indian Hill; 6. Silas Baird, Madeira
DIII boys 4x800 meter relay: 6. Indian Hill (Tyler Martin, James McGrath, Harry Hong, James O'Driscoll)
DIV girls 4x200 meter relay: 5. Summit Country Day (Brielle Bryant, Maddy Amend, Alaina Williams, Ama Karikari)
DIV boys 4x2000 meter relay: 8. North College Hill (Raheem Griffin, Darrius Newman, Davien Hendrix, Malik Hicks)
DIV girls 1,600-meter run: 6. Lucy Folger, Madeira; 7. Allie Tolle, Georgetown
DIV boys 1,600-meter run: 6. Wyatt Gockerman, CHCA
DIV girls 4x100 meter relay: 1. Summit Country Day (Brielle Bryant, Maddy Amend, Alaina Williams, Ama Karikari)
DIV boys 4x100 meter relay: 8. Deer Park (Nolan Hedges, Morgan Brown, Tink Sellers, Titus Sayers)
DIV girls 300-meter hurdles: 4. Samantha Long, Fenwick
DIV boys 800-meter run: 7. Isaac Bosken, Mariemont
DIV girls 200-meter dash: 6. Ama Karikari, Summit Country Day
DIV girls 4x400 meter relay: 4. Fenwick (Lexi Braun, Haven Keyes, Makenzie Fallon, Samantha Long)
DIV boys discus: 7. Owen Clary, CHCA
DIV girls shot put: 5. Makayal Davenport, Madeira; 7. Camille Lewis, Deer Park
DIV boys long jump: 8. Dillon Fox, CHCA; 9. Malik Hicks, North College Hill
DV girls 100-meter dash: 3. Serena Cyprien, Cincinnati Christian
DV boys 100-meter dash: 2. Jimere Furr, CCPA
DV boys 4x100 meter relay: 7. Cincinnati Country Day (Luke Schnieber, Leon Hall, Jr., Peyton Ware, Nathan Kellenberger)
DV boys 400-meter dash: 8. William Lothmann, Cincinnati Country Day
DV boys 300-meter hurdles: 7. Luke Schnieber, Cincinnati Country Day
DV girls 800-meter run: 6. Olivia O'Hare, MVCA
DV girls 200-meter dash: 2. Serena Cyprien, Cincinnati Christian
DV boys high jump: 8. Hayden Broadwell, Felicity-Franklin
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati sprinters shine on day two of 2026 OHSAA state track meet