Dalton girls relay team state champs; Chenevey earns three medals
PODIUM PHOTO BY KATIE GOOD; RACING PHOTOS BY GRACE GREER
Brianna Chenevey earned three medals at the state track and field meet Div. III in Columbus June 2 and 3. She placed second in both 100-m and 200-m dash and she placed first with her 4×100-team.
PHOTOS BY GRACE GREER
Dalton’s MacKenna Thiel placed 15th at the state track and field meet. This was the junior’s first time competing in pole vault and she made it all the way to the state meet in Columbus.
PHOTO BY KATIE GOOD
Dalton’s Marley Clark competes in shot put at the state meet. She placed 17th in the event.
PHOTO BY GRACE GREER
Dalton senior Quentin Lehman finished 16th in the boys discus event.
PHOTO BY GRACE GREER
Dalton’s Courtney Weaver, Lauren Clos, Macy Seeman and Brianna Chenevey enjoy the view from the top of the podium at Jesse Owens Stadium in Columbus June 3 at the Div. III state track and field meet.
PHOTOS BY KATIE GOOD
Dalton’s Courtney Weaver, Lauren Clos, Macy Seeman and Brianna Chenevey state champs in the 4×100-m relay at the state track and field meet in Columbus. They earned the top spot with a run time of 49.0. Dalton’s boys 4×200-m relay team of Cameron Gazboda, Kanoa Hevia, Sammy Tomlinson and Colin Pearson came in eighth place with a time of 1:31.34.
By ARIEL STAHLER
Gazette & News sports writer
As soon as Dalton senior Brianna Chenevey received the baton from Macy Seeman at the state meet on Saturday, she took off. She gave it everything she had.
“As I neared the finish line, I couldn’t help but smile,” she wrote in an email to The DGKN. “I couldn’t ask for a better team of girls to win state with than Courtney Weaver, Lauren Clos, and Macy.”
The Division III state track and field meet took place under the hot, early-summer sun, but Wayne County athletes brought their own sizzle to the competition. Dalton earned several notable finishes, including a state championship title for the girls 4×100-meter relay team, over the course of the meet June 2 and 3 at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus.
Chenevey competed in the girls 100-m and 200-m dash, which she finished second in both events. She earned a time of 12.18 in the 100-m dash and she finished at 24.88 in the 200-m dash.
The girls 4×100-m relay team of Weaver, Clos, Seeman and Chenevey clocked in at 49.0 to take the top spot of state champions in the event. Dalton’s boys 4×200-m relay team of Cameron Gazboda, Kanoa Hevia, Sammy Tomlinson and Colin Pearson came in eighth place with a time of 1:31.34.
“It was a dream come true to win state in the 4×100 meter relay and with a huge personal record of 49.0,” Chenevey said. “We always knew we could do it, but it wouldn’t be easy. But with a lot of hard work, determination, and handoff practice, we did it.”
Chenevey said being the state runnerup in the 100-m and 200-m dash also was a huge accomplishment for her. “With this came some more personal records of 12.13 in prelims for the 100 and 24.88 in the finals for the 200,” she said. “Needless to say, I’m very happy and satisfied with how my senior season went.”
Chenevey stated that it has been an honor to represent Dalton. She will continue her track career at Ashland University and will major in Dietetics.
“I’m very thankful to have such a supportive family, community, and team,” she continued. “I’m also grateful for our coach Seth Sullivan for always working on block starts and handoffs, and talking through all the possible scenarios of meets. Coach Jodi Augspurger was also always there whenever we needed her, and never failed to be anything but positive.”
Dalton’s sprinting coach Seth Sullivan said Chenevey did “an amazing job.
“There aren’t any girls in our division that can place that high in the 100m and 200m in the same meet,” he said. “Throw on top of that the incredible performance by our girls 4x100m relay and you have something truly special.”
In the field events, Mackenna Thiel came in 15th place in girls pole vault with a mark of 9’ 6”. Marley Clark came in 17th place in girls shot put with a throw of 34’ 6.75”. “Participating in the state track meet is something I never thought would ever happen, but it is something I am so grateful for,” Clark said.
“Honestly, the highlight of the meet for me was the overall experience of being there. You can’t understand the feeling of what it’s like to be in that position until you’re there and I am super thankful I got the opportunity to do so.”
Quentin Lehman finished 16th in boys discus with a throw of 135’ 6”.
