Mar. 5, 2021 -- Last year, the Heights High Track team qualified for six events at the indoor state championship. This year, they qualify for 11, with a shot at a twelfth.

The team, which is technically a school club because it falls in between the official OHSAA seasons of cross country and outdoor track, will send a total of 12 athletes to the Ohio Indoor Finale at Spire Institute this Saturday, March 6, many of them competing in more than one event.

For the girls’ squad, freshman Jordyn Brand will run the 200-meter dash plus the 4 x 200 meter relay, where Heights girls are seeded 4th, and the 4 x 400 meter relay, where they’re seeded 6th. Jordan also qualified for the 400-meter race but didn't declare. Senior Jojo Morman will run the 60-meter hurdles where she’s seeded 4th, plus both relays, while junior McKenzie McNitt will run the 400-meter race where she’s seeded 8th and both relays.

Senior Lilly Banks will anchor the 4 x 200 relay, while senior Asia Fair will anchor the 4 x 400 relay.

The boys’ team is also sending both individuals and relay teams to the meet. Junior Jeremiah Dillard will compete in the 200-meter race and junior Kenoshae Boyd Bey will compete in the 400-meter. If one runner scratches at the meet, junior Braedan Gallagher will qualify for the 1600-meter race as he’s currently next in line by 4/10 of a second.

The boys have three relay teams competing, with a total of seven runners. They are ranked 3rd in the 4 x 200 with Dillard, junior Elijah Fowlks, sophomore Sulé Linda and Boy Bey running. Linda, junior Marius Coleman, senior Jamal Russ, and Boyd Bey will compete in the 4 x 400, where they team is currently ranked 4th. And Gallagher, Coleman, Linda and Russ will run the 4 x 800 relay, where they’re seeded 16th in the state.

Coach Scott McNulty is very happy with the progress the team has made and considers this a preview of all they can accomplish come spring. “The fact that we doubled our qualifiers for the state championship really shows the direction of the program,” he said. The team will open up their spring season by hosting the Weingart Relays on Saturday, April 10.

Full list of entries
Girls:
60m hurdles - Jojo Mormon
200m - Jordyn Brand
400m - McKenzie McNitt
4x200m relay - Jojo Mormon, Jordyn Brand, McKenzie McNitt, Lilly Banks
4x400m relay - Jojo Mormon, McKenzie McNitt, Jordyn Brand, Asia Fair

Boys:
200m - Jeremiah Dillard
400m - Keonshae Boyd Bey
4x200m relay - Jeremiah Dillard, Elijah Fowlks, Sule Lunda, Keonshae Boyd Bey
4x400m relay - Sule Lunda, Marius Coleman, Jamal Russ, Keonshae Boyd Bey
4x800m relay - Braedan Gallagher, Marius Coleman, Sule Lunda, Jamal Russ