CLAIRSVILLE, ST. — Tuscarawas Valley won the girls and boys Division III district championships Thursday at Red Devils Stadium in St. Clairsville.
The Trojans' boys team scored 98 points, 15 points ahead of second-place Buckeye Trail's 83 points, and the girls' team totaled 136 points, 26 points ahead of runner-up Sandy Valley.
Martins Ferry's boys team placed fifth with 42 points, Bellaire sixth with 39 points and Steubenville Catholic eighth with 35 points.
Shadyside was the best-performing girls team locally, finishing seventh with 32 points, followed by Bellaire in ninth with 27 points.
Although the Ohio Valley team did not have a team title, there were many strong individual performances.
Catholic Central junior Andrew Rohde continued his recent string of dominance in the distance events, winning double titles in the 1,600 meters and 3,200 meters.
Rohde ran a sub-10-minute time of 9:53.23 in the 3,200-meter dash, while teammate Cash Dobson, who had just finished the regionals with a time of 10:54.09, was good enough for fifth place. Bellaire's Kai Brehm placed eighth.
In the four-lap event; Rodet started early but was unchallenged and started the final lap with a 200 meter advantage.
He finished in 4 minutes, 32.39 seconds, well ahead of second place Kaeli Whitlak of Tusky Valley and third place Landen Perdue of Bellaire.
Another impressive performance was from the Booth brothers in the 110 hurdles.
Dylan Booth competed in his first finals this track season after battling back pain since football season. As a result, he placed third in the 110 hurdles with a score of 15.32, earning him the right to compete. Not to be outdone, his younger brother Nathan also ran a time of 14.38 seconds, which was enough to set a new record set by Mingo Junction's Randy Rouse.
Shenandoah's Braxton Barnett was second in the 110s but came back to win the 300 hurdles and also set a PR to win the high jump at 6 feet, 6 inches.
Buckeye Trail's Donovon Geiger also did double-time in the individual events, winning both the 100 (10.98) and 200 (22.45). River's Brandon Miller and Trail's Mason Todd qualified for regionals in the 200 meters, finishing third and fourth, while Miller also advanced to the 100 meters and placed fourth.
Martins Ferry's Ryan Seeker moved up in the 800 meters, finishing fourth, two spots ahead of Toronto's Landon Grimes, and four spots ahead of CCHS' Brendan Kubler, who finished eighth.
In the 4×100, Trail, Ferry and River all moved up in the standings with first, second and third place finishes. So did Trail (1st), Ferry (3rd) and Bellaire (4th) in the 4×200. Geiger was instrumental in both of the Warriors' relay wins.
Bellaire's 4×400 team took second place.
Trail's Charlie Perry (6-2) and Jermail Thompson (5-8) advanced in the high jump. Thompson, who finished tied for fourth, advanced in the jump-off.
On the girls side, Bel Air pushed several competitors in the field competition, with Aubrey Hines taking fourth place in the long jump and Allison Vingeer taking second place in the discus, while district champion Gwyn Lori and third place Laurana Lashley (both from Caldwell) entered.
A real photo finish was required to determine the final qualifier for the 4×200, with Catholic Central anchor Kathryn Bolster edging past Shadyside's Mia Boatman Salas to give the Crusaders the final spot. Bolster ran the lead leg for the Crusaders' 4×400 team in third place and qualified for the 400 individual, finishing fourth in 1:02.07.
Toronto's Josie Dickinson narrowly missed out on advancing in the 800 meters, finishing fifth in 2:26.87.
Shenandoah freshman distance ace Ida Estadt showed off some impressive kicks in the homestretch, winning the 1,600 meters and taking second in the 3,200 meters. Chloe Meherovich of Shadyside was fourth with 1,600.
Shenandoah's Mya Leach placed first in the 200 meters and third in the 100 meters, with teammate Alyssa Crum joining her on Bolster to take second in the 400 meters.
River had some success in the hurdle events, with Brooke Huffman and Macy Isaly taking second and fourth respectively in the 100 and teammate Mallory Brake taking third in the 300. Boatman Salas of Shadyside took second place in the 300.