The Mahoning Valley won six state championships on Saturday.

Niles senior Chante Clinkscale won two of those. In the Division II meet held in Pickerington, Clinkscale swept the 100 and 200 meters, winning in 11.86 seconds and in 24.3.

“My goal coming in was to win both,” said Clinkscale, who will take her talents to the University of Dayton on a scholarship. “I won the 60 and 200 in the indoor state meet, so I had confidence I could do this. But you can’t put anything into a picture frame until the job is done.

“This means a lot to me, our coaches and to Niles. The last time we had a girls state champion was in the 1980s. I hope this puts Niles back on the map.”

Staff photo / Brad Emerine Springfield's Coleson Kertesz finished fifth in the discus on Saturday after also finishing in fifth in the shot put on Friday.

Clinkscale was eighth in the 100 at state as a sophomore.

“This was the first time she ran the 200 at state,” coach Alan Caldwell said. “She ran a wonderful 100, nearly perfect, and that set her up for the 200. We figured out a strategy after the prelims when she didn’t see (Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary’s Kya Epps) come up on her, and it worked just as we thought.

“I’m so, so proud of her and I think Niles is, too. It’s been over 20 years since we had a champion and she did it twice today.”

In the Division I meet in Hilliard, Canfield junior Nick Plant won the 800 in 1:49.79, with Alex Justus of Kings Mills Kings second in 1:51.23.

“I had a little fun today,” Plant said. “I wanted to compete and push for the win and see what I could do. It was so amazing when I crossed the finish line. I saw (Justus) come back up on me with about 210 (meters) left and I went hard to try to break away some at that point.”

Staff photo / Brad Emerine Ethan Powell, right, of Crestview finished second in the 200-meter dash on Saturday at the state track meet. He also placed fifth in the 100.

Coach Nick Wagner contributed the title to the chemistry between Plant and boys distance coach Eric O’Brien.

“Nick had an outstanding run and his preparation with Eric was spot on,” Wagner said. “Eric told him what to expect at certain spots in the race and it unfolded just like they thought it would. Nick did a phenomenal job listening and doing his thing. I could see it in practice. There was a bounce and pep in his step and I could feel things were going to go well.”

Winning titles in the Division III meet in Westerville were McDonald’s Ryan Henry in the discus (170 feet, 2 inches) and Maplewood freshman Caleigh Richards in the 3,200 (11:07.23).

The only area relay team to win a championship was Valley Christian’s 4×100, as seniors Tyrone Lindsey and Brandon Paige, junior Kwane Austin and sophomore Phillip Spradley finished in 42.86.

“Man, I’m so excited for this 4×1 win,” said Paige, who ran the anchor leg and also placed third in the 100 (11.3). “We won this event my freshman year and didn’t do it when I was a sophomore. Then we had last year off (due to COVID-19) and so it’s been a long time to get back here and win this and get that redemption.

Staff photo / Brad Emerine Bo Snyder, right, of Springfield and Greg Dickson of McDonald battle in the final leg of the 4x200 relay on Saturday. Springfield finished fourth and McDonald fifth.

“In the 100, I was eighth as a sophomore and I wanted to get back here and improve on that. I’m so proud to do that and it’s because of the hard work of my coaches and teammates.”

In the 4×100, Valley Christian got past runner-up Crestview, as seniors Ethan Powell, William Hardenbrook and Brandon Yanssens were joined by freshman Spencer Cline and finished in 43.12.

It was that type of day for Powell, who was also second in the 200 (22.49) behind Purcell Marion’s Mark Burns (22.25).

“We’ve been working really hard on the 4×1 and we pulled it together and had a great run at it,” said Powell, who also placed fifth in the 100 (11.36). “The 200 was definitely intense because it’s one of the last few events of the day in this sun and heat. I think everyone was feeling it, but it was still a great race with a lot of great athletes. I’m fatigued, but very satisfied. How can you feel down about having all your hard work pay off and finishing second in the state twice?”

Fitch senior Nate Leskovac was runner-up in the boys Division I high jump, finishing with an effort of 6 feet, 6 inches. Dover’s Joey Farthing won at 6-7.

“Nate is pretty disappointed because clearly his goal was to win it all,” coach Seth Steiner said. “He was the leader going into the finals after bouncing back from a slow start. He’s resilient and he bounced back great. He made 6-6 on his first try and (Farthing) made it on his last try. But (Farthing) made 6-7 on his second try and Nate never made that. He’s upset because his PR is 6-8, so the title was attainable for him.”

Leskovac will compete for Youngstown State next season, as will Springfield’s Coleson Kertesz, who placed fifth in the discus (159-9).

It was a good day for the Tigers, as the girls’ 4×100 of Bella Brown, Ava Vecchione, Kylee Kosek and Mary Grace Mason was third (49.91) and the boys’ 4×200 of Austin Tindell, Clayton Nezbeth, Dante Argiro and Bo Snyder took fourth (1:30.88).

“Just to have my final race be at state is amazing and finishing third makes it even more special,” said Kosek, the lone senior of the quartet. “Three of us play soccer together, so we’ve had a special bond and we put it all together on the track and finished third. We’re really excited.”

“That was very nerve-wracking because three of us are seniors and it was our final race,” Tindell said. “We just wanted to do our best. We wanted to be No.1, but this was it.”

Poland junior Andrew Biggs was third in the 800 in Division II, finishing in 1:56.12. He finished right behind Girard’s Ricky Marsico (1:55.36).

“Andrew is a super hard-working kid that doesn’t get rattled in high pressure situations such as the state meet,” coach Gabby Massey said. “He also anchored our fifth-place 4×800 (8:05.04) which benefitted (from the wild-card berth). We are so proud of how hard our kids work on a daily basis.”

Senior Jackie Grisdale closed a spectacular athletic career with an eighth-place showing in the 800 (2:18.5).

“I know she was disappointed, but as a staff, we were so excited and proud of her to have her last sporting event at Poland be with us at the state track meet,” Massey said.