The 2015 OHSAA State Track and Field Championships didn't start the way Denzel Ward had hoped Friday afternoon at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. But on Saturday, Ward was all smiles as things wrapped up.
Ward qualified for the state meet in three events: the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and 4x200-meter relay. But on Friday in his preliminary heat of the 100, his first event, the 2015 Ohio State signee out of Nordonia High School false started and was disqualified.
He qualified for Saturday's finals in his other two races and, after taking eighth in the 4x200 relay finals he stood atop the podium as state champion in the 200, turning in a time of 21.65 seconds.
"I'm just glad to end on a good note against those other fast friends," Ward said following his win. "I just feel blessed."
Ward wasn't the only Ohio State signee competing at the state meet, though. Fellow 2015 classmate Robert Landers was also in competition — in both the shot put and discus — and turned in an All-Ohio effort in the former, finishing fifth with a best throw of 59 feet, 8 inches. Landers took 13th in the discus, with a best toss of 148 feet.
In the 2016 class, four-star running back George Hill competed in one event: the 100-meter dash in Division II. Hill turned in a time of 10.93 in Saturday's finals to finish sixth and earn All-Ohio status. In Friday's prelims, Hill ran a 10.85.
Ohio State Targets/Prospects
In addition to the two signees and one commit, there were several other prospects who participated over the weekend.
A hot name in the 2016 class right now without an offer from the Buckeyes is Ethan Tucky, the three-star linebacker out of Delaware. Tucky — a 6-foot-2, 225-pound linebacker, mind you— took sixth place in the Division I 200-meter dash, turning in a time of 21.91 seconds.
Also competing in the 2016 class was three-star wide receiver out of Lima Senior High School, Ruben Flowers III. Flowers, who currently holds Big Ten offers from Illinois and Iowa but doesn't have one from Ohio State yet, competed in the Division I high jump and turned in All-Ohio honors by taking seventh place. Flowers, who is listed at 6-foot-4 and 180 pounds, cleared 6-foot-4 in the high jump on his first attempt before bowing out when the bar moved to 6-foot-6.
In the 2017 class, Streetboro's Dakari Carter, who qualified for state in four events, seemed poised to put on a show over the weekend before pulling up during his leg of the 4x100-meter relay during Friday's prelims with an apparent hamstring injury.
Carter had to withdraw from the 200-meter dash which followed the 4x100 and he remained questionable to compete in Saturday's finals of the 100-meter dash and 4x200-meter relay — two events he ran prior to getting injured and qualified for finals.
But on Saturday, as the Division II 100-meter dash began, Carter was present and blazed down the track in 10.66 seconds to win his second-straight state title in the 100 (he also won last year as a freshman). Carter ran a 10.55 in the 100 during Friday's prelims.
Carter is one of Ohio's fastest players and currently has five scholarship offers, according to Rivals. Four of those schools are from the MAC and he also has an offer from Cincinnati. He's listed at 5-foot-9 and 160 pounds and plays both wide receiver and defensive back, so he may be a little undersized right now, but there's no denying Carter's blazing speed.
