OLIVESBURG, Ohio — Crestview’s high flyers led the charge at Friday’s 29th annual Forrest Pruner Invitational.
High jumper Ben Olewiler and pole vaulter Michael Kochenderfer won titles as the Cougars soared to the team title with 154 points at the eight-team event. South Central was a distant second with 81 points, followed by New London (78.5), Black River (72), Hillsdale (58), Mapleton (43), Lucas (36.5) and Ashland’s reserve team (31).
A runner-up at last week’s Mehock Relays when he set the school record with a jump of 6-feet, 8 inches, Olewiler outdistanced the field with a winning leap of 6-2. He nearly broke his own meet record of 6-6 — Olewiler shares the mark with Lucas’ Quinton Foss — but missed on all three attempts at 6-7.
Like Olewiler, Kochenderfer came up just shy in his bid for a meet record. The junior, who was fifth at the Mehock last week, cleared 13-0. He clipped the bar with his leg on his final attempt at a meet record 13-8.
“I should have had it,” said Kochenderfer, whose personal best is 14-0. “We finally had a decent day with a slight tail wind. It was a home meet and I feel comfortable here.”
The Cougars also got individual firsts from Olewiler in the 200 (23.10) and Kiev Mack in the 400 (53.10). Olewiler and Mack teamed with Trevor Durbin and Christian Durbin to win the 4×200 relay in 1:35.90. The team of Mack, Garett Dudley, Isaac Fulk and Olewiler won the 4×400 relay in 3:39.70.
Triple Threat: The area’s only girls champ was Mansfield Christian’s Claire Reynolds. The sophomore swept the distance events, winning the 800 (2:35.60), 1,600 (5:39.70) and the 3,200 (12:36.80).
Team Standings: New London won the nine-team girls event with 126 points. Black River (82) was second, while Mapleton (81) was third and South Central (74) was fourth. The Ashland reserves (67), Mansfield Christian (38), Crestview (35), Hillsdale (25) and Lucas (6) rounded out the field.
