LEXINGTON — The Madison girls track team made history Friday night.
Freshman Kari Eckenwiler was selected the Female Athlete of the Year and the Rams won what is believed to be the first conference championship in school history at the Ohio Cardinal Conference meet at Lexington.
The Rams finished with 139 points. Lexington (125.5) was second, while Wooster (120.5) was third.
“We’re pretty sure this is the first conference (track) championship, boys or girls, in any league,” Madison coach Andrew Saris. “I can’t be any more excited for these girls.
“Everything at Madison is earned. Nothing is given. These girls haven’t been given anything. They earn everything and I’m just really proud of them.”
Eckenwiler won gold in the long jump with a leap of 15 feet, 11.25 inches, and took first in the 300 meter hurdles (48.75 seconds). She was also second in the 100 hurdles (16.14) and fourth in the 200 (27.29).
“I’ve worked hard and I feel like I’m where I want to be going into districts,” Eckenwiler said. “I’ve been getting a lot better at the 300s. I think I’ve been getting stronger.”
The Rams already had the team title locked up before the start of the 4×400 relay, the final event of the evening. That didn’t stop the foursome of senior Cheyanne Davis, sophomores Olivia Remy and Emily Atwell and freshman Phyllis Stanfield from cruising to a first-place finish in 4:09.13, more than four second ahead of runner-up Lexington.
“That’s a strong race for us,” Saris said. “We wanted to do what we’ve done all year and that’s go out with a strong four-by-four.”
On the boys side, Ashland won its third straight team title behind quadruple winner Hudson McDaniel. The Ohio State swimming recruit won the 110 hurdles (14.57), the 100 dash (11.22) and the 300 hurdles (39.36) and was a member of the winning 4×100 relay team (43.20).
“My 300s could be a little faster, but overall I’m pleased with where I’m at right now,” McDaniel said. “I had my fastest time ever in the 110s today, so I’m pretty excited about that.”
Results of Friday’s OCC meet can be found here.
