MANSFIELD — Colonel Crawford’s Cecelia Chase capped her Mehock Relays career in style.
Clear Fork’s Davis Hoeflich is just getting started.
A senior, Chase defended her title in the 1,600 at the 91st running of the hallowed meet on a sun-swept Saturday afternoon at Malabar Intermediate School’s Mehock Field. She fought through gusty winds to win in 5 minutes, 28.05 seconds.
“The wind really played a big part,” said Chase, who also ran legs on the Eagles’ runner-up 4 x 800 and 4 x 400 relay teams. “I’m also in the four-by-eight and the four-by-four, so I was kind of thinking about that the whole time.
“I wish I was going a little faster right now, but I feel like we haven’t had very good weather. We haven’t consistently because meets have been getting canceled left and right.”
Meanwhile, Hoeflich launched his Mehock career with a victory in the high jump competition. The freshman cleared 6-foot-5 after winning last week’s Lexington Invitational with a leap of 6-4.
“It’s great,” Hoeflich said. “Maybe I can win it the next three years.”
Hoeflich won a middle school state title last spring when he cleared 6-6, unofficially the best jump by an eighth-grader in the nation. He still is nursing an ankle injury sustained during the basketball season.
“I’m not jumping as high as I used to because I hurt my ankle, but I think it’s getting better every day,” Hoeflich said. “I was wearing an ankle brace, but it’s gotten stronger.”
Hoeflich wasn’t the only area athlete to strike Mehock gold in the field events Saturday. Crestview boasted a pair of champs in pole vaulter Liam Kuhn (13-6) and Wade Bolin in the discus (172-0). Galion’s Jacob Chambers won the long jump with a leap of 21-4.25.
On the girls side, Galion’s Miranda Stone swept the discus (135-2) and the shot put (39-4.5). Colonel Crawford’s Gabby Roston won the pole vault (9-0) and Shelby’s Madison Henkel won the long jump (18-9.5).
Lexington, which was making its first appearance at the Mehock Relays in more than a decade, picked up a pair of individual championships in the running events and won two relays to claim the team title.
The Minutemen won with 84 points, 3.5 more than runner-up Ashland (80.5). East Kentwood (65.5), Galion (62.5) and Crestview (60) rounded out the top five.
Lex’s Latrell Hughes and Chance Basilone each claimed individual titles and were members of championship relay teams. Hughes won the 400 in 49.50, while Basilone won the 3,200 in 9:40.38.
Basilone teamed with Ethan Slone, Terrance Corbin and Gage Devaney to win the 4 x 800 relay in 8:18.64. Hughes joined forces with Will Perkins, Carter Newman and Bryston Hess to win the 4 x 400 in 3:27.11.
Madison’s Navaeh Lewis won the 100 in 12.15. Shelby’s Marshall Moore took the title in the 800 in 2:01.13.
East Kentwood won the girls team title with 137 points. Colonel Crawford (83) was second and Galion (66) was third. Brush (59) and Ashland (54) round out the top five.