OLIVESBURG — Crestview’s Morgan Welch and Tommy O’Neill already are in postseason form, which is bad news for the rest of the Firelands Conference.
Welch was a quadruple winner at the 34th Forest Pruner Invitational on Friday at Crestview, while O’Neill claimed a pair of gold medals and two silvers to help propel the Cougars to the boys team title with 180 points.
A week earlier, at the 89th Mansfield Mehock Relays, Welch and O’Neill swept the 800 and 1,600 meter runs.
With the postseason inching closer, Welch and O’Neill are setting their sights on return trips to the state meet June 3 to 4 at Ohio State’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. Welch qualified for last year’s Division III state meet in the 1,600, finishing 15th in 5 minutes, 23.79 seconds. O’Neill was a member of Crestview’s 4×800 relay crew which placed second in 7:58.90.
Both Welch and O’Neill were All-Ohioans at last fall’s state cross country meet at Fortress Obetz. Welch placed 24th in the Division III girls race in 19:24.4. O’Neill was 14th in the Division III boys race in 16:15.9.
“I definitely feel like I’m ahead of schedule from last year,” Welch said after collecting her second gold medal at the Mehock Relays. “My times haven’t been quite where I want them to be and I feel like I’m getting back down to where I want them to be.”
Welch won the 1,600 at the Forest Pruner Invitational in 5:24.95, shaving almost five seconds off her winning time at the Mehock Relays (5:29.11). She cut about two seconds off her 800 time, winning at the Pruner in 2:26.62 after running 2:28.03 at the Mehock.
So which is her favorite event?
“It kind of changes. I always say it’s the mile but there are ups and downs in each one,” Welch said. “I think the mile is where my heart is. I love the mile and I seem to do good in that one.
“The 800 is not my favorite race, but I’m decent at it so I keep running it.”
Welch also ran the anchor leg for Crestview’s winning 4×800 and 4×400 relay teams Friday afternoon. She teamed with Regan Brooky, Georgia McFarland and Kylie Brockway to win the 4×800 in 10:39.29 after placing fourth in the event at the Mehock (11:11.77).
She joined forces with Brooky, Brockway and Emma Aumend to win the 4×400 relay in 4:23.51 after the foursome took fourth at the Mehock (4:32.51).
O’Neill won the 1,600 at the Pruner in 4:34.94, slightly more than a second slower than his winning time at the Mehock (4:33.11). He was second in the 800 at the Pruner in 2:00.42, more than four seconds faster than his winning time at the Mehock (2:04.45).
He teamed with Cooper Brockway, Logan Friges and Gabe Smedley to win the 4×800 relay in 8:30.95. The same quartet was second at the Mehock in 8:32.21.
Crestview’s 4×400 relay team of Everett Smith, Caden Cunningham, O’Neill and Smedley was second at the Pruner Invitational in 3:36.15, more than four seconds faster than its third-place showing at the Mehock (3:40.71).
“I feel a lot better than I did last year,” O’Neill said after winning the mile at the Mehock. “I didn’t play basketball this year, so I had a lot of winter training.”
Like Welch, O’Neill considers the 1,600 his best event. His personal record of 4:30 would have been good for 11th place at last year’s Division III state meet.
“The 1,600 is definitely my main event,” O’Neill said. “I’m definitely 1,600 and 800.”
The Crestview boys placed fifth at last year’s state meet thanks in no small part to the now-graduated Ross Kuhn, who won a state title in the 800 in 1:53.98. With O’Neill leading the charge, the Cougars could find themselves in contention for another top-10 finish.
“Overall I’m pretty happy with where I’m at,” O’Neill said at the Mehock Relays. “We haven’t had many good weather meets, so I think I’m on schedule.”
