Columbus East High School

Lawson Clears the Way as Olympian Boys Compete at Columbus North Invite The Columbus East boys track and field team faced a strong field Saturday morning at the Columbus North Invitational, competing against a deep lineup of programs from across the state. Despite the level of competition, the Olympians turned in several standout performances, highlighted by a championship effort in the field events and multiple top-eight finishes on the track. Keaton Lawson delivered the biggest moment of the day for Columbus East, clearing 6 feet, 4 inches to claim 1st place in the high jump. Lawson’s winning mark set the tone for the Olympians and proved they could compete at the top level of the invite. On the track, Deonte Study led the way in the sprint events, placing 6th in the 400-meter dash with a time of 52.87. In the hurdles, the duo of Henry Eickmeyer and Luke Warren provided a strong one-two punch. Eickmeyer finished 6th in the 110-meter hurdles (16.65) and followed that up with a 4th-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles (43.12). Warren wasn’t far behind, taking 7th in the 110 hurdles (17.05) and 6th in the 300 hurdles (43.30). In the distance events, Norman Dickson paced the Olympians in the 1600-meter run, finishing 10th with a time of 4:32.17, while Lorren Westerfeld added a 16th-place finish in the same event (4:42.98). The Olympians also saw success in the field events beyond Lawson’s win. Luke Warren earned a 3rd-place finish in the long jump with a leap of 19 feet, 5 inches, while Kairon Young added a 12th-place mark. In the throwing events, Evan Simo led the way in discus with a 9th-place finish (122-3.5), and Ben Ledebuhr competed in both discus and shot put. Relay teams continued to gain valuable experience, with the 4x100 relay placing 7th (44.84) and the 4x400 relay finishing 9th (3:49.53). Additional sprint efforts included Blake Moss (13th, 23.91) and Keaton Lawson (16th, 24.30) in the 200-meter dash, along with Trace Mulcahy and Brody Miller competing in the 100-meter dash. Columbus East will look to build on these performances as the season progresses, with several athletes showing the ability to compete for podium spots in future meets. ______________________ On the girls side, the Olympians turned in several solid performances against a competitive field, highlighted by a pair of top-six finishes. Sophie Glick led the way on the track, placing 4th in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:02.66. She also added an 8th-place finish in the high jump (4-8). Kai Scott provided another strong performance, finishing 6th in the 300-meter hurdles (49.14) and 10th in the 100-meter hurdles (17.37). Claire Behnke paced the sprint group, finishing 11th in the 100-meter dash (13.36) and 12th in the 200-meter dash (28.26), while Kyleigh Dover also competed in both events. In the distance races, Ainsley Shaw (18th) and Brooke Newell (20th) ran in the 800-meter run. Abigail Collins (17th) and Elizabeth Sztaba (18th) competed in the 1600, while Sztaba returned in the 3200-meter run to place 17th alongside Trinity Burns (18th). The relay teams continued to build chemistry, with the 4x100 finishing 6th (52.59), the 4x400 placing 8th (4:28.82), and the 4x800 also taking 8th (11:15.77). In the field events, Indee Pellegrino placed 10th in the high jump, while Dover competed in the long jump. Isabella Leonard led the throwing events with a 12th-place finish in shot put (29-4) and added a 15th-place mark in discus (91-2). Kiersten Collins also competed in both throwing events. Columbus East will continue to build throughout the season, with both teams gaining valuable experience against high-level competition and showing areas of promise moving forward.