He was the area’s top male finisher for the first day of competition as five field events and both the boys and girls 3,200-meter relays were the only events to go final. All other running finals and the five remaining field events will take place Friday.
Petty entered the meet seeded third in the long jump with a 21-5 and broke his personal record by more than seven inches with a best jump of 22-0.25. Colerain’s Keontae Jones won with a 22-4.
“I’ve been chasing (22 feet) for three years, so it was a good goal to have,” Petty said. “I wanted to win, but 22 is something I’ve been working toward, so it was great I got it. I’ve been practicing really hard for it, so I’m just glad it finally happened. It felt like a good jump. I just attacked it, and it was all history from there.”
Petty thought he had reached his goal on the second jump in prelims but stepped over the line and took a scratch for that one. He came back with his best two jumps right after that — a 21-4.75 on the final jump in prelims and his 22-0.25 on the first jump in finals.
“My coach told me second jump (in prelims) I jumped a 22-10, but my feet weren’t right and a scratched by a little bit, so he just said to go out and attack it, back up half a shoe and it worked out,” Petty said.
Seven of the eight jumpers who made finals were from area high schools, including third-place finisher Myian Horton, a senior from Lakota West.
Horton, a first-year long jumper, was seeded 10th in the event with a previous best jump of 20-5, but earned his third-place medal with a stunning improvement in prelims, where he recorded a 21-7.
“It felt great, but my family, I’m a Horton, so we’re really competitive and I felt like I still could have done better,” Horton said. “Every time I go to a meet, I think about it like I’m going to lose. I surprise myself when I do better.”
Fairfield’s Adrien Givens placed fourth (21-4.75), while teammate JuTahn McClain was sixth (20-11.5), and Middletown’s Cameron Williams was fifth (21-0). West’s Cedric Thomas took seventh (20-11), and East’s David Elendu was eighth (20-6).
Two other area athletes earned top-four finishes on the boys side. West junior Benjamin Dangel took third in the pole vault with a 12-foot vault, and senior teammate David Walcott placed fourth in discus with a best throw of 135-8.
On the girls side, Hamilton sophomore Nature Sanford led all area individuals, finishing second in shot put with a 31-4 after entering the meet with a personal-best throw of 32-6. Teammate Nya Franklin placed fourth with a 30-8, and Middletown sophomore Rachel Heidtman was third with a 31-1.5.
Sanford said she was a little nervous going into such a big meet, but also a little naïve about the competition she was facing. Mason standout thrower Amaya King won with a 42-6.
“This is my first year, so finishing second is pretty good for me,” Sanford said. “My first throw (ever) was like a 26, but I’ve gotten better and now I’m pretty consistent with my throws. It was exciting to do that well here.”
West freshman Ayana Johnson took fourth as the area’s highest placer in the high jump, clearing 4-10.
The Firebirds also were the top area placers in the 3,200 relays. The girls team of Lexi Iles, Hannah Riesenberg, Anna Huston and Meredith Elstun were second, finishing behind Mason with a time of 9:55.37 after entering as the fourth seed (10:16.50). The West boys team of Alex Kelker, Kevin Riesenberg, Garrett Shelby and Noah Mang clocked an 8:14.45 for third place. Mason and Sycamore finished 1-2, and Middletown was fourth (8:25.21).
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