Troy Lane sets Ohio record in the 100, carries Pickerington Central to the boys track and field state title

The junior takes over the sprints and runs a thrilling relay leg to help the Tigers edge Olentangy Orange for the team Division I state championship.

By Aaron Blankenship | Photos by Gabe Haferman

After running under the long shadow cast by Westerville Central senior Justin Braun the past few seasons, Troy Lane was looking to make a name for himself in the Division I state track and field meet.

The Pickerington Central junior was confident in outsprinting Braun — the defending state champion in the 100, 200 and 400 who's heading to USC — in at least a couple of races at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.

Braun had to pull out of the state meet at the last minute due to a quad injury, and Lane etched his name in state meet lore as he electrified the crowd by winning two individual races and anchoring a relay to a come-from-behind victory to power the Tigers to the state team title.

In his three races, Lane helped rack up 30 points for Central, which finished with 31 points to edge Olentangy Orange (30) for its third championship in the past four state meets. 

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The Tigers also won state titles in 2018 and 2019, and there was no state meet in Ohio in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“They’ll be talking about this 30 years from now, even after I’m gone,” Central coach Jason Roach said. “In 2018 and '19, we were expected to win because we were the best team. I thought we could make some noise this year and finish in the top five, but next year was supposed to be our year, not this one.

“But when Braun decided that his quad was too tight to run, that changed everything. Troy said, ‘Don’t worry, Coach, we’re going to win,’ and he never talks like that.”

Lane backed up his prediction. He started his day by winning the 100 in an eye-popping 10.25, crushing the state record of 10.38 set by Piqua’s Brandon Saine in 2006.

“I did start good,” Lane said. “I really had to push it to catch up, but I think that just brought out the best of what I already have, and made me run my best time.”

Lane followed that up by combining with Ethan Pickens, Kaleb Holloway and Xavier McCoy to win the 400 relay in 41.22 ahead of Gahanna Lincoln (41.25). 

Lane was about 15 meters behind Gahanna’s anchor runner when he received the baton, but he caught him in the last 20 meters.

“I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but no one has a faster anchor leg than us,” Lane said. “The best part of track is running down people. I like the chase.”

Lane then capped his day by blazing his way to a win in the 200 in 21.09.

“I really wanted to race JB (Braun), because we’ve been pushing each other all year,” Lane said. “But anyone can run fast here, so I stayed focused and just ran the way I would have run if he were here.

“Winning this for my team makes it even more special.”

Lane was too exhausted to run again after collecting his third medal, and Central found itself in a tie with Orange heading into the final race of the day — the 1,600 relay.

Ethan Pinkins, Iyrenn Harrison, Isaiah Jackson and Isaiah Harper placed eighth in the 1,600 relay in 3:22.98 to score the deciding point over Orange, which didn’t have a qualifier in the event.

Thomas Worthington’s Shohaan Singh, Camden Beatty, Daniel Assoku and Eli Hitzhusen finished first (3:17.42).

“We ran our hearts out because everything was on the line in that last race,” Harper said.

Senior Joel Addo won the high jump by clearing a personal-record 6 feet, 8 inches to put Orange in contention for its first state team title.

“My previous best was 6-6, so I definitely wasn’t expected to win here,” Addo said. “But I had faith in myself and so did my coaches. I just focused on my technique, specifically my drive leg, pushing my hips over the top of the bar and getting a good spring in my jump.”

Canfield senior Nick Plant defended his state title in the 800 in 1:48.65, setting new state and state meet records in the event. Mark Sylvester of Cleveland St. Ignatius previously set those records in 1:48.93 in 2001.

“This is really special because the state record was my goal, and I really went for it,” Plant said.

Loveland senior Ryan Chevalier brought home two state titles in his final high school meet, placing first in the 1,600 with a personal-best time of 4:07.7, and combining with J.P. Tew, Cayden Dyer and Brady Steiner to win the 3,200 relay (7:45.34).

“I was motivated after getting 10th here last year in the mile,” Chevalier said. “This offseason, every mile had a purpose. With 600 meters to go, I was on the lead and still feeling good, so I closed the way I’ve been closing all season.”

Beechcroft junior Jayden Douglas captured his first state championship in the 300 hurdles (36.72).

“It feels good to get this,” Douglas said. “I usually don’t start running until about 200, but today I pushed out to a good start and did better from there.”

Also winning state titles were Connor Boland of Geneva in the 400 (47.67); Jack De Francesco of Hilliard Davidson in the pole vault (15-6); DJ Fillmore of Licking Heights in the long jump (24-11); Jakob Oldenburg of Solon in the discus (167-10); Thomas Rice of GlenOak in the 3,200 (9:05.46); Malachi Snow of Cincinnati Northwest in the 110 hurdles (13.91); Aamil Wagner of Wayne in the shot put (64-1); and Brian Turner, Dustin Horner, Bryce Turner and Xavier Preston of Stow-Munroe Falls in the 800 relay (1:26.1).

“This is only my second year doing hurdles, so people keep asking me where I’ve come from,” Snow said. “My football skills have made me fast, and I’m a fast learner. I’m still new to this, but winning a state championship is a great feeling.”

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Photo by Gabe Haferman