Nathan Simons and his Canal Winchester High School Boys Track and Field teammates anticipated the same buzz that swept the crowd at the end of the Division I Regional Meet at Pickerington North.
The Indians and Pickerington Central were the top two seeds for the 1,600-meter relay, separated by .55 of a second, and their relays seemed to give the fans -- and themselves -- the anticipated showdown.
In fifth place after two legs, Simons brought Canal Winchester back to second and Korbin Martino hung with Central’s Evan Matthews to the end but came up just short as the Indians finished second in 3:17.15, .14 of a second behind the Tigers.
Simons was runner-up in the 200 with a time of 21.84 as he also advanced to the State Championships at Ohio State.
Simons finished .15 of a second behind Central’s Denzell Feagin, a former Indians runner who transferred to Central before his junior season.
“Nothing is given. You have to earn everything,” Simons said. “I was thinking I’d come out and run right around 22 (seconds). This is better than I expected. For me to get that time is amazing in this kind of meet. I have to come back out (at state) and do even better.”
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