Cincinnati area track and field teams made a strong showing on the opening day of the Ohio High School Athletic Association state championships at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
The meet introduced a five-division format, with local competitors from Division IV and Division V earning top spots on the podium.
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Summit Country Day Wins Division IV 4x100 Relay
The quartet of Maddy Amend, Brielle Bryant, Alaina Williams, and Ama Karikari secured a state title for Cincinnati by winning the Division IV 4x100-meter relay.
They set a new division record of 48.59 seconds.
Karikari, running the final leg, overtook the leading team from Girard to claim the first track state championship for the Silver Knights since their boys 4x200-meter relay victory in 2022.
"We knew the whole season that we were really close to winning and yesterday during prelims, we were 0.05 (seconds) away, so worked really hard on our handoffs and knew that if I got the stick in first or second, we'd definitely win," Karikari said.
The junior also contributed to a fifth-place finish in the 4x200-meter relay and placed sixth in the individual 200-meter dash.
Despite operating without an on-campus track facility, Summit Country Day finished as the highest-placed local girls squad, tying for 12th place overall with 17 points.
"We have really hard-working coaches and staff that help us get ready before meets and train before the season starts.
It just shows how hard work pays off," Karikari added.
