“You never know how things are going to fall at the state meet,” Dunbar coach Sidney Booker said. “But we’ve got enough to go up to Columbus and get another trophy.”
»RELATED: Saturday’s high school scoreboard
Dunbar won the D-II regional championship Saturday at Piqua High School, qualifying nine different athletes in eight different events to the state championships next Friday and Saturday in Columbus. Dunbar finished runner-up to Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy by seven points at last season’s state meet.
Senior Zamir Youngblood highlighted Dunbar’s regional championship with an individual title in the 100-meter dash and a victory in the 400 relay with sophomore Jalaquan Lusbrough, sophomore Brandon Wright and senior Durron Harris. Youngblood also qualified in the 200 and 1,600 relay.
The 800 relay of junior Deandre Jolly, Harris, Lusbrough and Wright also celebrated a regional championship.
“I feel like we can win again. We should be able to get our trophy back,” said Youngblood, adding the Wolverines have used it as motivation. “It made us push harder this year.”
Dunbar has won 10 state titles overall. The first came in 1948 and the last four in 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2017. Senior leadership has been key to those titles and the Wolverines have it again with Bruce Sargent, Isaiah Walker, Amari White, Harris and Youngblood.
“If I’ve got older kids who are still here then they groom (the younger athletes),” Booker said. “They get their head straight on what the expectations are, what we do and what we don’t do. We’ve got a bunch of rules on the team. Don’t break the rules or you won’t last. … They kind of keep it going. Tradition.”
Also on Saturday:
• Chaminade Julenne’s girls finished as regional runner-up to Cincinnati Indian Hill behind a strong relay effort. CJ won the 400 and 800 relays despite losing key senior Jada Grant to an ACL injury prior to the district meet. CJ plugged in freshman Jadyn Haywood, whose sister Meyah also runs on the relay teams.
“We didn’t know what we were going to do without Jada because she was such a great second leg. She covered up whatever we were missing and put us ahead,” said Meyah Haywood, a junior.
Juniors Imani Wortham and Jazmyn Potts also run on the 400 relay. Potts, the Haywood sisters and junior Julia DiLareto make up the 800 relay. What advice did Meyah give to her sister?
“Just breathe. I know she gets nervous so I told her to breathe and do the best you can. I told her we were going to finish harder (to help her),” Meyah said. “It’s cool. I knew we might (go to state) next year just because of how fast she is and how talented she is. The fact I get to do it this year means we might get to do it two years in a row. That’s special to me.”
Potts also won the 100 regional title for the Eagles.
• Oakwood freshman Grace Hartman added two more regional titles on Saturday to the 3,200 relay championship she helped the Jills win on Thursday. Hartman swept the 1,600 and 3,200 runs. Junior teammate Elizabeth Vaughn, also a member of the 3,200 relay, finished second in the 3,200 run.
Senior Dolan Johnson gave the Lumberjacks a regional title with his victory in the 1,600.
• Meadowdale junior Javan Poole won the 300 hurdles, one of the four events he advanced in. Poole will also compete at state in the 110 hurdles, 800 relay and 1,600 relay.
About the Author