Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes. Windham freshman Devon Reagan crosses the finish line during the 100 meters at the state meet in Columbus. After starting off the year in the 60-65 seconds mark, Reagan worked hard all spring to punch his ticket to Columbus in just his first year competing.

COLUMBUS — When Windham freshman Devon Reagan began his track career just a short while ago, just staying in the lane was the first big step, then came times in the 60-65 second range.

In just a few short months, Reagan cut his time down enough to punch a ticket to Columbus and represented the Bombers at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium where he clocked a time of 41.34 seconds in the 100 meter to conclude his freshman campaign with a sixth place finish at the biggest meet of the year.

“It’s very exciting,” Reagan said. “It took a lot of hard work, I’ve been getting better. I’m very proud.”

It’s been a very speedy trip from some of the smaller meets earlier in the spring to the biggest at state. Knowing that a time around the 40-second mark would be needed to qualify for Columbus, Reagan posted a time of 39.97 seconds at the district meet.

Coach Dougle Hankins was over the moon for Reagan, especially for the progress made in a very short amount of time.

“I will say that I’ve been coaching various sports, basketball, football, track now for many years, and there’s no greater feeling, there really isn’t,” Hankins said. “It doesn’t matter what place he comes in, just the fact he’s here and he’s competing, and he’s having fun.”

“That’s what this sport is supposed to be all about, it’s about having fun and having a good time, and he is what represents Windham track.”

Looking down at the medal around his neck, Reagan is already looking toward the horizon and what next season will bring for him.

“I’m going to be very excited, and work hard going to practice, to get faster, better, and stay in my lane.” Reagan commented.

FIRST YEAR

McDonald’s Anna Airhart wanted to try something new heading into her final year of high school. After competing in hockey through Adaptive Sports Ohio, Airhart never had the opportunity to compete as a member on a team at her school.

That changed this spring, as Airhart became the first seated athlete in the history of the Blue Devils’ track and field program history and she had some success as well as she competed at the state track and field meet in Columbus at the beginning of the month.

Originally introduced to throwing through a summer camp, the shot put became an event that Airhart genuinely enjoyed, finishing as the 10th best girl’s seated thrower in the state with a mark of 8-06.25.

“It meant a lot to me because I’ve played rec soccer and baseball for years with different programs, but I felt like I was never really competing with anyone my age. I was never winning by merit, I felt like I was just getting a participation trophy,” Airhart said. “I could win on my merit, I was with kids mostly my age, and similar ability levels and it actually mattered how well I could do, so I can be competitive, and I wasn’t going to get claps for trying. I was going to get claps for how well I did.”

At Ohio State, the throwing pit was located across the street from the main grandstand, with the seated throwers utilizing a specialized chair that has a metal pole attached. Athletes grip the pole with one hand, and toss the shot with the other, rocking and forth to build up momentum for their throw.

McDonald has had a long and storied track and field program, but Airhart admits she held some nerves joining the team as a senior no less. But, as the spring rolled on, she couldn’t have felt more welcome.

“To have that experience, it made me feel really happy and I was like on top of the world when they would wait for me, they’d do a victory lap and come back and find me, and walk with me because they said that you’re part of this team,” Airhart explained. “To hear you’re part of this team, these are kids my age, and this is for the school, it meant a lot.

“I wasn’t at a meet where anyone else was until state, so I was simply trying to reach the standard. I also felt like I didn’t belong to a legacy because I felt like I was new and wasn’t as good as them, but immediately they were like, ‘You belong here, you worked just as hard as we did,’ and it almost feels unreal to me.”

LEAVING A LEGACY

Had it not been for the COVID-19 lockdown of 2020, Canfield senior Cody Piver would have more than likely competed in Columbus all four years of his high school track and field career.

As Piver crossed the finish line the grandstand was filled with claps and cheers as thousands of fans showed their support and apperiction of the hard work that the athletes within the seated division put in.

For Piver, each track meet isn’t just about representing Canfield — it’s about a message that’s even broader.

“It means a lot as a senior to leave behind a legacy here, even more so in the seated division for other potential athletes, to be like, oh I want to be that guy,” Piver said. “That’s really what this tournament is about for me. Inclusion in every sport is very important, so it’s especially so here, because that means that we can get out on our own and we can show the world that we aren’t just for lack of a better term lazy, or can’t do anything for ourselves.

“We break that stereotype when we’re out here.”

Besides the 100m meter (5th place, 32.43s) and the shot put (4th, 8-09 feet), Piver was also a member of the Cardinals speech and debate team, while also practicing taekwondo, and studying at the Mahoning County Career and Technical Center.

The Ohio High School Athletic Association began the seated division back in 2013, which includes the 100 meter, 400 meter, 800 meter, and shot put. For as complex of a world that track and field can be, the fact that there’s an inclusive element to the sport as a whole at the varsity level is something that isn’t lost to Piver. It’s an opportunity he appreciates.

For younger members of the community in junior high or even elementary school, just having a figure to look up to remains a key pillar of high school athletics.

“It’s very important because it shows that they can do whatever they set their mind to, not just if they’re disabled in the seated division, but anywhere in track and field, or other sports for that matter,” Piver said. “It’s very neat to be able to be here both days just by default, to compete on this beautiful track, so it’s great to come full circle.”