Correspondent photo / Gary Leininger. Girard’s Braxton Sloan runs during the boys 400 meter race during the Division III regional track meet on Saturday in Austintown.

AUSTINTOWN — The Salem girls 4×400-meter relay team finished third, but the final event didn’t matter.

The Quakers already had their Division III regional title. They just needed to complete the final race to get their hands on the trophy.

After posting a time of 4:05.68, the Quakers amassed 81.5 points. It was plenty to take top honors at the regional track meet at Austintown Fitch.

Saturday’s meet victory was the Quakers’ second regional championship in program history. The first came in 2024.

“It’s special for (the athletes),” Salem head coach Ted Yuhanik said. “They certainly worked for it and deserve it all. I’m proud of them.”

The Quakers only had one gold-medal finisher. Chaya Murray won the 200 with a time of 24.64.

“It was amazing because we accomplished such great things,” Murray said.

In addition to the 4×400 relay, Salem also took third in the 4×100 after combining for a time of 49.40. Laura Hovorka also got third in the 800 with a 2:20.83.

Karlie Sampson rounded out the Quakers’ state qualifiers after taking fifth in the long jump by leaping 16.05-75.

“It’s a full, full team effort,” Yuhaniak said. “I’m super proud of them for that.”

INDIVIDUAL STATE QUALIFIERS

The top five finishers in each event locked up a spot in the state meet, and the Mahoning Valley will send eight boys in Division III.

Ursuline had the best day among the boys teams, finishing tied for fourth with Firelands with 38 points. The Irish will have three representatives in Columbus.

Connor Crilley picked up an early win for Ursuline in the shot put. He took first with an attempt of 57.00-75.

Ursuline also had a pair qualify in the 110 hurdles. Tyler Stargill (14.29) took second and Xavier Stargill (14.34) was third. Xavier Stargill also was the runner-up in the 300 hurdles with a 38.73.

The Stargills and Crilley reached the podium during the indoor state track meet in the winter. Now they will have a shot to medal again at the outdoor championships.

“Their mindset was great today,” Ursuline head coach Alyssa Lynch said. “They came, they showed up, they were ready to go.”

Lakeview’s Noah Engle was the runner-up in the 100 with a 10.94. Fellow Bulldog Luke Demsey posted a 6-01.00 to qualify for state with a fifth-place finish.

Salem’s Lucas Adams leaped 6-04.00 to finish second in the high jump. Also in the field events for the Quakers, Hunter Owen qualified in the shot put with a 50.09-50, which was good enough for fourth.

Girard got a state qualifier when Braxton Sloan came in third in the 400 with a time of 49.09.

The Division III state meet will be Friday and Saturday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus.

TEAM RESULTS

There were four other girls teams that competed at Fitch on Saturday. West Branch finished in a three-team tie for 23rd with six points, Ursuline tied with St. Vincent-St. Mary for 27th with three points, and Lakeview and Canfield also tied with Norton for 29th with two points.

Akron Buchtel was the runner-up among the girls with 54 points. Hathaway Brown (53) was third, Marlington (45) was fourth and Woodridge (43) came in fifth.

For the boys, Salem came in 10th with 29 points. Lakeview had 14 points for 19th, and Girard was 22nd with eight.

Woodridge took the boys championship with 80 points. Glenville was second with 61 and Orrville was third after amassing 56.