Heath's Hopkins, Licking Valley's Butler wage friendly battle on track
Kurt Snyder
WESTERVILLE - Look for Griffin Butler and chances are Taylor Hopkins is not far away.
The Licking Valley and Heath standouts indeed have a friendly rivalry and they are hoping to take that all the way to the Division II state meet. Hopkins and Butler were stride for stride Saturday as they took the top two places in the 1,600 during the district meet at Westerville South.
Hopkins edged out Butler after Butler had set the pace. Each ran an identical personal-best time of 4:21.05. It was reminiscent of when they battled to the finish during the Hank Smith Invitational in April.
"(Butler) is really good at setting pace," Hopkins said. I am not good at setting my own pace, so it is good to have someone that is faster than me."
Hopkins later won the 800 (1:57.64) with teammate Chandler Wilhelm running a big personal best to finish close behind (1:57.97) and Butler cruised to victory in the 3,200 (9:38.61).
Neither Hopkins nor Butler see the 1,600 as their signature event, but that might be their ticket to Columbus. They will take two of the best 1,600 times into next week's regional meet at Lexington.
"That felt really good," said Butler, who is ultimately shooting for a 4:15. "It's nice to have someone up there pushing you and making you work. It makes it a lot more fun. ... The (Hank Smith) gave me a confidence boost, and I am sure it did the same for (Hopkins). It made me realize I could come out here and run an ever faster time."
Wilhelm's mad dash in the 800 helped Heath into contention for the team title. His previous best time was 2:00 in the 4x800 relay, but he knew he had to better that if he wanted to advance in the 800.
"I was just trying to get fourth. The opportunity was there to move up, so I did," Wilhelm said. "About second lap, I started thinking I could do this."
Carlos Rencher added a title in the 400 (49.99), and Rencher, Hopkins, Andrae Manning and Nick Lines placed second in the 4x400 (3:24.42). The Bulldogs, thanks to a strong showing in the field events earlier in the week, finished with 95 points, trailing champion Eastmoor Academy's 101.
The Bulldogs are looking to reach the state podium in the 4x400 for the third consecutive year. On Saturday, Rencher raced them from fourth to second.
"If you are not running with competition, you are not getting better," Rencher said. "When they are there, you feel the energy go up and tension go up. It makes everyone go faster."
Valley's Sam Lehman placed third in the 110 hurdles (15.96) and 300 hurdles (40.32), and Maaliq Elliot, Tyler Crouse, Logan Graham and Brandon Clark matched him in the 4x200 (1:32.58).
Johnstown's Grace Mast has a knack for kicking it up a notch in the postseason. A strong time of 2:20.22 earned her a fourth-place finish in the girls 800. She had a heavy workload during the regular season, and having less on her plate Saturday made a difference.
"Only running one or two races definitely helps," Mast said. "It keeps me fresh for them, and I am not worn out."
Mast rode late-season momentum all the way to the state meet a year ago. She will try to qualify again next Saturday.
"I wanted to go under 2:20 but close enough," Mast said. "I'm still nervous because other girls are getting faster, too, but I definitely know I can go farther, so it helps."
Heath's Rachel Elam placed second in the 100 hurdles (16.97) and third in the 300 hurdles (49.28).
ksnyder@newarkadvocate.com
Twitter: @newarkurt