Five Nighthawks Earn Medals at State Championship Meet
It was an incredible way to cap off the athletic year as the varsity track & field team sent five athletes to compete in the 2026 OHSAA Division V Track & Field State Championship at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus.
Leon Hall `27, Nathan Kellenberger `29, William Lothmann `26, Luke Schnieber `27, and Peyton Ware `29 represented the Nighthawks and all came back medalists!
After a first-place finish at regionals, the boys 4x100m relay of Leon Hall, Nathan Kellenberger, Luke Schnieber, and Peyton Ware qualified for state. It's the first boys relay team to compete in the state championship since 2016. They finished in 7th place with a time of 43.84.
Luke Schnieber ran in the boys 300m hurdles, earning a seventh-place with a time of 42.81.
After being crowned District Champion, William Lothmann had a second-place finish at regionals in the boys 400m dash to qualify for state where he finished in 8th place with a time of 50.13. Earlier this season, William broke the school record for the boys 400m dash with a time of 49.95, becoming the first athlete in program history to run a sub-50 second race.
Most notably, Country Day has it's first track & field state champion since 2011 as Luke Schnieber finished in 1st place in the boy's pole vault with a vault of 17'05". Not only did Luke beat the competition by over a foot, he shattered multiple records with his performance. His 17'05" vault is a new state meet record, Division V record, Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium record, and is the best outdoor vault in Ohio and 11th best outdoor vault in the nation. Luke claimed first place at both the district and regional meets leading up to state, and after winning the indoor state title earlier this year, he completed a remarkable sweep with his outdoor championship, capping off a truly record-setting season.
The boys 4x400m relay of Leon Hall, Nathan Kellenberger, William Lothmann, and Luke Schnieber competed in the preliminary round, finishing 18th overall.
Country Day is incredibly proud of these five student-athletes. They represented the program with determination and excellence on the state's biggest stage! Congratulations to all! Go, Nighthawks!
