Track and field: Sidney’s Hudgins qualifies for regionals

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PIQUA — Sidney senior Josiah Hudgins still feels he can leap higher and longer. He’ll get a chance to after qualifying for regionals in long jump and high jump during the Division I district meet this week in Piqua.

Hudgins, who signed to play football at Tiffin University earlier this year, was the only Sidney athlete to qualify for regionals this week.

“It’s huge, especially coming out of Sidney,” Hudgins said. “There’s not a lot of people that do that, so it feels great.”

Hudgins qualified for the regional meet in long jump when the event’s finals were held on Wednesday. He finished second with a leap of 21-6.25 to edge out Fairborn’s Joshua Greene by .25 inches. Springfield’s Raymans Cole finished first with 22-4.

Hudgins tied with Cole for third in high jump on Friday by clearing 6-2 on his second try. Wayne’s Brendan Hill finished second by clearing 6-2 on his first try.

Hudgins missed three attempts trying to get over 6-4 and said a sore shin was hampering him. He cleared 6-6 in a meet earlier this season to set a school record. Trotwood’s Terrance Gates finished first on Friday by clearing 6-4 on his first try.

“I’m not truly pleased because I know I can do better, but going to regionals, I know I can get there,” Hudgins said.

Hudgins is also a sprinter but will now focus on those two events next week while trying to earn a berth in the state meet.

Hudgins finished fourth in the 100 dash preliminary on Wednesday and came in fifth on Wednesday with a time of 11.34, ,01 behind Springfield’s Dovon Williams, who was fourth. The top four placers in each event earn regional berths.

“Being in the top and the fastest in the meet still means a lot,” Hudgins said.

The Div. I regional meet will be held at Wayne High School on Wednesday and Friday.

Wilford falls short of regional goal

Sidney senior Emma Wiford fell short of qualifying for the regional meet in either discus or shot put.

Wiford qualified for the finals in both events but didn’t finish in the top four. She finished seventh in discus on Friday with a throw of 99-10 and finished eighth in shot put on Wednesday with a throw of 33-6.

Other points earners

Several other groups qualified in Wednesday’s preliminaries for Friday’s finals but failed to finish in the top four on Friday to earn a regional berth.

The Yellow Jackets’ girls 800 relay finished eighth in 1:54. Mariana Kellner finished sixth in the girls 1,600 run in 5:57.

Sidney’s Ian Watterson was seventh in boys pole vault finals on Wednesday by clearing 12-0. Ian Bonifas finished seventh in the 3,200 run on Friday in 10:20.

Final team scores

Sidney’s boys squad finished ninth out of 14 schools with 19.5 points, over half of which were earned by Hudgins. Wayne finished first with 143 points.

The girls squad tied for 12th with seven points. Troy finished first with 160 points.

Sidney’s Emma Wiford competes in discus during the Division I district meet on Friday at Alexander Stadium in Piqua. Wiford finished seventh in discus with a throw of 99-10. The top four placers earned regional berths.
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2019/05/web1_SDN051819PiquaTrack1-1.jpgSidney’s Emma Wiford competes in discus during the Division I district meet on Friday at Alexander Stadium in Piqua. Wiford finished seventh in discus with a throw of 99-10. The top four placers earned regional berths. Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News

Sidney junior Ian Bonifas competes in the 3,200 run at Alexander Stadium in Piqua on Friday. Bonifas finished seventh in 10:20.
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2019/05/web1_051719jb_sid_bonifas-1.jpgSidney junior Ian Bonifas competes in the 3,200 run at Alexander Stadium in Piqua on Friday. Bonifas finished seventh in 10:20. Josh Brown | AIM Media Midwest

Sidney senior Josiah Hudgins competes in high jump during the Division I district meet on Friday at Alexander Stadium in Piqua. Hudgins tied for third in the event by clearing 6-2 and earned a regional berth. He’s the lone Sidney athlete to qualify for regionals in any event.
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2019/05/web1_TrackHudgins-1.jpgSidney senior Josiah Hudgins competes in high jump during the Division I district meet on Friday at Alexander Stadium in Piqua. Hudgins tied for third in the event by clearing 6-2 and earned a regional berth. He’s the lone Sidney athlete to qualify for regionals in any event. Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News
Senior earns regional berths in high jump, long jump

By Bryant Billing

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Reach Bryant Billing at 937-538-4818, or follow @SidneyOHSports on Twitter and @BryantBillingSDN on Facebook.

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