Ohio's top high school girls track and field athletes: Meet the state’s best distance runners
By Owen Racer | Photo by Mike Cook
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be taking a look at some of the top track and field athletes in Ohio.
We started with the top sprinters in the girls division and then the top boys sprinters. Now we turn to girls distance runners.
There are hundreds of standout distance runners in Ohio, and these lists are not intended to be comprehensive! Tag us on Twitter or Instagram at @SBLiveOH and let us know about other athletes worthy of fans’ attention.
Note: We'll also be posting lists of the state's top hurdlers, jumpers and throwers in the coming weeks. Many athletes excel in multiple events, but we won't do write-ups on the same athlete on multiple lists.
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Jayla Atkinson, Stow-Munroe Falls, sophomore
Atkinson is the second-fastest returning 800-meter runner in the state, as she ran a 2:11.69 as a freshman. Since, she has run a 1:00.17 400 meters and a 2:15.78 800 in the 2022 indoor season.
Izzy Best, Woodridge, senior
Best started her high school career hot, taking fourth in the 800 meters at state her freshman year (2019). At cross-country districts, Best finished in third place, one spot ahead of her teammate, Reese Reaman.
Bella Butler, Oakwood, junior
Butler clocked a 2021 outdoor 800-meter PR of 2:13.91, which was good enough to crack the top 10 of all Ohio’s non-seniors. Butler also ran a 4:55.63 1,600 meters and 5:01.49 mile.
Katie Clute, Olmsted Falls, junior
Clute ran a 4:59.76 to win the 1,600 meters at the Avon Lake Invitational, setting a meet record in the event. She should be among the state's best in the 3,200 this season as well.
Madison Conatser, Loveland, junior
Conatser’s 2:14.99 in the 800 meters was good enough to land her the 16th-fastest time in Ohio last outdoor season. At the 2022 indoor state championship, Conatser finished ninth with a time of 2:22.81. Her 4x800 relay team finished sixth at state.
Malena Cybak, Tuslaw, senior
A Youngstown State commit, Cybak clocked a 2021 outdoor 800-meter PR of 2:13.57, good for Ohio’s sixth-best time of any non-senior. Cybak went on to run a 2:12.84 800 meters in the 2022 indoor season.
Kylie Feeney, Dublin Coffman, sophomore
Feeney ran a 2:16.45 in the 800 in 2021 while also earning first-team All-OCC honors as a freshman. Feeny was a part of Dublin’s 4x800 relay that placed second at Ohio’s DI state tournament.
Grace Hartman, Oakwood, senior
Hartman’s 2:13.06 800-meter time was good enough for the third-fastest of any non-senior runner in Ohio’s 2021 outdoor season. Hartman has committed to run cross country and track and field at North Carolina State.
Caitlyn Jones, Hilliard Davidson, junior
Jones clocked a 2:15.79 in the 800 and a 5:06.00 in the 1,600 in 2021, both season bests. She then went on to run an 11:53.12 in the 3,200 during the 2022 Indoor season.
Lillie Katsaras, Olmsted Falls, senior
Katsaras clocked a 4:58.93 1,600-meter time in the 2021 outdoor season, one of Ohio’s best for a non-senior. She also ran a 2:22.33 800 meters and a 10:58.57 3,200 last outdoor season.
Morgan Monesmith, Hathaway Brown, senior
Monesmith is the fastest returning 800-meter runner from the 2021 outdoor season. Monesmith’s 2:06.79 in July was good for second-fastest in Ohio behind Mount Gilead's Allison Johnson, who has since graduated.
Sarah Peer, Westlake, sophomore
Peer had the 20th-fastest 800 in Ohio’s 2021 outdoor season, a PR of 2:15.47. Peer took ninth place in the 800 at OHSAA’s state championship as a freshman. She broke school in her freshman season in the 1,600 and 800.
Reese Reaman, Woodridge, sophomore
As a freshman, Raeman ran a 2:24.34 800 meters and a 5:01.14 1,600. Reaman was a part of the Woodridge school record 15 track and field athletes sent to the 2021 state championships.
Mia Robillard, Centerville, junior
Robillard was named the GWOC athlete of the year in girls cross country in January. On March 11, she broke her 2-mile record with a time of 11:03.20. She set a meet and facility record on Feb. 6 in the 1,600 with a time of 5:05.83.
Alyssa Shope, Gahanna Lincoln, senior
Shope ran a 4:59.09 PR in the 1,600 meters during the 2021 outdoor season. She has committed to Indiana University to run track and cross country. Her 2021 outdoor 800-meter best was a 2:20.54.
Taylor Spencer, Waynesfield-Goshen, junior
Spencer’s 4:58.82 1600-meter time in 2021 was one of the best among all non-seniors in Ohio. In the 2022 indoor season, she clocked a 2:25.10 800 and a 5:41.06 1,600. Spencer was one of the four who set her school's 4x800 record with a time of 10:24:50.
Gwendolyn Stare, Newark, senior
Of all non-senior runners in the 2021 outdoor season, Stare ran the fourth-fastest 800 in Ohio, clocking a 2:13.14 at the D1 state track and field championship. Stare has committed to run track and field at the University of Cincinnati.
Amy Weybrecht, Gilmour Academy, sophomore
As a freshman in Ohio’s 2021 outdoor season, Weybrecht ran the state’s fifth-fastest 800, a 2:13.48 at the D2 state championship. She took the DII 800-meter title prior to being named All-Ohio.
Elizabeth Whaley, Indian Hill, senior
In the 2021 CHL championship, Whaley ran a 4:58.55 1,600, which was among the best of any non-senior. Whaley’s fastest 800-meter time of 2021 was a 2:17.25, while her fastest mile was 5:08.51.
Hannah Wyler, Tuscarawas Valley, senior
Wyler ran a 5:02.5 in the 1,600 during the 2021 outdoor season. She signed a letter of intent to Marshall University in November to run track and cross country.
