Defending a title is never easy, but the Colonel Crawford boys made it look like a warm-up lap. At Friday's Northern 10 championships, held at Carey High School, the Eagles soared to victory, securing their seventh league championship since 2015 with a commanding 169 points—nearly 50 ahead of runner-up Seneca East.
Head coach Joey Bauer had every reason to be confident heading into the meet. "We knew that we had studs in the hurdles and we had studs in the sprints, the relays are still really good, the throwers, distance, all of our field events," he said. That confidence was well-placed, as the Eagles delivered a performance that set the stage for a promising postseason.
The foundation was laid early in the field events. Dom Dean kicked things off with a winning throw of 52 feet and ¾ inches in the shot put, while Avery Powers claimed the long jump title by less than an inch, leaping 20 feet, 6 inches. Dean added a runner-up finish in the discus, and the team picked up key points from Jacob Cochran (third in high jump), Kyle Smith (third in pole vault), Luke Christman (fourth in discus), and Payne DeGray (fifth in shot put).
When the action moved to the track, the Eagles' depth truly shined. The friendly rivalry between Avery Powers and Roen Thew took center stage in the hurdles. The duo swept the top two spots in both the high and low hurdles, swapping places between events. "Avery and Roen love to duke it out," Bauer said. "Usually Roen gets him in the 110s and Avery gets him in the 300s, but today they knew it didn't matter who got first or second, they just wanted to get first and second to make sure they sealed the deal and helped our team win."
The momentum carried through the sprints and distance events. Jacob Cochran and John DeGray went 1-2 in the 400-meter dash, while Thew and DeGray finished third and fourth in the 200 meters. Shawn Auck and Isaac Stirm added to the point total with a third and fourth-place finish in the mile run. The Eagles' balanced attack—excelling in throws, jumps, hurdles, and distance—proved too much for the competition.
Bauer pointed to last weekend's Kiwanis Invitational in Galion as a turning point. "The conditions were terrible, but we had John run really well, Roen ran well in the open hundred, Avery went out and won long jump and the 300 hurdles against a really good Ashland kid," he recalled. "We're ready to take off for postseason."
With the league title secured, the Eagles now set their sights on the postseason, carrying the confidence of a team that knows how to win when it matters most. For fans of track and field, this is a squad worth watching—and for those looking to gear up like champions, the right apparel can make all the difference in your own pursuit of victory.