{"id":36885,"date":"2026-05-20T18:15:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T22:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/?p=36885"},"modified":"2026-05-20T18:15:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T22:15:12","slug":"walter-takes-both-throwing-titles-spartans-cruise-in-team-track-field-sectional","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/20\/walter-takes-both-throwing-titles-spartans-cruise-in-team-track-field-sectional\/","title":{"rendered":"Walter takes both throwing titles; Spartans cruise in team track & field sectional"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

RANDY HISNER & DANE FUELLING<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WZBD.com<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Homestead did its Homestead thing again Tuesday at the New Haven Girls\u2019 Sectional Track and Field Meet, winning its 12th<\/sup> straight title by almost doubling up the score of second-place Huntington North, 162-83.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Junior Channing Xayarath won three individual events for the Spartans\u2014the 100-meter hurdles (16.04), the long jump (16-2.25), and the 400 meters in a sectional-record time of 57.63\u2014and ran a leg on Homestead\u2019s victorious 4X400 relay (4:06.06).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Proud to sponsor Heritage Athletics on WZBD.com!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Matt Smith\u2019s Heritage Patriots placed a strong third with 71.33 points to lead all Z-Land teams. Bellmont slipped past South Adams with a dramatic runner-up finish in the night\u2019s final event, the 4X400 relay, to finish sixth with 44.33 points. The Starfires scored 37 points. Adams Central placed eleventh in the 12-team field with 11 points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Heritage 4X100 relay team of (L to R) Di’Mond Williams-White, McKinsey Amstein, DiNestee Williams-White, and Olivia Lybarger took a surprise third. (Photo by Randy Hisner)

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The Patriots were led, as usual, by their strong throws contingent, which scored 33 points. Senior Alexa Walter, the defending state runner-up in the shot put, won her specialty with a heave of 45-5 and grabbed the discus title at 124-4. Her shot put mark demolished the sectional record (43-4) set by Bellmont\u2019s Hailey Cole in 2024. Walter\u2019s teammate Lenai Riddle, one of the top freshmen in the nation, placed second in the shot with an outstanding 42-4.5, nearly seven feet ahead of Bellmont\u2019s Mary Bleke in third at 35-5.5. Sophomore Riley Roy completed the Patriots\u2019 dominance in the throws with her fourth place in the discus (102-8).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mary Bleke of Bellmont qualified for regional with her third-place finish in the shot put. (Photo by Randy Hisner)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Heritage also got runner-up finishes from freshman Di\u2019Mond Williams-White in the 200 meters (26.65) and sophomore McKenzie Amstein in the 100-meter hurdles (16.20). The Patriots\u2019 4X100 relay of Amstein, Di\u2019Mond Williams-White, DiNestee Williams-White, and Olivia Lybarger placed third (51.35).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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McKinsey Amstein competes in the hurdles final Tuesday at New Haven. (Photo by Mo Esarhaek)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The brightest spots for Bellmont were the runner-up finish of that 4X400 relay team and Chloe Post in the pole vault (career-best 9-0). The relay squad\u2014Quinn Buchan, Grace Ruble, Ashley Bleke, and Kaitlyn Barton\u2014came into the meet seeded fourth at 4:21.06 but cut over eight and a half seconds to finish in 4:12.43.<\/p>\n\n\n\n