Kya Epps of ⁦@STVMAthletics⁩ wins her heat in the 200 on Friday. pic.twitter.com/XkEd1cAErF

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Buchtel’s DaMya Barker and St. Vincent-St. Mary’s Kya Epps are no strangers to competing for spots on the podium at the OHSAA state track and field meet.

Both won state championships in 2021 and made multiple trips to the podium. Barker won both hurdle events and Epps’ 4x100 team finished first.

They will be busy again on Saturday as both Barker and Epps qualified for four finals in the 2022 OHSAA Division II state girls track and field meet.

Barker and Epps will only face off once as their respective 4x200-meter relay teams both advanced out of Friday’s preliminary heats. Additionally, Barker will run in both hurdles as well as the 4x400, and Epps will also be in the 100, 4x100 and 200.

Barker has the top seed in each of the hurdles, running the 100 in 13.95 seconds and the 300 in 44.63.

“I always say prelims is harder than finals because you have two heats. If you run first, you don’t know what the second is going to run,” Barker said. “It gets me going and lets me know where I need to be at before tomorrow because track is one of those things where you could win today and lose tomorrow.”

She ran the anchor of Buchtel’s 4x400 to a heat win (3:59.28) and the third-fastest time of the field heading into Saturday’s finals.

Epps won her heats in the 100 (11.55) and 200 (24.95) as well to put her into a good spot for Saturday. She finished second and third in the 100 and 200, respectively, at state in 2021 and said she worked to be quicker off the blocks for this year.

“I just had to focus on my start, pretty much, just keeping myself in order, make sure my team, they’re all right,” Epps said. “I’m so prepared. I’m just ready. Senior year, got to go out.”

She also was the anchor of their 4x100 and helped them finish fourth (49.62) on Friday.

Findlay Liberty-Benton leads the girls’ competition with 12 points after three completed events. Norton and Brooklyn are among four teams tied with 10 points.

See the full Division II results here.

ALSO: Norton’s Morgan Hallett earns state title in discus at 2022 OHSAA Division II girls state track meet

An event like the high jump isn’t just about the height you clear but doing so in as few attempts as possible. That’s the reason Brooklyn’s Jenna Young brought home the state title in the event on Friday.

Young and Penelope Webb of Cincinnati Wyoming were the only two competitors to clear 5-foot-7. Young did it in one attempt and Webb needed a second to clear the bar.

Both jumpers failed to clear 5-8, meaning Young was the winner because of that successful first attempt at 5-7.

Young finished second in the high jump in 2021.

Beachwood’s 4x100 and 4x200: The quartet of Dakota Houston, Sarah Brown, Amelie Cotta and Lauren Luxenberg won both the 4x200 and 4x100 at the regional meet in Austintown. They had another strong showing on Friday by winning their heats in the 4x200 (1:42.06) and 4x100 (48.96). Their 4x200 time was the best of the field.

Beaumont’s 4x400: The team of Candace Johnson, Deasia Washington, Mariya Washington and Patricia O’Neill had the fastest time in the 4x400 (3:57.11). O’Neill will also run in the 400 after finishing in ninth (58.24) on Friday.

Makayla White, Hawken (100, 200): White will compete against Epps in both sprint events on Saturday. She had the third-fastest time in the 100 (11.91) and took second in the 200 (24.75), running 0.2 seconds faster than Epps.

Tay’onia Whitaker, Buchtel (400, 4x400): Whitaker came just 0.01 seconds shy of the fastest time in the 400 (57.30). She was also part of the 4x400 team along with Barker that won its heat.

Woodridge’s 4x800: Woodridge took second in the 4x800 with a time of 9:15.58. Dayton Oakwood won the race (9:14.83), led by anchor leg Grace Hartman, the reigning two-time state cross country champion. Reese Reaman of Woodridge closed the gap on Hartman in the final stretch to keep her team within a second of the winning time.

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