Lancaster track and field athlete Gabriel McNeil was selected the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Boys Athlete of the Week for June 1-7.
McNeil won the 800 (1:52.46) at the Division I state meet.
McNeil received 44.9% of the vote and was followed by Big Walnut track and field athlete Chase Bergsten, who received 25.2%, Buckeye Valley track and field athlete Austin Browning (21.9%), Big Walnut sprinter Jamier Brown (3.7%) and Beechcroft track and field athlete Nehemiah Mills (2.7%).
Also nominated were track and field athletes TJ Lichter of Olentangy Liberty, Nicholas Thompson of Hartley, Ronald Neal of Gahanna Lincoln and Miles King of Olentangy Berlin.
Bergsten, the runner-up, won the 110 hurdles (14.39) at the Division II state meet.
Browning won the 110 hurdles (13.98) at the state meet.
Brown was part of three first-place performances – including two record-setters – at the Division II state meet. Brown, who won the Division I state title in the 100 meters last year for Huber Heights Wayne, won the 100 (10.42 seconds) and 200 (20.91) and anchored the first-place 400 relay (41.53), which also included Braydan Giesler, Jaxen Elliott and Dexter Chhuom. Brown’s 200 time and the 400 relay set OHSAA Division II and Division II state-meet records.
Mills pulled off a records trifecta at the Division II state meet in the 400, with his time of 46.91 setting marks for OHSAA Division II, the Division II state meet and Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium high school record. He also was sixth in the 100 (10.67) and seventh in the 200 (21.57).
Lichter won the 110 hurdles (13.92) at the Division I state meet.
Thompson won the 100 (10.76) and 200 (21.57) at the Division III state meet.
Neal won the long jump (23 feet, 4¼ inches) at the Division I state meet.
King won the 300 hurdles (36.93) at the Division I state meet.
The Athlete of the Week voting recognizes athletes across all sports.
Nominations are due Monday mornings for competitions that took place the previous week. The boys poll is live until 4 p.m. Fridays. The girls poll is live until 4 p.m. Saturdays.
Anyone can nominate an athlete by email to bwhite1@dispatch.com or through X (formerly Twitter) tagging @BrianWhite13.
Once athletes win during the regular season, they’re not eligible to be back on the ballot until the postseason. Athletes who have not been a recipient of one of the weekly awards can be nominated more than once.
Have any questions? Email sports editor Brian White at bwhite1@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Meet OSU Wexner Medical Center’s Athlete of the Week: Gabriel McNeil
