Buckeye boys top Westlake 65-55 behind sprint, distance and field event wins

Buckeye’s boys track and field team put together a balanced night Wednesday and came away with a 65-55 dual-meet win over Westlake in CWC action at Westlake. The Bucks got the result they wanted by stacking points across the sprints, distance races, relays and field events, with several first-place finishes setting the tone from start to finish.

The headline performances started on the track. Brayden Bonnet won the 100-meter dash in 10.6 seconds, while Cael Miller took second in 11.53 and Brayden Russo placed third in 11.56, giving Buckeye a major lift in one event. Brady Salazar added another victory in the 400 with a time of 52.22, and Joe Stahl led a sweep of the 1600 by winning in 4:48.85. Gavin Waibel was second in 4:52.69 and Nolan Rieth third in 4:54.83. Dimitry Pshonyak also delivered a first-place finish in the 3200, crossing in 10:15.05.

Buckeye’s relay teams were just as important in the team race. The 4x200 quartet of Eddie Hondroudakis, Miller, Salazar and Bonnet finished first in 1:31.91. Later, the 4x400 team of Hondroudakis, Rieth, Paul Abbott and Waibel closed with another win, posting a 3:39.93. Abbott also picked up valuable points individually with a runner-up finish in the 800 at 2:21.81, while Russo added a third-place run in the 200 in 24.39.

In the hurdles, Rhys Cielma placed second in the 110 hurdles with a time of 18.41, and A.J. Bohannon followed in third at 19.34. Those depth points mattered in a dual that stayed competitive on the scoreboard. Buckeye kept finding answers in multiple events, and that breadth is what helped the Bucks run away with the overall team result.

The field events gave Buckeye even more separation. Denis Shevchenko won the shot put with a throw of 42 feet, 6 inches and added a second-place finish in discus at 124-7. Andy Kost cleared 5-2 to win the high jump, then came back to place third in the 400 in 57.90. In the vault, Caden Fike won at 12-6, Brady Salazar was second at 12-0, and Lucas Vasel added more points by clearing 10-6. Bonnet also chipped in with a third-place finish in the long jump at 17-5.5.

That kind of across-the-board production was the story for Buckeye. The Bucks did not lean on one star or one event group. They got front-end wins, middle-distance strength, relay success and steady field-event scoring, which is usually the formula in a dual meet. On this night, it added up to a 10-point win and plenty of momentum as Buckeye moves deeper into the spring schedule.