Valley athletes bring home state track titles

Several Mahoning Valley athletes captured first-place titles at the state track tournament that ended Saturday at Welcome Stadium in Dayton. Above, Maplewood High School senior Dave Pykare won the Division III state title in the 1600 meters. At the beginning of the season, however, Pykare was sidelined for a month with a bone bruise in his left knee. He said his win has been "a miracle by the grace of God." He finished third in the event last year and second two years earlier. At left, Adam Chatman of Ursuline wins the 300 hurdles. After falling in the preliminaries of the 300 hurdles last year, Chatman won the state title Saturday with a time of 38.91. Chatman also finished sixth in the 110 hurdles. Other top finishers included Ben Nolan, a JFK junior, in the 400 meters, and Cachet Murray, a Girard freshman, who won the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. Complete details on the tournament begin on C1.