PEDRO - It's the right direction, it just isn't the right place. At least, not yet.

The next stop for nearly 30 area track athletes in Division III will be the regionals at Pickerington, one step from the ultimate goal of the state meet in Columbus.

The top four finishers in the district meet qualified for the regionals. The same rules apply in the regionals as the top four places will advance to the state meet at Jesse Owens Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University.

Wheelersburg won both the boys and girls team championships. South Webster was second in the boys' meet with the Chesapeake Panthers finishing third and the Coal Grove Hornets fifth. The Green Bobcats were eighth.

The Lady Panthers were tied for seventh and Green placed ninth.

Brent Ransbottom easily won the high jump at 6-5 while teammate Dustin O'Brien was fourth at 5-8.

There were only four places in the pole vault and all went to local players. Coal Grove's Trent Blankenship won with a 10-6 vault followed by Chesapeake's Aaron Ross at 10-6, and Coal Grove's Andrew Christian and Chesapeake's Vernon Browning.

The Panthers Chad Simmons and Jeff Thornburg were second and third in the long jump. Thornburg was second in the 110 hurdles and Simmons third in the 100-meter dash.

Adam Slone, Jackson Caynor, Josh Ross and Caleb McComas gave Chesapeake a fourth place finish in the 4×800 relay.

The Panthers team of John Warner, Mike Stapleton, Zach Huron and O'Brien was second in the 4×200 relay.

Simmons, O'Brien, Huron and Stapleton were second in the 4×100 relay at 45.8 seconds. Slone ran a 53.6 to take fourth in the 400-meter dash.

Thornburg was second and Browning third in the 300-meter hurdles.

Coal Grove's Randy Pemberton (144-5) and Tyler Branch (140-2) went 3-4 in the discus.

The Hornets Patrick Roush, Ryan Turvey, Jake Browning and Blankenship were fourth in the 4×200 relay.

McComas ran a 2:06.2 to go second in the 800 while Caynor was fourth at 2:10.6.

Chesapeake's 4×400-meter relay team of Kenny Morgan, McComas, Thornburg and Slone were second with a 3:40.8 clocking.

In the girls' meet, Chesapeake's Courtney Rader was fourth in the shot put (30-6.75). Green's Amy Evans was second in the discus at 103-2.

The Lady Panthers Bethany Thomas, Christina Clagg, Briana Eshem and Laura Fields were third in the 4×100 relay. Fields ran a 28.7 and was fourth in the 200-meter dash.