Beechcroft's Tyrell Russell is The Dispatch regular-season boys track athlete of the year

The high school track and field season has reached the regional stage, with athletes competing this week for berths to state May 30-June 1 at Welcome Stadium in Dayton.

Athletes use competition during the regular season to prepare for the postseason, including the 13 whom The Dispatch featured in a poll for the central Ohio high school boys track and field regular-season athlete of the year.

Your votes have been tallied, and the winner is Beechcroft junior sprinter Tyrell Russell.

Russell set program records in the 100 meters (10.55) and 200 (21.44) and ran on the program-record 800 relay (1:26.9). He won the 200 (22.09) and finished second in the 100 (10.99) in the City League meet.

“Tyrell is a great leader,” coach Tremayne Peppers said. “He works hard, and his teammates have followed suit. He’s a great young man and has a lot more potential to be even better in the sport. He’s carried us through a lot this season and he’s handled every bit of it like a true competitor and leader. We couldn’t be prouder of who he’s becoming.”

Russell received 29.3% of the vote and was followed by Hilliard Davidson’s Turner Schmidt (27.6%), Pickerington North’s Richard Simpson (12.8%), Olentangy Liberty’s Nate Hollingsworth (10.3%), Gahanna Lincoln’s Owen Towler (5.4%), Watkins Memorial’s John Apel (4.5%), Westerville North’s Ben Gabelman (2.1%), Worthington Kilbourne’s Ryan Smith (2.1%), Canal Winchester’s A.J. Young (1.9%), Westerville South’s Nick Hoelscher (1.8%), Whitehall-Yearling's Andre Jackson (1.7%), Dublin Jerome’s Sam Ricchiuti (0.4%) and Marysville's J.T. Hiltscher (0.3%).

All of these athletes are candidates to make our All-Metro boys track and field team, which will be revealed as part of the Central Ohio High School Sports Awards. The live show is June 20 at Mershon Auditorium.