OHSAA state track championships moving to Dayton for 2024

COLUMBUS — Area track and field athletes who reach the culmination of the 2024 season will be running on a new surface. The Ohio High School Athletic Association announced on Oct. 16 that the 2024 track and field state tournament will be held at Welcome Stadium in Dayton. The track at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium at Ohio State University will be removed in May and replaced with a new track that will take several months to complete. Welcome Stadium hosted the OHSAA track and field state tournament from 1999-2003 after the track was removed from Ohio Stadium in Columbus. Dayton Public Schools recently completed a $34 million renovation project at Welcome Stadium that included a new track, football field, press box, concourse and locker rooms. Of note to Norwalk High School, Welcome Stadium was the site of the 1974 Class AA state championship football game that saw the Truckers defeat Louisville St. Thomas Aquinas. The track and field state tournament will return to Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in 2025 and 2026 to complete the current three-year contract. Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium has hosted the state tournament since 2004, with the exceptions of 2020, when the season was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and 2021, when each division was held at a high school in central Ohio. "We are excited and honored to be hosting the 2024 State Track Tournament at Welcome Stadium," said Dayton Public Schools Interim Superintendent Dr. David Lawrence. "The district and community have invested a lot into the stadium renovation project, and it is rewarding to now be hosting a state tournament as a result of those efforts. "As a former participant in the state track meet and avid fan of track and field, it brings great joy to host the meet in our newly renovated and state-of-the-art facility." The track and field state tournament is scheduled for May 31 and June 1, 2024. "We are very impressed with the renovations at Welcome Stadium," said Doug Ute, OHSAA Executive Director. "It's great to see what Dayton Public Schools has done to the facility and they were very excited right away when we called. We are fortunate that the timing of these construction projects lined up so that Welcome Stadium was ready to host before Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium was unavailable." "We, at Ohio State, are moving forward with a complete track replacement at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium," said Mike Penner, Executive Associate Athletics Director for Internal Operations. "Construction will take place from May to September 2024. Unfortunately, we will not be able to host the 2024 State Track Meet, but we look forward to hosting again in 2025 and beyond." More information including event schedules, meet management details, etc. will be shared at a later date.