Maltarich earns repeat All-Ohio status to close out prep career
West Holmes’ Kyle Maltarich approaches the bar before clearing 6-2 at the OHSAA Division II State Championships. The senior would go on to place eighth in the event.
Kyle Maltarich will be the first one to tell you he’s a football player who just happens to compete in track and field.
But after the West Holmes senior picked up his second straight All-Ohio medal in the Division II high jump at the recent OHSAA State Track and Field Championships, Maltarich was able to use all those training elements that have given him success on the gridiron on the runway.
“I’m training all year round for football. I do speed training. I do vertical training. I do weight training. All this stuff correlates to the football field, but it also correlates to this,” he said, following his eighth-place finish in the event. “You run and jump. It’s the most primal athlete event. I just went out there, showcased what I had.
“It’s a hobby of mine. I tried as hard as I could, and I’m glad with what I got, but I’m ready to get back on the football field.”
Before he continues that football career at Yale University this upcoming fall, however, Maltarich still had some business to do in his second sport.
In a season where he had a personal-record mark of 6-feet-6, he was able to manage 6-4 on the final day of the season at Dayton’s Welcome Stadium.
But after bowing out of the competition after missing his attempts with the bar at 6-5, the local had to wait patiently as the rest of the field kept going — four of those individuals going past that mark, with Bellevue’s Wyatt Sumser winning the state title after clearing 6-9.
“There’s a point in time where you’re rooting for them, like ‘I hope you get this height,’ and then it’s about 6-4, 6-5, 6-6, and you’re like, ‘Dude, stop. I can’t keep going up,’” Maltarich said. “I’m super happy for those guys, though.”
Maltarich, who was fourth in the state as a junior, was still able to hold on to the final podium position in his final career meet — accomplishing a second All-Ohio finish in a row, something that most athletes across the state can only dream of.
“It’s really just how you look at it,” he said. “I love being here. There are guys that can jump anything. You have the top athletes in the state, and when you surround yourself with guys like that, stuff like that happens.”
Sure, it wasn’t Maltarich’s best day in the event, far from it, but it wrapped up what had been an impressive career for the talented West Holmes athlete.
After transferring to the school before his sophomore campaign, the 6-foot-2, 180-pound wide receiver did a little bit of everything for the Knights, from sprinting to hurdles.
But the high jump had always been the center of his track and field career, as he was a regional qualifier his freshman year at Loudonville, followed by three straight trips to state — placing 15th, fourth and eighth this past weekend.
He spent his entire senior season focusing on the high jump, even changing his approach from a year ago by starting further back on the runaway to get more speed before reaching the bar. It was a move that worked as he was consistently hitting 6-4 all spring and hit 6-6 on two separate occasions — most recently to win a district title.
Of course, Maltarich was quick to admit being eighth was not where he wanted to be as he had higher goals for the weekend.
However, he knows it was an experience he will never forget as he turns his attention to the Div. I collegiate football field and making more athletic memories.
“I know as an athlete I’m never satisfied,” Maltarich said. “It sucks. I hate being eighth place, but looking at it down the road, I’ll probably be like, ‘Yeah, that was nice.’
“I was gifted. I’m a gifted athlete, and to come out here and do what most people can’t, I enjoyed it. I’m thankful.”
Other locals at state
A handful of other area athletes competed at state in Dayton.
Garaway’s Meghan Schwartz also wrapped up her prep career with a podium finish as the distance harrier was sixth overall in the Div. III 800. Schwartz maintained her position with the lead pack throughout the race, passing Rittman’s Annabelle Snyder in the closing 200 meters and nearly picking off St. Henry’s Rileigh Baumer in clocking a 2:17.39.
Jeremy Reber of Waynedale also was an All-Ohioan, thanks to a fifth-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles. The senior, who battled back from a hamstring injury earlier in the month, clocked a 15.25 in his final race.
Also competing in Div. III was Waynedale’s 4x800, which missed an All-Ohio finish by one spot as Nick St. John, Jackson Varner, Jayden Varner and Conner Reich took ninth overall. The group, however, did reset their own school-record time from earlier this season after crossing the line in 8:13.14.
Jackson Varner also ran in the 3,200 final, finishing 13th in 9:43.22, while Ian Sarver competing in the shot put but didn’t place.
Both Waynedale’s girls 4x100 and 4x200 relays — which each consisted of Callie Wolfe, Skye Morris, Anna Pittman and Nayeli Cruz — didn’t advanced to finals after record-breaking seasons for both events. The 4x100 had the best finish, placing 13th overall in 50.93.
Pittman took part in the Div. III pole vault earlier in the meet, placing 14th (10-6), while West Holmes’ Casey Ogi took part in the Div. II pole vault and finished in a tie for 17th.
Fellow Knight Katherine Kaster made her state debut, and the sophomore was 17th in the 1,600 in 5:28.27.