Elijah Merino

Tricia Darcy, KPTimes.com

As the finish line neared at the District Championships, senior Elijah Merino battled with Dayton junior Jaxon Asbill for the top spot on Oct. 10.

Merino, the defending two-time district champion, dominated Asbill and the rest of the field a year ago. This year, Merino jumped out to a solid lead in the race again. However, Asbill challenged Merino on the home stretch, where Merino’s final kick was not enough. 

Asbill took first place, edging out Merino by just .19 seconds.

“I was hoping to create a gap early on,” said Merino, who finished in a time of 15:39.08. “I think Jaxon did really good with his strategy of staying back and going into the kick. I’ve never had a strong kick, so it was hard. But I think Jaxon definitely deserved that first place.”

Read the rest of the story: https://kptimes.com/16649/sports/dayton-kingwood-park-boys-dominate-field-at-district-championships/