Heartland Christian’s Rebecca Geiss (18) races in the 3200 meters at the state track meet at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus last June. (Morning Journal/Ron Firth)

COLUMBUS — The 119th Ohio High School Athletic Association state track and field meet will be the biggest one yet.

The 2026 state meet schedule was released Monday with the new five-division format, expanding from three divisions.

The OHSAA Board of Directors unanimously agreed to name the state meet as the OHSAA Jesse Owens State Track and Field Championships.

“We are extremely excited to honor Jesse Owens in this way,” OHSSA executive director Doug Ute said. “His name and accomplishments speak for themselves, and having their picture taken in front of his statue during the state championships is the goal of every track and field athlete in Ohio. Renaming the state tournament after Jesse Owens is a natural and will continue to lift up his legacy for everything he meant to Ohio and our country – on and off the track.”

Owens was one of the greatest athletes ever and this year marks the 90th anniversary of the historic 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany. Owens became the first American track and field athlete to capture four gold medals in a single Olympics, winning the 100, 200, long jump and 4×100 relay, while Adolf Hitler looked on.

Competing for Cleveland East Tech High School, Owens won nine OHSAA state track and field tournament events, including four as both a junior in 1932 and a senior in 1933 and set seven state records.

At the national interscholastic meet in Chicago during his senior year, he set a world record in the 100-yard dash (9.4 seconds) and set national high school records in the 220-yard dash (20.7 seconds) and long jump (24-feet-9 1/2).

Owens then enrolled at Ohio State, where he performed one of the greatest feats in athletic history at the Big Ten Championships held in Ann Arbor, Mich., on May 25, 1935. Uncertain that he would even participate after recently falling down a flight of steps, Owens set world records in the 220, 220 low hurdles and the long jump and tied the world mark in the 100, all in a span of about 45 minutes.

Kevin Johnson, one of four founders of The Soul of Philanthropy Cleveland, said “the idea to rename the championships grew from a belief that Jesse Owens’ legacy should be permanently honored in Ohio; that Jesse Owens’ legacy should be visible, permanent and rooted in Ohio. We are very grateful to the OHSAA, along with our partners and supporters for embracing the idea, and we’re committed to honoring Jesse Owens not only as a global icon, but as a proud son of Cleveland whose story continues to inspire generations of Ohioans and beyond.”

The state meet is held annually at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University. The event drew 29,642 fans over two days of competition.

This year’s event will be held over four days from June 4-7.

Action starts at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 4, and at 9:30 a.m. each of the next three days.

Division 4 and 5 will be held on Thursday and Friday, Division 3 and 4 on Friday and Saturday and Division I and 2 on Saturday and Sunday.

The state track and field meet had one division from 1908-1920 (12 schools participated in the first meet); two divisions from 1921-1970; and three divisions since 1971.

The 2025 state track and field meet at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium last June included 2,168 athletes over three divisions. There were 1,131 boys state qualifiers from 372 schools and 1,037 girls from 342 schools.

After expansion, that will mean more than 3,600 athletes will qualify for the state meet in June.