The second day of the OHSAA state track tournament brought plenty tears of joy and anguished faces of defeat, but one Muskingum Valley League athlete was all smiles at the end of the night.

Joseph Clifford of the Little Muskies walked away victorious in both the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles on Saturday, edging Jalani Allen of Dunbar by five hundredths of a second in the first event and topping Ethan Tabor of Sheridan by just over a half second in the 300.

Clifford was the only junior in a field of seniors and one sophomore in the 110-meter, earning the school’s first ever state track and field crown. It was all he could do to contain his excitement at the end of the day.

“I just thank God for that,” he said. “He’s given me the talent to just go out here and run with some people who’ve had experience with this.”

Throughout the season and the tournament, there’s been another name right on the heels of Clifford — Tabor. A senior from Sheridan, Tabor made the podium in four events, right behind his rival in the 300-meter hurdles, finishing second in the long jump Friday, with a sixth-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles and a seventh-place spot with his teammates in the 4×200 relay.

Both times he found himself behind Clifford, the gap hovered around a half second. While it would likely spurn most athletes to be bested by a league rival in two events, Tabor gave nothing but respect to Clifford.

“I love that kid,” tabor said. “He’s been hurdling since his sophomore year. He’s a junior now. Last year, he didn’t make it to finals in the (110 or 300.) He false started in regionals, which sucked because I love racing with him. this year he got really good, which I think was me pushing him every meet. Last year I told him, ‘You put the work in in the off-season and you’ll be good.’ And I think he did that.”

Clifford finished as a runner-up in the regionals in the 300, but took home the crown in the 110. Now, he can put his newly earned hardware next to those medals.

“The 300 hurdles have been something I’ve been working real hard on,” he said. “110’s I’ve been working hard on too, but I was running at the beginning of the season in the mid-15’s. But then, throughout the season, it just started dropping. I guess I made it work.”

The hard work paid off with plenty of promise heading into his final season. While Tabor will not be around next year to push Clifford, the drive will likely still be there to keep himself at the front of the pack every time he runs.