Correspondent Photo / Robert Hayes Girard senior Mia Marito (right) defeats Rowen Jenkins of Pimatuning Valley in the 300 hurdles, one of three events Marito won during the district round. Ta.
CORTLAND – Blue skies and a sunny afternoon made for a pleasant sight at the Division II district tournament at Lakeview High School, a far cry from the gloomy weather experienced throughout most of the spring. After the tournament, schools including Girard, Champion, Niles, Liberty, Pima Tuning Valley, Lakeview, Youngstown East and Hubbard will send players to next week's regional round.
4 people go
Girard senior Mia Marito, who had already won the high jump on Thursday at 5-0 coming into Saturday's meet, had two more event wins in the long jump with a mark of 17-0 and a .03 in the 300 hurdles. They won by a point difference. 46.43 seconds.
Marito helped the Indians take second place in the 4×100 with a score of 48.84, along with Ailianna Clardy, Laiya Pappa and Chloe Pieton. She is looking forward to next week's community action, which will be her fourth time participating in the state's outdoor track and field meet.
“It was a long day and a lot of preparation. Our 4×100 went really well, I'm really excited for next week, and I think all my events look promising. I just need to get there and compete.” Marito said. “The ending (of the 300 hurdles) is really important. I'm tired, but my coach has my back at the end, so I really had to push myself and give it my all.
“The adrenaline is pumping, but it's hot outside, so I try to get in the shade, drink lots of water, put my feet up as much as possible and push myself.”
Now, in his final fresh start as a senior, his role is not only to qualify for the biggest stage again, but also to coach and mentor the younger players on Girard's team.
“It helps. I definitely have a lot of experience, but I'm a senior now, so I'm going to use that experience to compete to the best of my ability. I'm going to try really hard next week and try to get to states.” I just try to stay positive and push them in practice and make sure they are paying attention and doing their best before the meet.”
Return to region
Pimatuning Valley senior Rowen Jenkins started Saturday's running event with a bang, winning the 100 hurdles with a time of 15.892 seconds, 0.005 seconds faster than Olivia Johnson-Wilson of Streetsboro. She then placed second in the 300 hurdles, 0.03 seconds behind Marito, and advanced to regionals in both events.
His accomplishments in both events came after missing out on the 300 hurdles, one spot less, in last year's regional round. Jenkins previously played in the district tournament as a sophomore when the Lakers competed in Division III, but is now eyeing a possible transfer to Dayton.
“Basically, I've been preparing for this all four years and working hard to get here. I felt absolutely good this week in qualifying. After qualifying first, the pressure was off. I just felt like I should just come out and run my race and see what happens.” Jenkins said. “It feels great to make it to the D3 regional, then go on to D2, step up and still make it. I’m really happy.
“It's definitely a big boost for me. I had a PR in both the race and qualifying yesterday, so it's definitely a big boost.”
With some new personal bests and confidence gained, it looks like there will be limited opportunities to book a trip to the states next week.
“Being second here and first in the 100 hurdles definitely gives me confidence to know that I can go and that I’m good enough to get there.”
Soaring to First
On the first throw of the afternoon, Champion senior Kennady Grace set the tone early, marking 120-9. This is good enough to advance to the finals and win the Discus event.
After grabbing a podium spot at the state championships in Columbus last June, the journey to finding some of that success began again at regionals.
“We have a lot of things to work on right now, but we now know what we need to work on and improve on for next week’s regionals.” Grace said. “Pitching 120 is not one of my best, so I was striving to pitch better, but today wasn't that day. So I'm even more motivated to throw 120 next week. Ta.”
“(State government) gave me the confidence to build up from last year and into this year because I knew I could really give it a shot when I needed it and at the regionals last year. The last pitch. I hadn't really pitched well up until then, so even if I was under pressure and didn't get a good start, I felt confident that I could throw a shot when I needed to.”
Discus is a very difficult and technical event, so small adjustments can go a long way or go wrong. So it's very difficult to raise the bar, but Grace appreciates it.
“I'm really honing in on my technical work. My dad really helps me with my technical work. We basically go down every day for as long as we need to. Lately I've been down 3 lbs. So I went down to the ring one night and threw about 70 3-pound throws. I'm just focused on getting stronger and honing my technical work.”
Aiming to return
Dwayne Moody is another athlete who is well aware of what the road to state will be like this time of year, competing in the 200 meter final last June and finishing ninth for the Leopards in Columbus. entered in. On Saturday afternoon, he joined Brandon Benson, Tawan Tutwiler and Brayshawn Hicks in the 200 (22.03, 2nd), 100 (11.09, 3rd) and 4×100 (43.24, 4th) ) earned a few tickets to the regional round.
In the midst of a chaotic day, he put in the 4×200, and Liberty finished fifth in 1:31.18.
“Honestly, this is just one step of many. I know (the 100) definitely wasn't my best race. I wasn't able to go all out. Still eligible. But I was aiming for first place.” Moody said. “If you fail at a block start, it's all a mental thing from there. It's either, I'm going to try to catch them, but at the same time it's only a 10-11 second race, so coming out of the block One second of confusion can honestly ruin the entire race.
“I wouldn't say this experience makes you less nervous, but what I'm really saying is, it's about running. Once you start running, you're not nervous anymore. You're like, 'I have to go, now or never,' so I don't find myself getting scared.” I don't think of myself as being nervous or nervous. ”
Pacing will be key to competing in four difficult events in a fairly short space of just over two hours, and Moody is excited to represent Leopards when it matters most.
“I'm very proud, but obviously not everyone can make it this far, let alone make it to the state tournament. I'm blessed and honored and this is a stepping stone to great things.” I am grateful to Liberty for giving me a ride.”
Return to form
Lakeview junior Thomas Easton has had a long school year that started on the track, but the time to slow down isn't yet for the Bulldogs' sprinter. The 4×100 team won the gold medal with Landon Hall, Sam Harper, and Noah Engle scoring 43.07 points, but it was the trio of Easton, Hall, Harper, and Onia Russo who placed fourth in the 4×200. It was after. 30.50.
Easton missed out on qualifying for the 100m and 200m, finishing fifth in both, but was just happy to be competing on his home course after missing most of the season due to illness and injury. Two years ago, as a freshman, he helped Warren John F. Kennedy win a bronze medal at State University, and now he has an opportunity to help the Bulldogs accomplish the same thing at regionals. There is.
“We had the 4×200 and we went to Regionals and we didn't get the results we wanted, and we said we're just going to use that and just rally together. As it turned out, all of our handoffs were perfect, and it showed. We came out and got the dubs.” Easton said. “Being at home gives us a sense of what we're used to. We said everything here is ours and we need to keep it and protect it, I We didn't want someone to come in here and take over.''
Easton didn't just miss a few games, he also missed months, including a two-week hospitalization.
“I told them to keep pushing. I didn't know if I was going to go back to district, but God supported me and I'm here. I'm back after missing it for so long. The feeling of being successful makes me feel like everything I put in has paid off, and it feels great.”
Other winners
Niles senior Makiyah Simpson won the 100 (12.40), 200 (25.77) and 4×100 (48.74) along with Anya Marsh, Madison Nickels and Kari Rogers… Lakeview junior Jadon Warner won the high jump with a time of 5-11…Girard senior Anthony Bengala won the 300 hurdles in 40.70 seconds…
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