TRUMBULL TRACK AND FIELD Champion's girls claim county title in last event

Howland ran away with the boys title.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CORTLAND -- After plenty of cheering and Marlena Wolfe's hug, Champion High girls track coach Doug Deas had a decision to make. He could take a seat on the stadium steps, basking in the glow of the first county championship in school history -- or he could run a victory lap.
He ran. (OK, he mostly walked, but it was a lap nonetheless.)
"Is it a shock? It's a shock," said Deas with a smile. "Champion track came into its own today."
And the Flashes did it with suspense and style.
Down to the wire
Clinging to a slim lead, Deas (who, like all track coaches, had added up the points in his head) knew his team needed to edge Warren Kennedy in the final event, the 4x400-meter relay, to win.
They did, running a meet-record time of 4:12.3 to beat the Eagles by three-tenths of a second -- and win the meet 73-69.
"It was breathtaking," Deas said. "I told them they needed to at least beat JFK [in the relay]. So they went out and won the whole thing."
When the final results were announced, Wolfe -- who anchored the 4x400 relay -- jumped into Deas arms, then ran up the stadium steps to grab the trophy. Wolfe also won the 800, 1600 and, on Tuesday, anchored the winning 4x800 relay.
"I usually just run the mile and the 800, but [Deas] decided to put me in the 4x800," Wolfe said. "It turned out to be a good decision."
Wolfe won the 1600 easily, then held off McDonald's Ashleigh Tondo to win the 800.
"I liked the 800 because I like having someone to chase and to pace off of," said Wolfe, the county-high point leader in the running events. "You really want someone out there with you."
Individual honors
Girard sophomore Cachet Murray set meet and stadium records in the 100 and 200 to earn meet MVP. She won Division II state titles in both events last year. She also won the long jump on Tuesday -- the meet's first day.
JFK senior Michelle Rossio won the discus and the shot put to score the highest in the field events. LaBrae's Laura Kreft set the meet record in the 100 hurdles and Maplewood's Jen Grayson set the meet record in the 300 hurdles.
Liberty set meet records in winning the 4x100 and 4x200 relays.
Boys
Howland won its first boys county title -- with less suspense than Champion -- as the Tigers edged Warren Harding 120-77.
"I was happy with a lot of what we did," Howland coach Jack Tominey said. "A lot of kids stepped up and did a good job. The overall attitude of this year's team has been great."
Howland's George Fetchko won the discus and finished second in the shot put to earn high point honors in the field events.
"We put a lot of hard work into the off-season," Fetchko said of the Tigers. "It's nice to see it coming together."
Fetchko didn't break the meet record in the discus, but was happy with his performance.
"I threw really well in the shot [on Tuesday] and had my best throw by a foot and a half," he said.
Howland's 4x100 team tied the meet record and Tiger hurdler Tony Davis broke the meet record in the 110 hurdles.
Strong showings
JFK sprinter Shane Golden won the 200 and 4x100 relay, finished second in the 100 and third in the 4x100 to earn meet MVP.
Harding senior Tjawonkher Davis won the 100 and finished second in the 200 and 4x100 relay to earn high point honors in the running events.
McDonald senior Kevin Stonestreet set a meet record in the 800.
scalzo@vindy.com