SVC TRACK MEET Talented Fitch ends Spartans' three-year reign

Jason Aikens and Davanzo Tate led the Falcons to the SVC track title.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
AUSTINTOWN -- When Jason Aikens was a freshman, he knew his class was special. The athletes were a little bigger. A little faster. A little better.
"It was a very strong group," he said. "I knew we just had to stay with it."
Three (sometimes frustrating) years later, the Falcons have put together the best boys track and field team in the Steel Valley Conference. They proved it on Thursday, easily beating Boardman 127-78 to end the Spartans' three-year run at the top.
"We're also probably the healthiest team here, which was a big factor for us tonight," Fitch coach Rich Kempe said. "We have a lot more balance than we usually do.
"We also have a lot of good seniors and that helps. It's sort of like a men versus boys situation."
Fitch is 7-for-17
Aikens won the 800-meter and was part of the winning 4x100 relay. Fitch senior Davanzo Tate won the 100 and 200 as the Falcons won seven of the 17 events.
Mooney's Erik Moss was the only other double winner in the individual events, winning the 1600 and 3200.
With Boardman and Warren Harding struggling with injuries, Fitch seems best prepared for next week's district meet.
"We haven't had any injuries, so we're very healthy," Aikens said. "We're strong all the way around."
Girls
The night before the SVC meet, Boardman girls track coach Denise Gorski got creamed.
Seniors Allison Brager and Bridget Beachy used shaving cream to write inspirational records in her yard and her driveway.
"The seniors always have a tradition of decorating our house," Gorski said with a laugh. "They used to [toilet paper] the house, but one year they got carried away, so we put a stop to that."
The fun carried over to Thursday, as Brager broke her meet record of 10 feet in the pole vault by jumping 10-1. Brager, a state qualifier last year in the event, will continue her track career next year at Brown University.
Beachy ran the second leg of the 4x800 relay team that ran a meet-record time of 9:50.7. The Spartans set the old record of 9:51.7 in 1986.
Boardman won its third straight SVC title, easily beating Fitch 156-73.
"They totally exceeded my expectations," Gorski said. "This group just loves to compete and that's why they're so fun to coach."
Stepping in
Boardman senior Monica Cuevas won the 200 (an event she never runs), broke her own meet record in the 400 and anchored the winning 4x400 relay. Cuevas is the area's best 800 runner, but made the move to the 200 on Thursday to help the team.
"I didn't think I'd be this tired," she said after the 200. "My muscles aren't used to it. I spent more time in prayer this week because I knew I hadn't run these events."
The switch is temporary, but the pain has endured this season. Cuevas was plagued with shin splints early in the year and her legs still tighten up.
"It's just my shins; it wasn't like I got hurt in some dramatic fall or something," said Cuevas, who will run track at Columbia University in New York next year. "I just make sure to stretch before the races."
Then comes the worst part of rehab -- icing.
The icing treatment
"I have to do the horrible ice bucket every day," she said. "I can't stand it. And it's such a waste of money -- a dollar a day. It's miserable, but I know it makes me better."
Just in time, too. Cuevas will likely make it to the state meet in the 800 and 4x800 relay, and possibly in the 4x400.
"Everything is different this year," said Cuevas, who ran the 800 and 4x800 at last year's state meet. "I'm not as nervous before my races."
Boardman junior Brittany Durkin won the 800 and 1600 and Ursuline senior Amber Miller won both hurdling events. Boardman's Carrie Zorman ran a 16.0 to finish second in the 100 hurdles, tying Kelly Nurminen's school record set in 1987.
scalzo@vindy.com