TRUMBULL TRACK Tondo rallies to win

Her come-from-behind performance gave McDonald the win in the 4x800 relay.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CORTLAND -- McDonald sophomore Ashleigh Tondo spent plenty of time on her feet during the last leg of Tuesday's 4x800-meter relay, so when she crossed the finish line, she decided enough was enough.
"My legs just gave out," she said.
Fortunately for the Blue Devils, it happened after Tondo put on one of the most impressive showings of the first day of the Trumbull County meet at Lakeview High School.
Tondo began the leg trailing by more than 50 meters, but steadily caught up to Warren JFK's Chelsey Morganstern. Tondo finally caught her with 150 meters left, but she still needed to hang on.
Down the stretch
What was she thinking during the last 50 meters?
"Oh my gosh, I'm running against a sprinter," she said.
She held on, edging Morganstern by less than a second. She had to feel pretty good at the end, right?
"Well, not physically," she said with a laugh.
McDonald also won the boys 4x800 -- Tuesday's only running final -- but the Blue Devils didn't have it quite as tough. Tyler Lunn anchored the winning relay, which beat Lordstown by almost six seconds.
McDonald, which finished second at state in the event last year, lost anchor Kevin Stonestreet to graduation. But the Blue Devils keep finding -- and developing -- top distance runners each year.
"We have so many guys at McDonald who just love to run," Lunn said. "There's a passion. Guys want to be on this team and the guys who are on the team want to push themselves to stay on it."
Strong showing
Howland's boys team, which won last year's county meet, got a pair of field event winners as Dustin Rose won the discus and Brandon Alexander repeated as the high jump champion.
"I'm a lot more dedicated this year," said Rose, who improved four feet on last year's throw. "Coach [Ed] Wilson has really helped me out a lot. I was hoping to win [on Tuesday], but this was a pretty good group."
Alexander, who missed on three attempts to break the county record of 6 feet, 61/2 inches, is also a wrestling and football standout. He'll play defensive back at Toledo this fall.
"They all play a different role," Alexander said. "The three sports help me be a better athlete."
Howland led in the boys standings after three events, but will face a tough challenge from Warren Harding when the meet concludes on Thursday.
Warren JFK junior Jenna Brian, who placed ninth at last year's state meet, won her first county title in the discus. For the past two years, she leaned on Kennedy's Michelle Rossio, who won a state title in the event last year.
Now that Rossio's gone, she's had to become a mentor to the younger throwers on her team.
"I miss her," she said. "She was always there to cheer me up. Now there's all these freshman and I've had to become a leader. It's hard sometimes."
Still, Brian seems to have adjusted well and has high expectations for this season.
"I missed the podium by one spot last year," she said. "I expected to do better. I want to do better this year."
Newton Falls' Heather Martin has been one of the area's most consistent jumpers this season. She won her first county title on Tuesday, calling it the biggest win of her season.
So far, anyway. "I knew I had a shot at it," she said of the win. "I've done a lot of conditioning and strength training this year. My goal is to make it out of regionals and get to state."