WGH and JFK claim titles

Kennedy's girls needed to win the 4x400 relay; they did so, in record-setting time.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CORTLAND -- Warren Harding High boys track coach Charles Penny entered this week's Trumbull County meet with a good feeling. He also left with a good feeling.
As for the in-between, well ...
"You don't know what this day has been like," he said, shaking his head. "We've had to deal with anything and everything imaginable, from parents to kids to stomach problems to flu to kids dropping out.
"I've gone through 10 years of coaching in two hours."
And yet?
"And yet, we had some individuals who really came through," said Penny, who took the team after Dan Reardon was hired as Ursuline's football coach, "and my coaches have done a heck of a job. We won this meet because of them and our seniors."
Senior thrower Anthony Hoke won the field event MVP -- winning the discus and finishing second in the shot put -- as the Raiders won their second county title in three years, edging McDonald at Thursday's county meet at Lakeview High's stadium.
"It feels good," Penny said.
Strong performances
Warren Kennedy senior Shane Golden, who finished second in the state in the 200 last season, won the 100 and 200, and anchored the winning 4x400 relay to capture the running MVP.
"I've gotten more confident this year and I've gotten stronger," he said. "I worked harder in the off-season. I believe I have a good chance to take the next step.
"I just love running."
Lordstown's James Rook earned the overall MVP after winning the 800 and the 1600.
"This was probably my best meet of the year," he said. "Everything just came together. I felt really good in the mile. After that, I just tried to run on guts."
First title
JFK's girls team entered Thursday's final event, the 4x400, with a slim lead over Lakeview in the team standings, so Eagles coach Tim McNeil challenged his team to run the race of their lives.
They responded. The Eagles broke the stadium and meet record in the event to win their first county title.
"They put everyone away in the 4x400," McNeil said.
They also got a record-setting performance from Angeline Cicero in the 300 hurdles, who had a good feeling about her team's chances entering the meet.
"We know we have a good team," she said. "We have hard practices every single day. I'm definitely very happy with how everyone ran today. It was a team effort."
The Eagles have had talented runners before, but this year's team has more depth than past years.
"We knew going in we had a good shot at the team title," McNeil said. "This was the first time all season we had everyone together, whether it was because of the ACT or prom or vacation. But we thought we had a pretty strong team."
Stepping up
Liberty senior Jasmine Smith, who has won state titles in both the 4x100 and 4x200 relays the past two years, won the 100 and 200, and anchored the winning 4x100 to win the running MVP.
Newton Falls' Christina Martin finished second in the shot put and discus to capture the field MVP.
Maplewood's Jen Grayson won the 100 hurdles and broke her meet and stadium record in the high jump (5 feet, 51/4 inches) to win the overall MVP. She just missed a personal best of 5-61/4, but after missing a few weeks early in the season with illness, Grayson knows her best jumps are ahead.
"Each meet I keep getting better," she said.
She's hoping to clear 5-7 by the end of the season. Western Reserve's Anna Marie Ricciardi -- one of Grayson's friends -- jumped 5-7 to repeat as state champion at last year's state meet.
"Last season, she asked me what I was going to do when she's gone," Grayson said with a laugh. "I told her I would cry a lot ... with tears of victory."
scalzo@vindy.com