Despite pain Lipinsky hurdles to victory

Nursing a sore foot, the Boardman senior won the Federal's 110 hurdles.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOARDMAN -- Boardman senior Mark Lipinsky sat on the Fitch High stadium steps on Friday, resting his sore right foot while enjoying one of the biggest -- and most surprising -- victories of his high school career.
"I'm pretty honored," he said, "and thankful."
And worried. And if he isn't, everyone else is. The pain in his foot started soon after the Optimist meet two weeks ago, but Lipinsky didn't know something was wrong until a few days later.
"We were at a Tuesday meet against Fitch and I just couldn't bring myself to run," he said. "I couldn't hurdle. It hurt to run."
His doctor's first guess was ligament damage. Maybe a stress fracture. He had an X-ray. It was inconclusive.
Then he had a bone scan. Something was wrong, but they still figured it was a stress fracture. Then he had an MRI. It wasn't a stress fracture. It was a cyst in his second metatarsal bone. (Basically, a small hole.) It's caused by a tumor and, like most tumors, nobody's sure how he got it.
But as far as his doctor was concerned, his season was over.
"He was upset that I was walking on it," Lipinsky said.
Still, Lipinsky had a decision to make. He could run on it and risk breaking his foot, or he could have surgery.
He decided to run.
"It's my senior season," he said. "Why not take the risk? Worst case scenario, I break it. At least I can say I tried."
On Friday, he did a lot more than that. Lipinsky took first place in the 110-meter hurdles at the Federal League championship, setting a personal record (14.37) while beating one of the state's top hurdlers -- GlenOak's Brian Hartline.
"It hurts a whole lot," he said of his foot. "And I'll probably have surgery on it sooner or later. But I'm just going to rest it, do my best and see what happens.
"I'm just thankful I'm still running."
Fitch's Sam Cassano placed first in the shot put with a throw of 170 feet, 10 inches -- just four inches off the league record -- and teammate Dave Medicus won the pole vault with a jump of 14-0 -- just three inches off the league record.
Medicus, who has stage two sclerosis, battled shin splints earlier in the season and must visit a chiropractor three times a week to adjust his back. The condition causes pressure in his back, which affects the nerves in his legs and weakens his muscles.
He's feeling better and he recently switched to a 15-inch bar -- one inch longer than his usual bar. He's hoping to finally top 14 feet in the next few weeks.
"It's somewhat of a mental thing," he said of adjusting to the new bar. "It's just a different feel."
Medicus just missed making the state meet last season.
The Falcons finished sixth, just ahead of Boardman. Canton GlenOak cruised to the boys team title.
Girls
Boardman's girls team got a pair of wins from senior Kristen Lauer (high jump) and junior Jessica Moore (800) to finish second behind Massillon Jackson. The Spartans also finished second in the league in the overall standings. Fitch finished seventh.
"I was really happy with how I did," said Lauer, who jumped 5-3 for the first time since she was a sophomore. "I knew there was good competition and I didn't know how I'd do.
"I didn't expect to win it, but I'm glad I did."
Lauer tweaked her approach and has nearly cleared 5-4 this season. With another inch or two, she could easily make it to the state meet.
"I would love to," she said. "That would be awesome."
scalzo@vindy.com