DIVISION III TRACK Irish, Wildcats, Warriors make for a fine finish to district drama

Chaney's Latalia Jones won the 100 and the 200 and placed second in the 400.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
SALEM -- With his team leading by just a half-point over Struthers and the district title on the line, Ursuline High junior Derrick Stewart stood at the starting line of the 4x400-meter relay and readied himself for his biggest race of the season.
So far.
The Irish led after the second leg, but Struthers junior Ty Campana overtook Ursuline sophomore Ryan Novotny during the third leg, forcing Stewart to make up a 10-meter deficit.
"We knew we had to win this," he said. "When I hit the last 200 [meters], it was do or die. It's go home or game on. I sacrificed everything I had left for the team."
Stewart won, but some of the drama melted away a few minutes later when the Wildcats' relay was disqualified for running on the line.
Still, it was a fine finish for the Irish, who last won a district title in 1999.
"For us to be in the mix, we had to make every point count," said Ursuline coach George Stroia. "And the kids understood that. Obviously, Derrick is a great runner, but if you look at how everything worked out, we got a lot of guys who contributed.
"Is track really a team sport? I think so. And I think they showed that today."
The Wildcats won two relays -- the 4x100 and the 4x200 -- to finish second, just ahead of West Branch. The top four finishers in each event advanced to next week's regional tournament at Ravenna High School.
Mooney junior Noah Brak (800) and Southeast seniors William Harnar (shot put) and Sean Cornell (high jump) also won district titles.
Girls
For the girls, Chaney sophomore Latalia Jones won the 100 and the 200 and placed second in the 400 as the Cowgirls finished fifth.
West Branch edged Poland 104-100 to repeat as girls district champions. The Warriors also won last year's regional title.
"I'm tired," Jones said with a smile. "I ran pretty well except I got a bad start in the 100."
Jones also won the 100 at last year's district meet, but could not run multiple events because of a hip injury and did not make it out of the regional. She wants to change that this year.
"Now I know what to expect at the regional," she said. "I'd like to make it to state in all three."
Her finish in the 400 was the biggest surprise. Jones just started running the event two meets ago and she's still learning how to pace herself.
"I wasn't sure how I would do," she said. "It's pretty surprising."
West Branch junior McKenzie Wallace won the 400 -- the only Warrior to win an event, although they advanced in all four relays.
Poland junior Colleen Moran won the 1600 and the Bulldogs won the 4x100 relay, placed second in the 4x200 and third in the 4x400 after winning the 4x800 on Thursday.
Salem, which took third, won the 4x200 and 4x400 relays and got individual wins from sophomores Charity Montford (400) and Deirdre Clary (3200).
The meet was originally scheduled to end on Friday evening, but was postponed until Saturday morning due to bad weather.
scalzo@vindy.com