Provitt, Panezich lead Ohio to victory

Panezich was named the meet's "Star of Stars" in the field events.
DELAWARE, Ohio -- Warren Harding senior Benja'Lan Provitt won two individual events and was a member of the winning 4x100-meter relay as Ohio won its 15th boys title in 31 years at Saturday's Midwest Meet of Champions at Ohio Wesleyan.
Ohio scored 166 points, edging Michigan (155) and Indiana (131) in the meet, which pits the top seniors from the three states.
The Ohio girls also won, scoring 174 points to beat Michigan (170) and Indiana (111).
Provitt, who won a state championship in the 200 last week, won the 100, 200 and joined three sprinters from Cleveland Glenville in the winning relay.
"B.J. was outstanding," said Ohio head coach Dave Pavlansky, who also coaches at Boardman High. "He represented Warren and Youngstown exceptionally well. We were proud to have him on the team."
Strong performances
Springfield senior Nick Panezich, a three-time state champion, won the discus with a throw of 185 feet, 1 inch and set a new school record in the shot put with a throw of 60-7 3/4 to finish second.
Panezich was named the meet's "Star of Stars" in the field events.
Lisbon's Dom DeFilippo placed second in the discus and Beaver Local's Dan Kinsey was third.
"It is remarkable that a state in any year would go 1-2-3 in any event at the Midwest Meet," said Pavlansky, who was serving as head coach for the first time after three years as an assistant. "It is even more remarkable that the three young men are from the same area, are great friends, and have competed against each other on a regular basis.
"These guys were bombing them so far in Friday's practice the Glenville guys and B.J. stopped practicing handoffs to watch. They were amazed."
Lordstown's Tom Andriko ran the first leg for the winning 4x800 relay and placed ninth in the 800.
On the girls side, Mathews' Tara Ford and West Branch's McKenzie Wallace each ran legs on the second-place 4x800 team. Wallace also placed seventh in the 800. Her teammate, Amanda Scott, ran a leg on the second-place 4x400 team.
Poland's Colleen Moran placed eighth in the 1600.
The meet, which started in 1974, will move to Michigan next year after a nine-year stint in Ohio.