Top notes, quotes & amp; anecdotes

In late March, I was wandering around Reilly Stadium in Salem looking for an off-the-wall story angle. (I was trying to avoid writing a "I'd-really-like-to-make-it-to-state" story since I end up writing about 50 of those each spring.)
(I also seem to write a lot about throwing up. I'm not sure what this says about me but it probably isn't good.)
(But I digress.)
I walked up to Jack Betts, an area track official, and said, "Do you know of any good stories?"
"Like what?" he said.
"Heck, I don't know," I said. "Maybe a one-legged sprinter or a guy who used his outstanding high jumping abilities to beat cancer?"
"Well, did you hear about the girl who got lapped in the 100 meters?"
"How do you get lapped in the 100?"
"Well, it isn't easy."
Two months later, area track officials still weren't any help. Ken Jakubec wanted a front page story about his hat. It was a sun hat. It was a nice hat. It was not a front page story kind of hat.
(If Ed Katzman, another area track official, doesn't stop wearing hats, I might write a front page story about that. I'm not quite sure how to describe it. "Dorky" certainly comes close.)
Why am I writing about this? Two reasons.
First, I needed a beginning to this column and this seemed as good as any.
Second, I actually do have a pretty good anecdote involving a track official. (Or, to translate into Betts' official language, "I ACTUALLY DO HAVE A PRETTY GOOD ANECDOTE INVOLVING A TRACK OFFICIAL! ARE YOU A RUNNER IN THIS RACE? NO? WELL, I NEED YOU TO EXIT THE TRACK RIGHT NOW! THIS AREA IS FOR RUNNERS ONLY! DON'T MAKE ME SHOW YOU MY FAKE SHERIFF'S BADGE!)
(By the way, if you're still trying to figure out the first anecdote, please stop. There is no way to get lapped in the 100.)
(Geez, I'm using a lot of parentheses in this column.)
Anyway, the anecdote. At the Division III northeast regional at Navarre Fairless High School (conveniently located outside of northeast Ohio), a girl from Cleveland Central Catholic was warming up for her flight in the discus. She spun too far, threw the discus over the fence and hit a spectator in the shoulder.
Lou Brown, an area track official, looked over at me and said, "That's a foul."
(I'm pretty sure that anecdote wasn't good enough for all that buildup, but it was funny at the time.)
Superman's themeand other stuff
Since most of us will never know what it's like to win a state title, I've figured out the next best thing. At this year's state meet, whenever I was walking from the media area to Jesse Owens (about a three-minute walk), I would play John Williams' "Superman" theme on my iPod. By the time I got inside the stadium, I'd have the song going full-blast while the crowd was going nuts.
You should try this. It's fun. In fact, I'm thinking about hiring someone to play "Superman" whenever I walk into a room. If you're interested, please send me your resume.
Speaking of state titles, we've had six area teams fall short in the championship game this season: Mooney football, Mooney boys soccer, Canfield football, Ursuline girls basketball, Ursuline baseball and Champion softball. The three teams to win a title all came in cross country: Salem's boys and girls and Maplewood's boys.
Mooney's 4x100 relay was the only track state champion. You can see pictures of them on John Jeren's web site: www.twjhs.com/polandtrack. The site has a ton of photos and results from this season. It also has a picture of me flexing, but you should visit it anyway.
Speaking of web sites, you should also visit www.markportermedia.com, which has free highlights of Ohio high school football players (mainly from our area) and a bunch of recruiting information.
Favorites to watchand interview
Favorite coaches to interview: Howland softball coach Andrea Ferenac, Lordstown track coach Frank Rahde, Ursuline baseball coach Sean Durkin, Poland softball coach Reid Lamport and area tennis aficionado Frank Sachire, who runs the Division II sectional. He's not technically a coach but he's one of the nicest people on the planet. (So is Rahde.)
Favorite athletes to interview: Struthers senior Eric Anderson, Mineral Ridge senior Abbey Kiger, Western Reserve junior Alex Rathburn, Poland senior Matt Hiznay and South Range junior David Rach.
Favorite athletes to watch: Struthers senior Justin Penson, Poland junior Kari Thompson, Mooney senior Mike Mazerik, Warren Harding senior J'Abneb Provitt and Crestwood senior Bridget Franek. (Franek isn't from our area, but she deserves to be on this list. Anyone who wins the 800, 1600 and 3200 in the same day is, technically, part gazelle.)
Five quotesI loved the most
After Ottoville senior Stacie Wannemacher won her third straight shot put title, I asked Rathburn if she's sad to see her go. "Um, no," she said. "She won her stuff. She's good to go."
After Mooney won the 4x100 title, Desmond Marrow mentioned that one of the sprinters from Akron Buchtel was predicting victory before the race. "They said we weren't supposed to beat them," Marrow said. "He's like, 'We've got this. We're Buchtel.'
"Yeah, well we're Mooney."
I asked Mazerik, who anchored the winning relay, if he was worried about winning even though the Cardinals had the best qualifying time entering the finals. "I'm always worried until I have the baton in my hand," he said.
Fitch senior Sam Cassano finished third in the discus at the state meet for the third straight year. If he had thrown his best the past two years, he probably would have won. But he kept a good attitude about it. "Hey, stuff happens," he said, "All glory goes to God, even with third place."
Hiznay tore his ACL almost two years ago and, after missing most of last year's track season, he helped the Bulldogs qualify for the state meet in the 4x400 relay. "I run because I love it," he said. "I know I'm not the fastest kid or the all-star of the Mahoning Valley, but I love it."
Joe Scalzo covers high school sports for The Vindicator. Write him at scalzo@vindy.com.