Mercer County athletes show talent on track

Sharpsville's Tony Zeronis qualified for state after battling back from a car accident last year.
By BILL ALBRIGHT
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
HERMITAGE -- All things considered, it was a good day for Mercer County track and field teams at the District 10 Class AA championships at Hornet Stadium.
Leading the Mercer County athletes in terms of individual wins were the Sharpsville boys as Doug Stevenson blitzed his way to a pair of firsts in the 100- and 200-meter dashes.
Stevenson was clocked at 11.16 seconds in the 100 before out-running the field in the 200 with a time of 22.59.
"I came out here today with a good attitude and right now, I am pretty happy about the way things turned out," said Stevenson. "At about the 150 mark in the 200, the guy [Cody Cipalla of Northwestern] was right there on me. I just kept running hard and fortunately for me, I was able to pass him up at the end."
Finally
Sharpsville's Tony Zeronis won the 300 hurdles in 40.37. Zeronis, a senior, had a rough time making it to the state meet in Shippensburg for various reasons prior to Saturday.
"Actually, this was my first-ever trip to districts," said Zeronis. "Last year I was in a car accident that shattered my hip and ended my whole season.
"I was told by a doctor that I would never be able to participate again, especially in the hurdles," said Zeronis. "After hearing that, it makes this just that much sweeter."
Zeronis was chasing Brendan Taylor of Girard, who hit the last hurdle and stumbled, allowing Zeronis to cruise by him to the tape.
"All I knew is that I just didn't want to lose," said Zeronis. "All I could think of at that time was not to make a mistake."
The Blue Devils also advanced in the 4x400 relay of Colman Munoz, Shane Sigler, Zeronis and Stevenson finished second in 3:30.55.
Hickory's Nate Erdesky brought home a gold medal with a win in the javelin. Coming into the meet with a previous best of 180 feet, Erdesky tossed the spear 192-1 for a district title and a District 10 record.
How it ranks
"I am pretty excited about this whole thing," said Erdesky. "This is the best feeling I have ever had in any of my sports so far. I am only a junior and hopefully, things will even get better from here."
The West Middlesex boys 4x800 relay qualified for the state meet as Adam Shrawder, Barry McLaughlin, Matt Lawhead and Rob Shrawder finished second in 8:15.62.
"We are really happy to be headed to Shippensburg," said McLaughlin. "Two of our guys [Adam Shrawder and McLaughlin] ran their personal bests. Our third guy stumbled a little at the end, but he also ran his best."
Wilmington had one individual state qualifier, Chris Burns, who went 20-101/4 in the long jump.
In the girls division, Wilmington put on a strong effort to finish second in the team race behind champion Fort LeBoeuf.
Qualifiers
Individual qualifiers for the 'Hounds were Carnie Smith in the 100, the 4x100 relay of Samantha Arcuri, Elizabeth DeMedal, Eric Flynn and Smith (51.09); DeMedal in the pole vault (10-6) and Sarah Elder in the javelin throw (121-5).
Sharon's Kaela Strawder tossed 38-5 for third place in the shot put and a trip to Shippensburg. Michelle Miller also placed for Sharon with a fifth in the 3200 (12:10.75).
For the Sharon boys, Robert Harrison picked up a pair of individual places by finishing eighth in the 200 (23.41) and third in the 400 (51.74), while Harrison teamed with Jacques Moss, William Altman and Devin Motley to finish sixth in the 4x400 relay. Motley also placed fourth in the long jump (20-41/4).