By JOE SCALZO

By JOE SCALZO

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

RAVENNA — Mere seconds after crossing the finish line in the 800-meter run on Saturday, Salem senior Patrick Gorby collapsed on the ground, struggling to keep his head off the grass.

He rested for a moment, then slowly got up. As he struggled toward the exit, a reporter walked up to him and said, “I think you just set the Division II state record.”

“What?” Gorby said. “Are you serious?”

He was. And he did.

Just outside the fence, his former teammate, Aiman Scullion, high-fived Gorby and yelled, “Oh my God, you’re a beast!”

His cross country coach, Rick Wilson, yelled, “Where’s my ‘Stop Gorby’ T-shirt?”

Fans and teammates patted him on the back. One rival runner even went up to him and said, “Amazing. I’ll get to tell people I ran against you.”

Stunned

All the while, Gorby was standing there with a stunned look on his face, just waiting for the official results to come out.

“When I see it, I’ll believe it,” he said.

Believe it. Gorby’s record of 1:52.48 was for real. And it was just the beginning of a big, big day for the Quakers track team.

Less than an hour later, Salem’s 4x400 relay team was standing at the starting line with a four-point lead over track powerhouse Akron Buchtel in the team standings. Anchor runner Jon Lee knew the Quakers were one good race from their first regional title.

He got the baton with a huge lead and never came close to losing it, finishing two seconds ahead of second-place Mooney to clinch the championship, nine points ahead of Buchtel at Ravenna Stadium.

“This is amazing beyond words,” said Lee, who also anchored the first place 4x200 relay and second-place 4x100 relay and finished third in the long jump. “I knew we had a good track team and this is a good way to end my senior year.”

Lee then caught himself.

“Hopefully we’ll do something good down there,” he said.

Valley going strong

It was the second regional boys title for the Valley this weekend — Warren JFK won the Div. III crown on Friday — and came one year after Mooney finished second to Buchtel (by 21 points) at the Div. II regional tournament.

“They performed today — what else can I say?” Salem track coach Todd Huda said. “The past few years, the cross country team has gotten the attention and these guys have been sort of the hidden class.

“They haven’t had much success in the other sports this year, but these kids just love track. They work their butts off in the weight room and at practice and now you’re seeing the results.”

Gorby was actually concerned he might cost the Quakers a team victory. He decided early in the day to scratch in the 1600 to focus on the 800, figuring it was his best chance for a state berth. He forgot to set his watch for the race and ended up running the first 400 meters in 54 seconds — two or three seconds faster than he wanted — and fought exhaustion over the final 200 meters.

“From personal experience, I’m a better runner when I run dumb,” Gorby said. “Some people like to think a lot, but I tried that and I always do bad. The less I know, the better I do.”

The previous Div. II state record was 1:52.73, set by Rob Myers of Lancaster Fairfield Union in 1999. (The overall state record is 1:48.93, set by Cleveland St. Ignatius’ Marc Sylvester in 2001.) Gorby’s time was five seconds better than his previous best and three seconds lower than the school record.

“I guess today was just my day,” Gorby said.

Moving on

Liberty sophomore Fitzgerald Toussaint won the 100 — pumping his fist as he crossed the finish line in Lane 2 — and helped the Leopards placed third in the 4x100 relay, despite struggling with still-sore hamstrings that forced him to skip the 200.

Toussaint, who had the last name Edwards during football season, finished fifth in the 100 and 200 at last year’s regional. The top four move on to state competition.

“I woke up every hour that night [last year] thinking about it,” he said. “It motivated me this year. Even at three-team track meets, I ran hard, thinking, ‘Wait until I get down to Ravenna.’”

His has two goals for next weekend: finish in the top four and beat Steubenville senior Maurice Bogard. Considering Bogard finished second in the state last year, it’s a pretty good bet he’ll accomplish the first goal if he accomplishes the second.

“I’m waiting for him,” Toussaint said.

Toussaint benefited from running with junior teammate James Allen, who finished fifth in the 100 and placed second in the 200.

“He always pushes me,” said Toussaint. “He’s real tall and has a really long stride. When you see a guy with a long stride and you’ve got tiny steps, he’s most likely gonna win.”

Goals accomplished

Mooney senior Nick Pederzolli accomplished two of his three goals on Saturday — winning the 400 and anchoring the second-place 4x200 relay. He placed sixth in the 200, although it might be a blessing since it’ll allow him to focus on his best race(s).

“I wanted to make it in all three, but that might be better because I’ll get a break,” said Pederzolli, who finished fourth in the state in the 400 in Div. III last year as a junior at St. Thomas Aquinas. “I’m really proud of my teammates. They stuck it out today.”

On the girls side, Hubbard junior Katoria Carter finished second in the 400 and anchored the second-place 4x200 relay and fourth-place 4x400 relay. She changed her strategy on the 400, slowing down in the middle to save her legs for the final 100 meters.

“I wanted to have something left,” she said.

West Branch’s Taylor Kring placed second in the 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles and helped the Warriors win the 4x400 relay and finish an area-best sixth in the team standings. Considering she’s just a freshman, Kring served notice that she’ll be a state contender for the next three years, too.

Newton Falls junior KaiCee Kubicina won the discus — the only area girl to win an individual title. Buchtel’s girls won the team title, easily edging second-place Rocky River 87-48.

scalzo@vindy.com