Spartan Frazzini excels at the top

Boardman’s soft-spoken athlete lets her big stick do her talking.

“The weather was great today and we actually ran the 3200 first, so I was able to get the record out of the way, then focus on my mile. I’ve kind of been running for trophies the past few meets, so now I can focus on running for times.”

Samantha Hamilton

Jackson-Milton sprinter who set records in both the 1600 and 3200

By ERIC HAMILTON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

AUSTINTOWN — Boardman High’s Ashlee Frazzini might be a little shy, but she sure can fly.

The senior didn’t have much to say after she won the county championship in the pole vault on Saturday, but she already had spoken volumes during her event. Frazzini cleared 10 feet 4 inches in the vault to break the county record and win by more than two feet.

This in an event that goes virtually unnoticed during most local meets because only two area schools — Boardman and Fitch — have competitors in the vault.

So why did she choose pole vault, instead of the more popular running, throwing or jumping events?

“I guess I just like being upside down,” said Frazzini, who also won the county title in 2008. “It’s like gymnastics and is very technical and challenging. You have to have all your steps down just right and you have to have the perfect plant.

“I just wanted to get first again this year, like I did last year. We compete every week in the Federal League because most of the schools have the event. Today was my PR, and now I know I can go that high and I want to go higher.”

While Frazzini was excelling through the air, her teammates were piling up points on the ground. Boardman used its depth in several events and several standout performances to win its ninth straight Mahoning County team championship.

The Spartans rolled up 152.3 team points to edge Fitch (138), who finished second for the second straight year.

“Fitch is a very good team,” Boardman coach Denise Gorski said. “They are deep and have already won some invitationals this season. They really challenged us today and that will make us better.

“For us to win our ninth in a row is a credit to all my assistant coaches and athletes and all the support from the parents. This is a fun team this year and the girls are willing to train hard and really compete. They make me want to keep coaching.”

Lauren Agnew completed a difficult double by winning the 800 and 1600, while Brittany Tucker was a workhorse, taking third in the 100 hurdles, second in the long jump, fourth in the 100 and fifth in the 4X100 relay.

Nicole Vlad was second in the 300 hurdles and Guiliani Silvestri took second in the 100 hurdles. Valerie Hood and Erin Brown went 2-3 in the shot put, Brown was fourth in the discus, while Danielle Hobbs was third. Nicole Biagetti and Tucker finished first and second, respectively, in the long jump.

Fitch got outstanding efforts from Ali Tolich, who won the shot put and took second in the discus and Jen Shiley, who won the 200 and 400 and anchored the Falcons’ winning 4X200 and 4X400 teams.

Chaney’s Shatasia Walker put forth an impressive individual performance by winning the 100 and 300 hurdles and taking third in the 200.

Division II

West Branch defended its title in Division II with 152.5 points to outdistance Cardinal Mooney (136).

The Warriors were led by Emilee Zets, who broke the meet record in the 800, ran on the winning 4X400 and 4X800 squads.

Lindsay O’Donnell won the 1600, was second in the 800 and on the Warriors’ winning 4X800 team.

Division III

Lowellville (137) won the D3 county championship be edging Western Reserve (125). Springfield (100) was third.

The outstanding individual performance was turned in by Jackson-Milton’s Samantha Hamilton, who won both the 1600 and 3200. Her time of 11:18 in the 3200 broke a 10-year-old meet record of 11:33 by Kim Nemergut.

“That was my goal today,” said Hamilton, who also broke records this week at the Western Reserve Invite and at Columbiana. “The weather was great today and we actually ran the 3200 first, so I was able to get the record out of the way, then focus on my mile.

“I’ve kind of been running for trophies the past few meets, so now I can focus on running for times. I feel like I’m under control and comfortable and we have some big meets coming up with good competition.”

Boys

Boardman High jumpers Caleb Matthews and Chase Hammond created quite the dilemma for track officials.

After the pair both cleared a meet record 6-6 in the high jump, officials spent the good part of two hours trying to decide who would get the record.

Hammond won the event based on the number of missing at 6-6. But both competitors tied the record. The rule book was pretty vague on the situation, too.

So after some debate, a ruling was handed down.

“We get to share it,” Hammond said. “And Caleb’s a good person to share it with. I was just going to go 6-8, but I decided not to leave him behind like that.”

Two record-breaking jumpers was a pretty good problem to have for the Boardman boy track team, as it defended its county title by scoring 192 points to pull away from second-place Fitch (111).

Matthews played a big role in the team title, adding victories in th long jump, 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles to his second in the high jump.

Teammate Sam Deskin completed the double in the 1600 and 3200, winning both individual championships.

“It feels awesome to win county titles in both,” said Deskin, who was seventh in the state in the 1600 during indoor track. “There are big meets like districts and regionals, but I hold this meet dear, too.

“I can use this meet to gauge my fitness and overall, I’m pretty happy. It was nice to run against some local kids and for our team, this is really our first big team title.”

T.J. Jordon won the 100 and finished fifth in the 200, Corey Linsley took the shot put crown and fourth in the discus and Alex Lipinsky was third in the discus.

Division II

Mooney, competing without its state caliber 4X100 team, won the Div. II team title with 149 points. West Branch (135) was a close second.

Matt McWilson won the only event he ran in, claiming the title in the 100. Nevin Lesnoski and Cory Okular were second and third in the 3200, Mario Ferlano won the 300 hurdles, Dom Jackett and Eric Vendemia finished first and second in the shot put and Ricki Williams and Karrington Griffin took the top spots in the 200.

Division III

South Range scored 153 points to claim the team crown in Div. III. Springfield (110.5) was second.

James Nell paced the Raiders with victories in the 100 and 200. John Seaver was third in the shot put, Floyd Kenney won the 3200 and took second in the 1600 was third in the 800.

Ethan Witmer finished second in the 110 and 300 hurdles and Kyle Seaver was second in the high jump.