McDonald success starts at sunrise

The Blue Devils won boys and girls district track titles in Div. III.

By JOE SCALZO

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

NEW MIDDLETOWN — Because success in track relies so heavily on winning the gene lottery — and because it doesn’t have the same roster restrictions as, say, football or baseball — work ethic sometimes gets overlooked.

Track coaches often have to deal with athletes begging out of practice with phantom knee injuries or headaches that strike from 3 p.m. to 6.

Which is why what’s happening at McDonald High School this spring is so special. Three days a week, Blue Devils coach Louis Dimotrovich drags his butt out of bed before sunrise so he can be at the track at 5:45 for practice. Then, after school, his athletes work out again.

“They don’t mind it in any way, shape or form,” said Domitrovich. “It’s a lifestyle. That’s basically what we preach to the kids. Being fit and healthy is something you’ve got to work at your entire life.

“If you could drive past the school at 6 o’clock in the morning and see all the cars in the back, it’s pretty cool.”

That work ethic is why, after losing four All-Ohio track athletes to graduation, McDonald is strong once again this spring. Only this time, the school’s girls team joined them at the top of the podium as the Blue Devils swept the Division III district titles on Friday at Springfield High School.

“The girls were lacking for so long,” said McDonald girls coach Courtney Kunkel, who credited her assistant coaches John Fields (sprints) and Mary Domitrovich (throws) with helping the team break through. “We didn’t have good people to help us out and the girls needed that.”

Both teams did it with depth. On the boys side, wins from Miles Dunlap (110 hurdles), Devon Colburn (300 hurdles) and Matthias Tayala (discus) won titles and a meet record-breaking 4x400 relay helped the Blue Devils pull away for a 112-89 win over East Palestine.

“Any time you can graduate four guys who were on the podium last year in Columbus, then come back the next year and be competitive — even more than competitive, to be in the running for some things — it’s a great thing,” said Domitrovich. “Corey [Lunn] and Devon are by far our team leaders. They hold everything together, from a workout perspective, a psychological perspective and a physical perspective.”

McDonald’s girls won the 4x100 and 4x400 relays, and also got individual wins from Lindsay Repp (300 hurdles) and Joh’Vonnie Mosley (who set a meet record in the shot put and also won the discus) to edge Mineral Ridge 86-68.

“These girls started working with John and I back in September,” said Kunkel. “After getting second [at districts] last year, this was our goal.

“Don’t get me wrong — [winning] county was great, ITCL was great. But this is what we were shooting for.”

On the individual side, seven boys set meet records this week (not counting Warren JFK’s Michael Perisa in the 800, who would have set a meet record had Maplewood’s Eric Rupe not beat him to it) and two girls set marks — Mosley and Ursuline senior Michaela Write.

East Palestine’s Shane Peterson and the Maplewood 4x800 relay set their records on Wednesday’s first day. Mathews’ Mike Davis (100), Crestview’s Jakob Leon (high jump), East Palestine’s 4x100 and McDonald’s 4x400 set their marks Friday on another gorgeous day.

Write actually set the 100 record twice — first in the preliminaries and then again in the finals.

“I just tried to focus and run hard,” she said. “This week at practice has been tough, getting my body prepared for districts.”

The past two years, Write has benefited from getting pushed in practice from Jasmine Brown, an All-Ohio sprinter. But when Brown tore her ACL before the season in a family reunion basketball game, she had to learn to go it alone.

It was tough at first, but she’s adjusted.

“It’s a blessing to get this far,” Write said. “I’m just focused on getting on the track for the next meet ahead.

“I just hope I can get as far as I can, hopefully to state. It’s every runner’s goal.”

scalzo@vindy.com