Hood earns All-Ohio honors at state

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Neighbors | Submitted.Boardman High School's 4x100 relay team Lesley Koch, left, Doriyon Glass, Nicole Biagetti, Nicole Vlad, and thrower Valerie Hood qualified and competed at the state track and field meet. .Hood earned All-Ohio honors.

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Neighbors | Submitted.Boardman High School senior Valerie Hood earned All-Ohio honors in shot put and discus at the state track and field meet. .She placed fifth in the discus and and seventh in the shot put.

Boardman senior Valerie Hood earned All-Ohio honors in the shot put and discus at the state track and field meet Saturday at the Jesse Owens stadium on the campus of Ohio State University.

The top eight in each event earned All-Ohio honors.

Hood entered the discus event with the seventh best regional performance. She surpassed that ranking by placing fifth at state with a toss of 128-8.

Junior Ali Tolich from Fitch won the event with a toss of 154-7.

Within an hour after the discus, the shot put competition started and Hood had one throw of 39-4 in the semifinals before competition was halted due to a severe thunderstorm.

After an hour and a half delay, competition resumed and Hood’s second throw was 39-5 Ω, placing her between ninth and 10th with the top nine going to the finals.

Her final toss of 40-2 º in the semis was not only good enough to get her into the finals, but moved her to seventh place and another All-Ohio honor.

Tolich was the winner again, throwing 43-6 æ.

“Valerie came through with a big throw under pressure in the shot put to finish in seventh place. She struggled a little in the discus with a few fouls, but still stuck one throw that gave her another All-Ohio honor in her first year of making it to the state outdoor meet,” head coach Denise Gorski said.

“I give a lot of credit for her success this year to not only Valerie for her hard work and determination but her guidance from throwing coach Tim Swartz,” Gorski said.

As a result of Hood’s success, she has been chosen to represent Team Ohio at the Midwest Meet of Champions. This meet showcases the top seniors from Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan and will be held at Northrop High School in Fort Wayne, Ind.