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Salem sweeps county track meet
By Jon moffett
EAST PALESTINE
Former area track standout Jim Ward was present at the Columbiana County meet to make sure his 47-year-old record survived another lap.
Ward, who set records in the 200- and 400-meter dashes in 1963, was an honored guest at the 107th meet on Tuesday. And he watched closely as runners came mere seconds away from breaking his records.
Salem sophomore Zack Penick was the favorite to break one or both of the records. But the records remain, as Penick was about two seconds behind in both races.
When asked if there was any added pressure because of the fanfare surrounding the races, Penick said it didn’t affect him.
The pressure didn’t affect any of the Quakers. The boys team won the meet with 169 points. Columbiana placed second with 99 points.
And the Quakers also won on the girls side with a score of 140.5 points. Behind them was United with 138.5 points.
The latter was a close race down to the end.
The Quakers and second-place Golden Eagles were within four points going into the event’s final race — the 4x400-meter relay.
And while United was able to win the event, Salem placed second to win the meet. The Quakers won a combined 12 events between the boys and girls teams, including five of the eight relays.
The boys swept all four of their relays.
The most dramatic race also had a Quaker finish first, but only by the slimmest of margins.
Salem’s Alex Stone seemed to celebrate his 1600-meters win a tad early, lifting his arms in the air. Just as he did, Jake Boyer of East Liverpool ran into him across the finish line. Stone was credited with a time of 4:34.67, and Boyer was clocked at 4:34.68.
The other close race came not between two runners, but by an athlete and the clock.
United senior Stephen Baker was also highly touted entering the 110-meter high hurdles. He was targeting the record for the race, which was announced as the oldest track record in the county.
The record, a time of 14.8 set in 1950, stood as Baker’s time of 15.21 was good enough for first, but not for history.
“I felt a little bit of pressure, but I just tried to focus on the race and what I needed to do,” Baker said. “I actually felt a little slow; my legs felt a little heavy. But it feels good to win.”
Joining Baker were a pair of Golden Eagles who competed in the 300-meter hurdles. And while they weren’t necessarily chasing a record, they were chasing each other.
Chelsea Laughlin, a senior, and Sierra Parks, a junior, have had a friendly competition between the two of them all year. Parks won the event, and Laughlin placed second. The latter said the outcome is nothing new.
“I’ve been chasing her all year,” Laughlin said. “I run after her all the time, because she obviously is better. But it helps both of us to compete.”
Laughlin said she benefits from having a strong teammate to push her during the race. Parks agreed with the sentiment, and added that the two switch places almost every other meet.
“You always have that sneaking suspicion that they’re going to come up on you,” Parks said. “But you just have to keep going and push through it.”
Parks said she hopes to make the state meet in the 100-meter hurdles. Laughlin said she doesn’t care what event it is, as long as she can make the trip to Columbus with her teammates.
Running MVPs for the meet were Nick Melone, of Columbiana, with 28 individual points, and Laughlin with 20.5. The field MVPs were Brandon Cross, of Columbiana, and Clarissa Perkins of Leetonia. Both athletes scored 20 points.