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‘It’s a family thing’: ’Devils double up
By joe scalzo
NEW MIDDLETOWN
There are track teams. Those are nice.
There are track programs. Those are better.
And then there are track cultures. Those are only found at schools where athletes view each other as family members and not just teammates.
Schools like McDonald.
“It’s a family thing,” said McDonald coach Louis Domitrovich, whose team beat South Range 106-97 for the Division III boys district title at Springfield High. “They refuse to let anybody down and that’s sort of the story of our program.”
For the second straight year, the Blue Devils won both district titles, with the girls sharing the crown with United.
“United has a quality team and we kind of went into this meet thinking we could be anywhere in the top three,” said McDonald coach Courtney Kunkel, whose team secured the 90-90 tie by placing second behind United in Friday’s final event, the 4x400-meter relay. “They brought it today and they did what they had to do to win.
“I don’t want to say I’m shocked, but I’m proud.”
McDonald’s boys team graduated three key seniors from last year’s squad — Devon Colburn, Adrien Tillery and Corey Lunn — and filled that leadership void with juniors Matthias Tayala (who won the discus and placed third in the shot) and Miles Dunlap.
“We did lose a lot of guys and there were days last year when we could rely on those three when other people weren’t doing too good,” said Dunlap, who won the 300 hurdles, finished second in the 110 hurdles and helped the Blue Devils place second in the 4x400 relay and sixth in the 4x100 relay. “This year, points-wise, Matthias and I have to step up in some cases, but we’ll do whatever we have to do to win.
“I love winning and I love when my team wins. We fought and clawed our way to the top.”
McDonald’s girls didn’t win any running events but got field event victories from Joh’Vonnie Mosley (discus, shot) and Mollie Golden (long jump).
As usual, Kunkel gave much of the credit to assistants John Fields (sprints) and Mary Domitrovich (throws).
“We knew we had quality athletes coming up and we said, ‘We have to find you the best there is,’” Kunkel said. “I don’t know everything about track and I don’t claim to, but I will find the best people. “
United, meanwhile, was competing in Div. III for the first time in at least a decade. For much of coach Nancy Miller’s tenure, the Eagles have been just a few athletes over the cutoff line.
Although they’re probably better suited for Div. III, Miller didn’t think the Springfield district was much of a drop-off.
“This is a really strong district,” she said.
Junior Emily Bokanovich won the 200 and 400 and helped the Eagles finish fourth in the 4x200 relay, despite splitting most of the season between track and softball.
Overall, the Eagles advanced in 10 events, with the top four in each event moving on to next week’s regional at Fairless High School.
“We had not talked about winning the district,” said Miller, who came over from Salem 12 years ago as an assistant and has been the head girls coach for six years. “It was a question of, ‘Do you go to win the district? Or do you go to do what’s best for the girls who have a good chance of advancing?’ I chose to do that.
“It just happened to be really nice that it turned back the other way too.”
Lowellville senior Monica Ciarniello won the 1600 and 3200 and sophomore Emily Carlson won the 800 to help the Rockets place third.
Mineral Ridge senior Kristen Basista won both hurdling events and helped the Rams win the 4x100 relay, while Youngstown Christian senior Kristi Cooper won the 100 and helped the Eagles win the 4x200 relay.
On the boys side, South Range senior James Nell won the 400, junior Floyd Kenney won the 800 and both were on the winning 4x400 relay.
Columbiana senior Nick Melone won the 100 and 200 and anchored the winning 4x200 relay. East Palestine senior Shane Peterson won the high jump and helped the Bulldogs win the 4x100 relay. And Springfield sophomore Stephen Lyons (shot put) and United senior Stephen Baker (110 hurdles)also claimed victories.
McDonald also got wins from Kyle Joynes (3200) and Patrick Kunkel (1600).
“When you graduate three studs like we did, to even have a shot at a district title is amazing,” said Domitrovich.