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Boardman girls team ready for regional
By JON MOFFETT
Boardman
Senior Doriyon Glass is a little shaky on how many times she’s qualified for the regional track meet. But there is one thing she does know: she had never been a district champion.
That’s because Glass and her Boardman High teammates had finished as runners-up in the district championship meet for five consecutive years. The Spartans broke that streak at this year’s meet by claiming the title outright.
“I’m really excited, this is a really big accomplishment,” Glass said.
Depending on whether you ask Glass or her mother, she has qualified for the regional meet either one or two years. Glass said she doesn’t remember making it as a freshman, but said her mother believes otherwise.
One thing is for sure, Glass and 10 other Spartans will participate in the regional meet this week. The preliminaries begin today at 4 p.m. at Fitch Stadium in Austintown.
The finals will take place Saturday. Field events begin at 4 p.m., and running events at 5 p.m.
Boardman will be represented in 11 events, which range from relays to hurdles and field events to sprints. Some athletes, like Glass, qualified for multiple events. Glass will run the 100- and 200-meter dashes, as well as the 4x100 and 4x200 relays.
Glass said she’s glad she gets to represent the school one final time at the regional meet.
“That makes it so much more special because it’s like the end for some of us,” she said. “This is the last chance for some of us, so this is the last time for all of us to come together.”
Glass said she is most excited to compete in the 4x100. She said that having teammates to celebrate with after a race is more special.
“We all have really good chemistry, get along and have a lot of fun together,” she said. “When one of us does really good or something, we all get really excited. It’s just better to celebrate with someone else.”
Senior Nicole Biagetti is also on that relay. As well as qualifying for the relay, Biagetti will also participate in the long jump and the 4x200.
She agreed with Glass and said the team is very close off the track.
“We like each other, so that makes it easier to have a good relay team,” she said. “We have a good bond and we’re all good friends.”
Biagetti looks forward to the relays, but said she is also very excited about her chances in the long jump. She hopes to break the school record at the regional meet.
Biagetti repeated as district champion in the event this year, and will be making her third trip to the regional meet. But she has her sights set on bigger and better things.
“I want to go to state really bad,” she said. “I’ve been working pretty hard, and I hope I get there this year.”
The school record for girls’ long jump, Biagetti said, is 17-foot-6. Biagetti’s career best is 17-4.
While teammates Glass and Biagetti will be making their repeat trips to the regional, classmate Valerie Hood is hoping her first time at the meet is special.
“It’s very special to me, because I feel like I have really been improving over this last year,” she said. “I really want to place third or better at the meet.”
Boardman coach Denise Gorski has high hopes for the team. She said her five seniors — including Colleen Kratolfil in the 4x800 and Karlie Ligore in the pole vault — will help lead the way.
“These girls have worked really hard and have surpassed the goals we set this year,” she said.
Those goals were to win the district title and advance as many athletes to the regional as possible, she said.
Gorski said she expects good performances, and expects several of the team to advance to the state meet in Columbus June 4-5.
“It’s just what we all work for; the ultimate goal,” she said. “We start out the season with those smaller goals, but the ultimate goal is state recognition.”