Fitch’s Optimist meet today

Staff report

Austintown

It seems like there have been only a handful of days when it hasn’t rained this spring. Suffice it to say, it hasn’t exactly been an optimal season.

But there will be plenty of positive-thinking people coming out for the 31st annual Optimist track meet at Austintown Fitch High today. There will be 70 boys and girls teams from 42 schools taking part in the event, which is one of the few meets remaining to fine-tune form before the state meet in Columbus during the first weekend in June.

The first race of the day, the boys 3200-meter run, will begin at 9:15 a.m. The finals for the boys pole vault will also begin at that time.

Following the two-mile run on the track will be a series of preliminary races for the boys and girls 100- and 400-meter dashes, girls 100-meter hurdles and boys 110-meter high hurdles.

The eight fastest times in each event will qualify the runner for the finals later in the day.

Following the girls two-mile run, preliminaries for the 200-meter dash and 300-meter hurdles will be run. After that, the meet will operate under the normal schedule of events, beginning with the girls 4x800 relay and concluding with the boys 4x400 relay.

Relays will not have preliminaries, and the “hot heat” — generally the fastest times of the group — will run last.

The field events, which last throughout the day, will consist of two groups. The finals for the boys pole vault, as well as the preliminaries and finals for the girls discus, boys shot put, girls high jump and boys long jump will go first. The second group, which will begin a half hour after the first group ends, includes the rest of the events.

In addition to chasing each other, the athletes will also be chasing several records at the meet.

Eight meet records fell in 2010, with six individuals and two teams breaking the marks. Three of the individuals and one of the relays went on to win gold at the state championship meet.

Canton GlenOak’s Kandace Thomas won gold at both the Optimist meet and state meet while breaking her record in the 100-meter dash (she also set the record in the 200). The school also double dipped in the boys 4x400 relay, and the girls 4x100 relay won the meet.

Brad Adams of St. Ignatius (800), and Massillon’s Jamil Dudley (high jump) each earned dual titles at the meets. But it was a local favorite who stole the show.

Canfield High senior Dustin Brode dropped jaws and old records with his dominating performances in his field events. Brode won the discus and the shot put, and shattered the record in the shot on his first attempt in the preliminaries.

Brode’s first toss of 68 feet all but locked up his gold medal, and punched his ticket to Columbus. He threw a 63-7 in the finals.