Wagner keys good showing at D2 district

May 20, 2011 at 12:08a.m.

SALEM

Wearing black and white Chuck Taylors and a goofy grin, Girard junior Ashley Wagner looked like someone who wasn’t quite sure whether she was more surprised or confused by what she had just done.

At this time last year, Wagner was a mediocre high jumper (she was struggling to clear 4 feet, 4 inches) with crackling knees (that had a bad habit of popping out of place). As far as she was concerned, she had no future in the event.

“I wasn’t even supposed to high jump this year,” Wagner said. “I just randomly did it in the first meet and my coach told me to keep doing it.”

She doesn’t spend a lot of time overanalyzing her form — “I don’t think about anything,” she said, “I just kind of jump” — but, at some point this season, everything started to click. She cleared 5-2 last week and at Thursday’s Division II district meet jumped a personal-best 5-3 to win the individual title.

“I actually didn’t think I was going to place at all,” she said, laughing. “I was just kind of hoping to get at least 5-2 to be consistent.”

Funny what some good weather — and some good form — can do. Take Ursuline junior shot-putter Courtney Powell. After all the rain and cancellations and AAU basketball practices, she came into Thursday’s meet with few expectations and came out of it with a district title and a personal-best throw of 37-21/4, edging Salem’s Ciera Trybend by a half-inch.

Powell’s mother, Dawn, was a standout thrower atMooney in the mid-’80s and her discus mark still ranks in the top 10 at Ashland University, where she was an All-American.

“She hasn’t got me yet,” Dawn said of Courtney. “She needs to keep on trying.”

She’ll have at least one more week to do it. When asked if she’s planning on two more, Courtney smiled and said, “I plan on it. I didn’t before this meet but I’m motivated now.”

Salem swept the 4x800-meter relays, with Quaker anchor Mallory Maher holding off Girard, West Branch and Tuslaw in a stunningly close girls final where all four teams finished within a second of each other.

“There were three girls on my back and I knew I had to go,” Maher said. “I’d rather be chasing than being chased but there’s nothing better than running a race like that and doing well.”

Struthers senior Keary Iarussi successfully defended his discus title, leapfrogging Salem’s Mike King in the finals.

“After my first throw, I was thinking, ‘Just hold on and get to regionals,’ but after [King] got one out there, I knew I had to try to get it out there,” he said. “Now I have the shot put on Saturday and that’s my focus.

“Once that’s over, it’s a whole new week, a whole different meet and I have to keep getting better.”