McDonald boys so close to title
By Joe Scalzo
navarre
A light rain was falling on the Brideweser Stadium infield and a group of runners had gathered at midfield with medals around their necks, but four boys in white jerseys didn’t join them. They couldn’t. They just sat on the grass 30 feet away, watching in stunned silence.
Their coach, McDonald’s Lou Domitrovich, was there too, trying his best to console them but mostly saying nothing at all.
His team had just come within 50 meters of a Division III regional title, only to see it washed away in a fierce finishing kick by Maplewood junior Morgan Hake, who propelled the Rockets into the fourth and final state qualifying spot in the 4x400-meter relay, bumping the Blue Devils down to fifth in the event and second in the meet.
They needed five points to tie Garfield Heights Trinity for the team title. They got four. Final score: 75-74.
“We told the kids from Day 1, never go into a regional or state meet thinking about team titles because there’s so many variables that come into play,” Domitrovich said. “In basketball, you’re playing one team. Here, you’re competing against 60. At state, you’re going against 200.
“I’m not gonna look back and say, ‘What if?”
Yes, but, how could you not?
What if McDonald, which entered with the fifth-best qualifying time in the 4x100 relay, hadn’t failed to finish that event on Friday? Merely getting around the track would have earned one point.
What if a Berkshire runner hadn’t tripped in the last 20 meters of the 800, falling from eighth to 15th as a Trinity runner jumped up to eighth to earn a point.
What if just one more break had gone McDonald’s way?
What if the Blue Devils hadn’t lost on the track equivalent of a blocked extra point?
What if?
“You have a love-hate relationship with Navarre,” Domitrovich said. “One moment you’re on cloud nine, the next moment you’re face down in the gutter. Then someone picks you up.”
For a few minutes, it looked like the Blue Devils would stay up. With two events left, Domitrovich squatted down near the side of the concession stand, looking at the results, doing the math in his head.
“We’re putting it on Kyle Joynes’ shoulders,” Domitrovich said then. “All 115 pounds of him.”
Joynes delivered, winning the 3200. Teammate Patrick Kunkel placed seventh to pick up two more points.
Minutes earlier, Domitrovich’s best runner, senior Miles Dunlap, had won his third individual event of the day, the 200-meter dash, to erase the memories of the disastrous 4x100 relay.
“Hey buddy, that’ll make the bus ride home a little easier,” Domitrovich said.
Ultimately, though, it didn’t. But it wasn’t for lack of trying. The Blue Devils had run their best 4x400 time of the season and Domitrovich couldn’t have been more proud.
“It’ll be difficult for a couple days,” Domitrovich said of his 4x400 team. “Three of those guys are seniors right there. Not getting that baton around the track in the 4x100 is going to be tough to stomach.
“But these guys are are going to look back and say, ‘It was a good run.’ And it’s not over yet. We’ve got a lot of guys going down to state.”
Maplewood’s Wyatt Hartman (800), Warren JFK’s Pat Hull (400) and Springfield’s Stephen Lyons (shot put) also won individual events, while Leetonia’s Clarissa Perkins (discus) was the only area girl to win an individual event.
Lyons’ throw of 59 feet, 31/2 inches was a personal best and puts him about a foot behind his coach, Nick Panezich, for the school record. It also likely puts him first in the state heading into next week’s state meet.
“I feel some pressure but I do good under pressure,” he said. “I feel like I’m throwing my best at this point in the season.
“I’m excited for next week.”