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Fitch, South Range sweep boys and girls titles
AUSTINTOWN
Running is hard enough as it is. The pressure of your feet pounding the track, step after step, is straining in any kind of weather.
But when it’s misty, chilling, and downright cold, it’s a recipe for added pain.
“Your spikes don’t absorb the track as much when it’s cold because it get harder,” Fitch sprinter Tarise Wolfe said. “Yeah, it hurts a lot more that usual.”
For Wolfe — the pain was in his feet, and hands, and head.
During the 4x200 relay, Wolfe successfully handed the baton off to Rob Venters. Then, Wolfe stumbled forward and smacked his upper body into the nearly cement-like Austintown Fitch High track. He nudged Venters a little bit with the fall.
“We missed up the steps a little bit,” Wolfe admitted. “I didn’t worry at all, though, I knew our next two guys would pull it off. We weren’t really far back and I knew we’d win it.”
Venters and Nathan Bowlen outlasted East and Poland and won the event with a time of 1:31.57. It helped solidify a first place position in the overall standings and the host-Falcons won the Mahoning County Division I boys meet with 182 points. Boardman was second with 108, East was third with 64 and Struthers had 45 for fourth.
“We have a lot of great 200 runners,” Wolfe said. “We’ve said that we’re going to make it to state from the beginning and this helps our confidence and shows what we can really do.”
The meet was a team sweep for both Fitch and South Range. The Falcon girls tallied 145.25 points, while the Raiders had 143 and 165 for the boys and girls, respectively.
“It was the first time that we put everybody out there with the goal of scoring points,” said Fitch girls coach TJ Koniowsky. “We did what we were supposed to do and had some girls step up.”
Ebony Davis won the 400 in 1:01.72 seconds and the 200 in 27.46, Theresea Scott’s time of 13.29 was best in the 100, Carissa Jenkins was top in the 1600 with a time of 5:28.75. The 4x100 relay team also won, while Paige Henley was the top long jumper.
Emily Rast propelled South Range in the 4x400 before Rainne Mason, who also won the 300 hurdles and was on the top 4x200 team, sealed the title.
“Raianne’s a great runner,” Rast said. “I knew that if I could get her close, she’d take off and finish around.
“I’m really excited for this team. Everyone is so talented in events across the board.”
Ursuline’s girls and boys teams finished third in Division II, but Lavonte Powell and Rondel Armour were both named MVPs.
“I just try to do my best and use a strong finish,” Powell, who won the 100, 200 and 400 said. “I know the other girls are just as good and fast, but I just have to focus on what I can do — and I do my best.”
Armour collected wins in the 100, 4x100 and — his favorite — the long jump.
“It’s pretty cool to have some family history with the long jump, so it’s the most special,” Armour said.
His grandfather set records at the old North High for consistently jumping over 22 feet. Armour won with a 19-71/4 on Saturday.
“I’m working on it,” Armour said of surpassing his grandfather.
Canfield’s Emma Lunne and Poland’s Sage Spotleson shared MVP honors in D-I, as did Fitch’s Billy Price and Boardman’s Mark Hadley.
Hadley won the mile and racing with South Range’s Ryan Roush and Tim Nichols in the 3200, he ditched his stocking cap during the fourth lap and sped ahead the famed tandem. After he tossed it on the football field — Hadley passed them both.
“It was getting a little too hot for me,” Hadley said. “The real turning point came earlier at the mile mark because I felt stronger and they fell back. Then, I knew it was my race.
“This is my last time I’ll race Ryan and Tim. I have a lot of respect for those guys.”