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Local teams have strong starts at DI
By matthew peaslee
AUSTINTOWN
The boys 110 meter hurdles race wasn’t even close at the Division I district preliminary track meet hosted by Austintown Fitch — East’s Valentino Sewell took the top spot with a time of 14.73.
Mark Hadley of Boardman ran a 4:42.41 in the 1600 — seven seconds better than the next runner. And the Fitch boys 4x200 team led the entire way and easily won the preliminary crown.
Really, there was no contest in the events mentioned above. However, the Falcons girls 4x200 team found out that being close in one thing can pay off for a landslide in another.
Amber Brown, Jenna Yacovone, Ebony Davis and Thersea Scott edged out the team from Tallmadge in their heat by six tenths of a second. The Warren Harding girls, though, had the top overall time of 1:45.55.
“We knew we could do better than that,” Brown said.
So in the 4x100 — they did.
The same four girls ran a 48.96, breaking a Fitch record.
“That was really our main goal,” Brown said. “If we know we’re going to win, we kind of focus on the time. When we’re fighting all through the whole race, we’re looking for a good place, as well as a good time.”
On Wednesday, most runners said they had to do just enough to qualify for Friday’s finals. Finding a proper balance isn’t always easy, though.
“I go hard no matter what,” said Sewell, who also won the 300 hurdles. “Just because I’m good at it doesn’t mean something bad can’t happen. I could hit a hurdle, fall down or someone could be up there going hard at it too. I push myself hard at all times.”
Canfield’s Bailey Fischer — just a freshman — said she has a strategy on preliminary days.
To start the day, she was edged out in the final lap of the 4x800, so she used that as motivation to end it with the 4x400. The Cardinals’ team of Devin Foley, Stephanie Carrocce, Sara Martinko and Fischer’s 4:08.25 won the event and Fischer’s final kick passed up Tallmadge’s Hallie Allen in the final 150 meters.
“That’s usually when I know how to really give it my all until the end,” she said. “But I know it was needed even more [to pass Allen].
“It was a good end to the day.”
Fitch’s Billy Price is making a repeat trip to regionals in the discus, while Canfield’s Maggie Bresnahan made her first qualification in the shot put.
“She was very calm and more relaxed,” Canfield throwing coach Nick Wagner said.
A pep talk from the Canfield bus driver — and Nick’s mother — Terri Wagner did the trick.
“She just told her that she’s got it and settled her down before we were even off the bus,” Nick said. “Once she got out there and threw a 36-footer, a weight was lifted off our shoulders — I knew she was in.”
The Fitch boys lead the team standings with 30 points. The Canfield girls are second with 21.5.