Girls track team finishes fifth in Fed

Three members of the Boardman girls track team earned Federal League honors based on their performances at the league meet May 11 at Massillon Jackson.

Junior Giovanna Silvestri received the highest honor by earning first-team Federal League honors in the shot put, winning the event with a career-best throw of 37-10 Ω. She also earned second-team league honors in the discus by throwing 121-8 Ω and placing second. Last year, Silvestri was Federal League Honorable Mention in the discus. Freshman Jordan Grantonic earned Federal League Honorable Mention by placing third in the 1600 with a career-best time of 5:23.41.

Placing fourth for the team at the meet was junior Sarina Mauerman in the pole vault with an effort of 8-6 and freshman Ka’Nisha White in the shot put. White’s throw of 35-9 º was a career best and she was the only freshman in the shot competition.

The league meet performances by Silvestri and Grantonic also earned them a trip to the National Scholastic Outdoor Track and Field Championships this June in North Carolina. Silvestri will compete in both the shot and discus and Grantonic in the freshman mile.

They will be joined at nationals by the 4x800 relay team of senior Tori Moore, sophomore Emma Schwendeman and freshmen Regan and Heaton O’Hara who qualified.

The day after the league meet, head coach Denise Gorski was informed that the sprint medley relay team was accepted for the national meet as well. They were the first relay to make the qualifying standard back in early April, but weren’t accepted to the meet because the standard had to be made in a meet of five or more teams.

Senior Lesley Koch, sophomores Nikki Hillard and Morgan Hambrick and freshman Heaton O’Hara were the members of that sprint medley team. Hambrick will be unable to make the trip due to a major knee injury during the season.

The Boardman girls track team placed fifth overall in the Federal League season standings with a league dual meet record of 3-3 and a regular season record of 5-3.