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Salem’s Shivers breaks own regional mark
By Joe Scalzo
BEDFORD
Boston has the Pesky Pole. Bedford has the Salem Screen.
In each of the past two years, the Quakers have bounced a discus into the creek on the outskirts of Bedford High School’s throwing area. Last year, as a meet official was fishing out Anthony Shivers’ discus, he found a rusted discus from the year before.
To combat that problem this year, Bedford erected an orange screen that caught Shivers’ throws during Thursday’s Division II regional track meet.
“The fence did a good job catching it today,” Shivers said.
Shivers did an even better job throwing it.
In what has become a weekly tradition this spring, Shivers broke his own meet record with a toss of 190 feet, 4 inches — almost nine feet better than last year’s throw. West Branch senior Connor Sharp placed third (159-2).
For Shivers, there’s only one record left for him to chase and he’s got one week left to do it. Shivers’ personal-best throw of 198-1 is within striking distance of the Ohio record of 203-7, set by Fostoria’s Cory Echelberry at the 1999 state meet.
“That’s the goal,” said Shivers, a Notre Dame track recruit who won last year’s Division II state meet with a throw of 190-7. “We’ve got to make some adjustments this week and hope to get that bump.
“I feel good otherwise. Everything is kind of coming together.”
The same is true of his teammate, senior Ciera Trybend, who broke her own school record in the shot put (41-51/2) to place second on Thursday. The top four in each event advance to next week’s state meet.
“I’ve been hitting good ones at practice so I knew something was coming,” said Trybend, a YSU track recruit.
Trybend placed 10th in the shot put at last year’s state meet. If she can match Thursday’s throw, she’ll likely finish in the top eight and earn a spot on the medal podium.
“It’s definitely bittersweet” knowing her high school career is ending, she said. “It’s nice to know I’m going to start again next year at YSU, but it’s upsetting [to see this end]. You grow close to the girls you throw against and your teammates and your own coach and other people’s coaches.”
West Branch’s boys 4x800 relay was the only area team to qualify in Thursday’s only running event. West Branch’s Drake Lohnes held off Lakeview’s Eric Harris by less than a second to finish fourth.
“When I got the baton, I think we were in third and there were three guys with us [behind first-place CVCA],” said Lohnes, whose team’s time of 8:06.19 was about seven seconds lower than its previous best. “I’m like, ‘I gotta beat one guy.’
“I’ve been fortunate enough to run at the state meet but I’ve got two other seniors with me [that hadn’t] and I was not going to let them down. I had to find whatever I had left and pass them in the last 100. The last 200 meters, it wasn’t even pain at that point. I knew I couldn’t go any faster.”
The meet continues Saturday at 11:30 a.m.