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Falcons, Spartans, Raiders capture crowns
Boardman girls ended Fitch streak
By Ryan Buck
AUSTINTOWN
Conditions were ripe for streaks and records to fall Saturday at the 102nd annual Mahoning County Track and Field Championships at Fitch’s Falcon Stadium.
While the Fitch boys squad earned their sixth consecutive Division I county win, the Boardman girls edged Fitch, ending their four-year reign in the bigger division.
In Division II, South Range swept the boys and girls titles, edging rivals Springfield in both standings.
Under bright sunshine and in 75-degree weather, Boardman senior Reagan O’Hara ran in four of the day’s most grueling events. O’Hara, headed for Queens College (N.C.) to run, won the open 800-meter run, helped the Spartans win the 4x800 relay, and also was part of their second-place finishes in the 4x200 and 4x400-meter relays.
The preparation for a long day, she said, was key.
“I think it’s more mental than physical,” O’Hara said. “You pray, you think about it a lot, you go over what you’re supposed to do in each zone and in each event. Physically, we’re well-prepared. Our coaches are fantastic. We have a great team; a great staff.”
The move back to local conference competition makes the victory even sweeter for Boardman.
“Fitch has been dominating the past couple of years,” O’Hara said. “It feels really, really great and we’re especially proud because it’s really good competition. They’re awesome girls, they run fast and to be able to beat them in this meet is an honor.”
Meanwhile, the very deep Falcon boys outdistanced second-place Poland, 191-98.
Joe Harrington and Savon McWreath finished first and second, respectively, in the 100-meter dash early in the day and senior Frank Geidner’s performance in the final leg of the 4x400-meter relay bookended a dominant all-around performance.
“It’s a cool feeling knowing you’ve won [the team title] all four years of your high school career, and being able to play a big part in that,” said Geidner, who also finished second in the open 400-meter run and as a part of the 4x200-meter relay.
“There’s always pressure on the home track, and we know that East wanted to come after us, for sure.”
Behind the East quartet of Isiah Nuckles, LeAndre Green, Mark Lynch and Imoni Donadelle at the outset of the final leg of the day’s final race — the 4x400 relay — Geidner carried the momentum of a smooth handoff and won in narrow fashion.
“We lost the lead by 10 meters and I got it back, I think,” Geidner said. “I built the lead and, next thing I know, I hear someone yell that he was on me. I saw him pop into my vision quickly so I kicked and pumped with everything I had left.”
Springfield senior Randy Groves won the meet’s Rob Ruane outstanding runner award in Division II for his second-place performance in the 4x200 relay and wins in the 400-meter dash, 200-meter dash and 4x400-meter relay.
“I’m definitely tired for sure,” Groves said. “It was something I worked for and it was my goal for today. It’s very hard and you’ve got to dig deep to win.”
“I’ve looked up to these South Range guys and they were repeat 400 winners. It was nice to compete against them and fill those shoes.”
The Ursuline girls 4x200-meter relay team of Makayla Berry, Korree Cotton, Alexandra Carnathan and Precious Williams set the meet record with a 1:49.36 clip.
East’s 4x200-meter relay team of Green, Donadelle, Nuckles and Aaron Moses also set a meet record with a time of 1:30.11.