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STATE TRACK ROUNDUP | News and notes
Second silver: Poland senior Nicolette Kreatsoulas finished second in the Division II discus for the second straight year. Her best throw was 137 feet, 8 inches, while Garrettsville Garfield sophomore Lauren Jones placed first with a throw of 141-1. “I think I was a little nervous starting off and I was kind of mad because I wasn’t throwing my best,” said Kreatsoulas, whose best throw in her opening flight was 125-1. “When I got that 137, my form was good and everything felt good, so I was really happy.” Kreatsoulas, a Youngstown State recruit, placed second at last year’s state meet with a throw of 127-10. (Ironically, last year’s winning throw was 137-8.) When asked what it means to repeat as a silver medalist, she said, “It feels great, honestly. It’s a big accomplishment for me. I’ve been working this whole entire year and everything just comes together at the end and it feels really good.” The Valley placed two more on the discus medal podium, with Salem senior Alyssa Wright placing third and Newton Falls sophomore Kayla Barreca placing sixth.
Satisfied with second: United senior Riley Fillman also earned a silver medal on Friday, placing second in the Division II long jump with a leap of 22-71/4, which came on his second-to-last jump. Bishop Hartley senior Cameron Hart was first with 23-31/4. “I was jumping out [on the other attempts] and finally got some height on that jump,” Fillman said. Fillman’s career-best is a 22-81/2, so he was happy to come so close to that mark in the biggest meet of the season. “Last year I was upset because I was nowhere close to my best [21-6 1/2] and I finished sixth [at the state meet],” he said. “I’m satisfied with what I did today.” Fillman could add another silver (or better) today. He had the second-fastest qualifying time in the 300-meter hurdles during Friday’s preliminaries.
Record-breaker: Warren JFK senior Chad Zallow put himself in position for a big day today, posting the fastest qualifying time in three events: the 110-meter hurdles (a Division III state meet-record 13.62), the 100 and the 300 hurdles. The YSU recruit, who holds the overall Division III state record in the 110 hurdles (13.50), is a two-time state champion in the event. He also won the 300 hurdles in 2013 and finished second last year. Zallow is attempting to become the third area athlete to win the 110 hurdles and the 100 in the same year in the last quarter-century, joining JFK’s Darrick Trimble (1994) and Lakeview’s Ben Moody (2009). They are the first two events of the meet and are separated by about a five-minute break.
Record-breaker, Part II: Liberty Benton junior Michaela Butler ran a 11.67 in the 100 preliminaries to break the Division II state meet record of 11.82, set by Girard’s Cachet Murray in 2004. Murray still holds the state 200 record, which she also set in 2004.