High school track: Rachel Smith helps Medina to another meet win

MEDINA — Rachel Smith had a stellar Saturday, but helping Medina's girls track and field team capture the Tom Fasko Medina Relays was more important to the junior. Behind Smith and a host of others, the Bees won the event for the fifth straight time, posting 121½ points to beat Medina County rival Brunswick (84½). "It feels really good to be able to help the team get the win as a group," said Smith, who had a hand in three victories. "It really helps knowing you're not just running for yourself." That modesty is just one strength of the talented sprinter, who two seasons ago was a key member of the All-Ohio 4x400-meter relay. Flash forward to Saturday and the junior was downright dominant in anchoring the winning sprint relay before capturing the 100 (12.63) and 200 (26.09). Those were three of five victories for Medina, as the 4x8 and shuttle hurdle relays also won. Smith couldn't have asked for a better start to her day, as she took the baton for the 400 portion of the sprint medley after being set up by Alani Hodge, Taylor Nicol and Marissa Henderson. The Bees broke the school record with a 1:50.36. "I think it was important to get those wins for the team for points," Smith said. "The key (in the sprint medley) was just running for each other and believing in each other. We all went in with a positive mind set." "For myself personally, it puts me a little closer to my goals and hopefully a step in the right direction." The 4x8 of Valerie Suttman, Aubree Neura, Reagan Kole and Kayla Kutcel won in 10:03.75, while the shuttle hurdles relay of Chloe Tesny, Sarah Clardy, Lauren Dawson and Alison Kollar won in 1:07.06. Tesny had the second-best mark in the long jump, clearing 15 feet, 11 inches, while Lauren Dawson recorded 5-1 for runner-up in the high jump in her debut. The 4x1 also was second. "We had some really nice performances — some expected and some not," Medina coach Scott VanFleet said. "We're still looking to get a few kids back from injury and other commitments, but overall I'm extremely pleased with the way the team performed." Brunswick was paced by Jordyn Wickes, who followed her 100 hurdles win (16.03) by helping the 4x4 win in 4:07.67 with Jamie Toomey, Leah Hoover and Calista Bobula. "(Wickes) has been stepping up big time every week," coach Matt Sofranko said. "She also just started high jumping last week and has consistently made 5 feet. I could probably use her in other relays, as well." Madison Wyatt had the top discus mark (114-4), while Abby Bardwell placed second in the 3,200. The 4x1,600 and distance medley also were runners-up. Cloverleaf was sixth in its Medina Relays debut. Junior Ashley Sigmon posted a personal-record 5-3 in the high jump, while senior Brooklyn Crist won the seated shot put (15-5). The sprint medley, 4x8 and 4x1 finished third. "I felt like I had something to prove to myself because I'm having issues with my ankle," said Sigmon, who cleared 5-3 on her second attempt. "I was definitely tired and felt like I wanted to be done. but when it was time to jump, I entered a different mindset and tried to disregard how tired and hot I was." Solon took the boys portion for the ninth time in its last 11 appearances. The host Bees were third with 77 points, followed by Brunswick (72) in fourth and Cloverleaf (30½) in eighth. Medina's 4x4 of Carson Davis, Jacob Marzulli, Blake Chenevey and Cameron Schontzler won in a season-low 3:29.35. Chenevey's 400 was his first of the spring, and the race capped a busy day for Schontzler, who ran a 51-second split in the sprint medley and competed individually in the 3,200. Along with the sprint medley placing second, first-year athlete Austin Knowles helped the high jump and long jump relays with marks of 5-10 and 19-5, respectively. "Our team is gaining confidence with every meet," Medina coach Toby Stepsis said. "Our marks and times continue to improve, and the boys understand it's what we do today that matters most. The consistent daily effort will always be the focus." Chenevery also was third in the 100 and helped the 4x1 to third in a season-best 43.80. Tomas Rimac of Brunswick took the shot put and discus. Rimac's 61-0 in the shot was just an inch shy of his personal set earlier in the week against Mentor. "The key is to stay consistent for me, which I've been striving to do," Rimac said. "All of my throws (in the shot) were 60-plus, and it all goes back to technique. I worked on a few things this week to try and fine-tune my technique."Overall, I was happy with my performance in the shot and I just have to keep it going." Jake Piecuch (110 hurdles, 15.12) and Evan Jarold (3,200, 9:28.12) also posted first-place finishes. The distance medley was runner-up, while Larry Gawell and Joseph Zbikowski tied for second in the pole vault at 13-0. Cloverleaf had fourth-place finishes from the sprint medley and 4x8. Contact Dan Brown at sports@medina-gazette.com. Results Boys Team standings: 1. Solon 95, 2. Austintown-Fitch 86.5, 3. MEDINA 77, 4. BRUNSWICK 72, 5. St. Ignatius 68, 6. Boardman 60, 7. St. Edward 41.5, 8. CLOVERLEAF 30.5, 9. Avon Lake 26.5, 10. Twinsburg 21, 11. Copley 16, 12. CVCA 11, 13. VASJ 9, 14. Firestone 6, 15. MEDINA 'B' 4. Individual results Shot put: 1. Tomas Rimac (Bru) 61-0, 7. Nicholas Manley (M) 48-10¾. Discus: 1. Rimac (Bru) 159-10, T-6. Manley (M) 129-8, 10. Ben Kott (Clo) 125-7. High jump: 1. Nate Leskovac (AF) 6-8, T-4. Austin Knowles (M) 5-10, T-6. Phillip Hamilton (Clo) 5-8. Long jump: 1. Ryan Kemer (AL) 20-9½, 5. Michael Williams (Clo) 20-0½, 8. Knowles (M) 19-5¾, 9. Dillon Antolik (Bru) 19-5½. Pole vault: 1. Parker Ohlin (Cop) 13-2, T-2. Larry Gawell (Bru), Joseph Zbikowski (Bru) 13-0, T-4. Elijah Schmeller (M) 12-6, T-7. Gio Papa (M-B), Roman Alessandro (M) 11-0. 4x,1600: 1. Solon 18:30.24, 5. Cloverleaf (Andrew Hibler, Brett Gucker, Luke Malena, Nolan Freeland) 19:22.87, 6. Medina (Kyle Gordon, Santino, Benjamin Colonius, Andrew Piehler) 19:32.64, 8. Medina 'B' (Kyler Cusick, Dillon Hach, Aaron Swihart, Michael Warnement) 19:46.60, 9. Brunswick (Alex Keller, Adam Hyde, Colten Tackett, Tyler Hovanec) 19:50.47. Sprint medley: 1. Solon 1:34.74, 2. Medina (Keegan O'Reilly, Luke Hensley, Carson Davis, Cameron Schontzler) 1:36.54, 4. Cloverleaf (Williams, Blake Wilson, Luke Yuravak, Andrew Hibler) 1:38.25, 5. Brunswick (Antolik, Branyan Nichols, Joseph Peters, Brendan Pak) 1:38.38. 4x800: 1. St. Ignatius 8:19.75, 3. Medina (Santino Ramos, Swihart, Cusick, Gordon) 8:49.16, 4. Cloverleaf (Freeland, Gucker, Vova Herdman, Yagersz) 8:52.68, 9. Brunswick (Tackett, Hovanec, Nick Sauer, Blake Reichenbach) 9:20.64.110 hurdles: 1. Jake Piecuch (Bru) 15.12, 9. Zachary King (M) 17.77, 10. William Kissner (M-B) 17.79, 11. Zach Mollohan (Clo) 17.97. 100: 1. Carlton Landingham (St. E) 10.91, 3. Blake Chenevey (M) 11.42, 9. Wilson (Clo) 11.63. Distance medley: 1. Solon 10:49.81, 2. Brunswick (Keller, Connin Som, Hyde, Evan Jarold) 10:50.63. 4x100: 1. St. Ignatius 43.39, 3, Medina (O'Reilly, Luke Hensley, Jacob Marzulli, Chenevey) 43.80, 8. Brunswick (Antolik, Nochols, Peters, Piecuch) 44.71, 9. Cloverleaf (Williams, Wilson, Jacob Nau, Luke Yuravak) 45.05. Shuttle hurdles: 1. Austintown-Fitch 1:00.71, 3. Brunswick (Nick Simon, Logan Butler, James Snider Jr., Piecuch) 1:07.52, 6. Medina (Donald Darrell, King, Gavin Hules, Derek Meyers) 1:12.83, 7. Cloverleaf (Mollohan, Kaleb Baker, Ray Farnham, Chase Young) 1:13.03, 8. Medina 'B' (Hayden Chenevey, Trenton Shaw, William Kissner, Kaden Casel) 1:20.60. 200: 1. Landingham (St. E) 22.26, 6. Hensley (M) 23.97, 7. Yuravak (Clo) 24.31, 8. Nagel (M-B) 24.35. 3,200: 1. Jarold (Bru) 9:28.12, 6. Schontzler (M) 10:09.76. 4x400: 1. Medina (Davis, Marzulli, Chenevey, Schontzler) 3:29.35, 8. Cloverleaf (Cade Cass, Kevin Bittaker, Herdman, Hamilton) 3:42.01, 9. Brunswick (Snider Jr., Peters, Fritz, Som) 3:42.41. Girls Team standings: 1. MEDINA 121.5, 2. BRUNSWICK 84.5, 3. Boardman 76, 4. Avon Lake 74.5, 5. Twinsburg 57, 6. CLOVERLEAF 50, 7. Austintown-Fitch 46, 8. Solon 42, 9. CVCA 24, 10. Medina 'B' 23.5, 11. St. Joseph Academy 21, 12. Firestone 3, 13. VASJ 1. Individual results Shot put: 1. Brooke Lumpkin (AL) 46-8½, 3. Madison Wyatt (Bru) 40-5¾, 6. Kayla Joyner (M) 34-5. Discus: 1. Wyatt (Bru) 114-04. 10. Jaylynn King (M) 88-9. High jump: 1. Ashley Sigmon (Clo) 5-3, 2. Lauren Dawson (M) 5-1, 3. Jordyn Wickes (Bru) 5-0, T-4. Emma Malkowski (Clo) 4-10, Desiree Schaefer (M) 4-10. Long jump: 1. Victoria Copfer (AL) 16-0½, 2. Chloe Tesny (M) 15-11, 3. Hailey Johnson (M) 15-5½, 4. Malikowski (Clo) 15-5, 5. Sigmon (Clo) 15-4¾. Pole vault: 1. Sarah Masuoka (Cop) 10-6, T-4. Colleen Johnson (M), Emma Gray (B) 8-6. 4x,1600: 1. Boardman 22:11.78, 2. Brunswick (Emma Bradbury, Lindsay Wolf, Morgan Roth, Abby Bardwell) 22:33.61, 3. Medina (Kayla Kutcel, Cara Razavi, Jenna Razavi, Reagan Kole) 23:17.37, 5. Cloverleaf (Alyssa Stoner, Maria Porras, Brooke Gucker, Allison Yagersz) 23:36.89, 7. Medina 'B' (Kate Stump, Ruth Schmeller, Abigail Gehman, Lindsay Jones) 24:42.80. Sprint medley: 1. Medina (Alani Hodge, Taylor Nicol, Marissa Henderson, Rachel Smith) 1:50.36, 3. Cloverleaf (Malkowski, Paige Munchick, Emily Romano, Riley Evans) 1:53.34, 4. Brunswick (Alexis Clark, Gray, Jamie Toomey, Leah Hoover) 1:56.13. 4x800: 1. Medina (Valerie Suttman, Aubree Neura, Kole, Kutcel) 10:03.75, 3. Cloverleaf (Stoner, Porras, Yagersz, Megan Knapp) 10:32.98, 5. Brunswick (Della Layner, Emily Watkins, Roth, Teo Iovi) 10:41.63. 100 hurdles: 1. Wickes (Bru) 16.03, 3. Tesny (M) 16.37, 7. Sarah Clardy (M-B) 18.43, 9. Vickie Brandt (Clo) 20.19. 100: 1. Smith (M) 12.63, 8. Alexis Clark (Bru) 13.44, 10 Sigmon (Clo) 13.96. Distance medley: 1. Boardman 13:02.92, 2. Brunswick (Wolf, Toomey, Calista Bobula, Bradbury) 13:16.70, 3. Medina (C. Razavi, J. Razavi, Neura, Julia Eaton) 13:26.09, 7. Medina 'B' (Makenzie Clor, Stump, Schmeller, Halle Dyer) 14:46.29, 9. Cloverleaf (Knapp, Laurell Brown, Madison Snyder, Gucker) 15:00.89. 4x100: 1. Austintown-Fitch 50.56, 2. Medina (Hodge, Taylor Nicol, Marissa Henderson, Johnson) 51.0, 3. Cloverleaf (Romano, Evans, Sigmon, Malikowski) 51.63, 5. Brunswick (Clark, Angelina Lombardo, Gray, Goodhart) 53.35. Shuttle hurdles: 1. Medina (Tesny, Clardy, L. Dawson, Alison Kollar) 1:07.06, 3. Medina 'B' (Carolyn Bower, Katherine Dawson, Ashley Kollar, Nicole Trsek) 1:13.38, 6. Brunswick (Hilke, Julia Stewart, May, Toomey) 1:15.42, 8. Cloverleaf (Brandt, Natalie Bailey, Liberty Ridenour, Grace Goldsberry) 1:24.55. 200: 1. Smith (M) 26.09, 5. Romano (Clo) 27.67, 7. Clark (Bru) 28.30. 3,200: 1. Anna Ripple (CVCA) 12:03.60, 2. Bardwell (Bru) 12:12.60, 7. Moore (Clo) 13:46.35, 8. Terrell (M) 13:53.95. 4x400: 1. Brunswick (Wickes, Toomey, Hoover, Bobula) 4:07.67, 4. Medina (Suttman, Eaton, J. Razavi, Henderson) 4:14.84, 7. Cloverleaf (Julia Armogida, Stoner, Meghan Cavey, Evans) 4:23.11.