High school track: County athletes ready for GCC meet

BRUNSWICK — On the surface, the Greater Cleveland Conference track and field meet may look like a competition between seven schools. It was way more than that, especially with the postseason looming around the corner. Brunswick AutoMart Stadium served as a kickoff of sorts Friday for the best of the best as they grabbed their league honors and immediately turned their attention to the postseason next week. "This was a great week of competition," Brunswick standout and GCC field MVP Tomas Rimac said. "It's that first entrance into the postseason. Coming into today, it wasn't an elimination meet, but you came into it like it was. This was good practice. "Most people start freaking out thinking they can't make it, but you just have to be comfortable in your own shoes. If you know you can do it, you have just go out and do it." Rimac showed he was ready to return to state by winning the shot put with a throw of 62 feet, 5 ½ inches after winning the discus with 164-2. Emma Gray and girls field MVP Madison Wyatt showed just how strong the Blue Devils were in field events by winning the pole vault and discus, respectively. Medina's Lauren Dawson won the 110-meter hurdles, besting teammate Chloe Tesny by .43 with her 15.14. That day of fun in the sun will turn to sheer determination when it's win or go home at districts, but for now Dawson knows she's exactly where she wants to be. "This meet will definitely help a lot," she said. "It's a good starting point to see what we're running against. I'm happy how I performed and how our team performed. We have a good sprinting conference. It boosts my confidence and helps me see what's coming for me." Dawson's win served as a precursor for the winning 4x100 of Hailey Johnson, Hannah Neiger, Alani Hodge and Kayla Perfect. The foursome ran a 49.62 to edge Solon by .03. The Medina boys 4x1 of Keegan O'Reilly, Blake Chenevey, George Cobb and Carson Davis repeated in a time of 43.62. Davis was a triple winner, tying Solon's Bryce West for first in the 200, though the event went untimed due too technical difficulties. Davis also was on the winning 4x4 of Cameron Schonltzer, Chenevy and Jacob Marzelli. Hurdles weren't just shoehorned in Medina, as Brunswick senior Jamie Toomey's 46.55 was .37 faster than teammate Jordyn Wickes. Toomey doubled up in the 4x400, joining Wickes, Leah Hoover and Calista Bobula in the winner's circle. "This is the hardest conference in the Cleveland area," she said. "Two years ago at this meet I got second, so getting first this year means a lot to me. It really does help because I feel like I had a really good time, so that should seed me in a good lane. This is a hard conference, and I won't see a lot of these teams." The Medina tandem of Valerie Suttman and Schontzler won the 800 in each gender. "In my opinion, considering the competitiveness of our conference, this is a bigger meet than district by far," Schnoltzer said. "To run a faster mile and then win the 800 is the best confidence you can get. On top of that, to PR in the individual 400, I'm on cloud nine." Medina County didn't just own the sprints and hurdles, as Brunswick's Evan Jarold won the 1,600 and 3,200. Jarold was nearly two seconds faster than his closest competitor in the 1,600 (4:19.01) and 14 seconds ahead of teammate Alex Keller in the 3,200 with a 9:24.64. "I didn't know what I'd run today. I came in with a PR of 4:23," Jarold said. "I was hoping to just go 4:22. Knowing that I can go 4:19 in the 1,600, it gives me a lot of confidence going into the postseason. I'm coming into district with a good mindset. I know I can run a good race thanks to good training." Contact Brad Bournival at bournival929@gmail.com. Results Boys Team standings: 1. Solon 146, 2. Brunswick 109, 3. Mentor 107, 4. Medina 95, 5. Strongsville 76, 6. Elyria 37, 7. Euclid 7. High jump: Andrew Beten (Str) 6-6, 2. Jordan Piskach (Bru) 6-2. Shot put: Tomas Rimac (Bru) 62-2½. 100 hurdles: Brett Greer (Men) 15.07. 100: Evan Harper (Men) 11.16. 4x200: Strongsville (Jared Lewis, Matthew Cornelius, Andrew Arslanian, Nick Turner) 1:29.90, 3. Medina (Jacob Marzulli, Luke Hensley, Blake Chenevey, Carson Davis) 1:30.79. 1,600: Evan Jarold (Bru) 4:19.01, 3. Alex Keller (Bru) 4:25.08. 4x100: Medina (Keegan O'Reilly, Chenevey, Cobb, Davis) 43.62. 400: Kenneth Jordan (Men) 51.51. 300 hurdles: Perryion Benton (Ely) 40.76. 800: Cameron Schontzler (Med) 1:57.49. 200: Davis (Med), Bryce West (Sol). 3,200: Jarold (Bru) 9:24.64. 4x400: Medina (Jacob Marzulli, Schontzler, Chenevey, Davis) 3:28.86. Girls Team standings: 1. Mentor 155, 2. Medina 146.5, 3. Brunswick 89, 4. Strongsville 65.5, 5. Euclid 59, 6. Solon 50, 7. Elyria 13. Long jump: Paige Floriea (Men) 20-0, 3. Chloe Tesny (Med) 16-6. Pole vault: Emma Gray (Bru) 10-6, 2. Colleen Johnson 10. Discus: Madison Wyatt (Bru) 128-2, 2. Brianna Helman 104-1. 100 hurdles: Lauren Dawson (Med) 15.14, 2. Tesny (Med) 15.67. 100: Floriea (Men) 12.24, 2. Rachel Smith (Med) 12.48. 4x200: Euclid (Alexis Cain, Dajany Bailey, Ya Jhaira Reid, Eve Clark) 1:42.02. 1,600: Savannah Dennison (Men) 5:04.83, 2. Jenna Razavi (Med) 5:08.33, 3. Amelia Heine (Med) 5:09.74. 4x100: Medina (Hailey Johnson, Hannah Neiger, Alani Hodge, Kayla Perfect) 49.62. 400: Floreia (Men) 54.45. 300 hurdles: Jamie Toomey (Bru) 46.55, 2. Jordyn Wickes (Bru) 46.92, 3. Tesny (Med) 47.98. 800: Valerie Suttman (Med) 2:16.99. 200: Floriea (Men) 24.60. 3,200: Jenna Razavi (Med) 11:03.49. 4x400: Brunswick (Leah Hoover, Calista Bobula, Wickes, Toomey) 4:03.38, 2. Medina (Amelia Heine, Suttman, Kayla Kutcel, Smith) 4:04.70.