High school track: Medina girls win home relays for sixth straight year

MEDINA — The Medina girls track and field team knows how to protect its home turf. For the sixth straight time the event was held, the Bees walked out of Kenneth Dukes Stadium victors of the Tom Fasko Medina Relays. Medina breezed past Solon 116-81 for the championship. The Bees have won every girls title since 2015. The meet was canceled in 2016 due to snow and in 2020 due to COVID-19. "It means a lot (to win the Medina Relays)," Medina junior Cara Razavi said. "Doing well early in the season also motivates us to continue to do well moving onto the postseason." Razavi was one of five two-event winners for the Bees, who won five relays. Razavi helped Medina win the 4x1,600-meter and distance medley relays. The Cloverleaf girls placed fifth out of 11 teams with 69 points. Highland (56) finished behind the Colts in sixth and Medina's B team took 10th. On the boys side, Solon kept an equally impressive stretch of dominance going when it edged the Bees 99-91. The Comets have won five in a row and nine of the last 10. Highland took seventh place with 35 points and Cloverleaf placed ninth out of 14 teams with 19.5 points. Medina's B team finished 14th. The Medina Relays were renamed in honor of longtime teacher and coach Tom Fasko last year after his passing in October of 2020. Medina honored Fasko, Tom George, who passed away last month, and Milt Place, who died in October, during an intermission. "I love to throw at home, especially with all this relay means," Medina senior Nick Manley said. "We all knew Fasko and loved him as a coach. I think it's special for us to compete for any of those guys that we loved as coaches. It means the world, because competing is one thing, but when you have a purpose, it's great." Manley, a Brown University football signee, had the best shot put throw with 55 feet, 9 inches, beating Solon's Jakob Oldenburg (51-1 1/4). Manley also had the fourth-longest discus throw at 126-6. In both cases, Manley helped Medina finished second behind Solon. "I think it went well," Manley said. "Our two teams threw great and I threw well, so I'm really happy with it. I think we're having a great start (to the season) so far, but the whole track season is all about getting better." The Medina boys' lone victory came in the long jump, where Tallen Hulvey, Thomas Komar and Austin Knowles combined for 59-5½ to outpace second-place St. Ignatius (58-7). Freshman Hulvey had the second-longest jump of the meet at 20-4½. The Bees' girls started the title defense from the first event, winning the 4x1,600 with a time of 22:17.47. Razavi took the baton from Haley Black for the second leg and pushed to the front of the pack, where Medina never left any doubt in beating Solon (23:30.87). "The race went really well," Razavi said. "Haley got off to a good start, and I knew if I had a good start, that makes the whole race good for me. I knew I had my other teammates to run for Jenna (Razavi) and Mia (Heine)." Cara Razavi, Jenna Razavi, Heine and Kayla Kutcel later won the distance medley relay in 13:06.56. Black combined with Kutcel, Aubree Neura and Ruth Schmeller to win the 4x800 (10:19.46). The Bees added a pair of field relays to the win column, starting with Kamryn Anderson, Ashley Kollar and Alison Kollar combining for a 46-9 long jump to top Cloverleaf's Emma Malikowski, Laurell Brown and Reese Barnett (44-3 1/4). Anderson's 16-1 was the best of the day. Kayla Joyner, Jaylynn King and Clair Kocar added a win in the shot put relay, totaling 98-1 1/4. Joyner (35-0) and King (34-6½) posted the second- and third-best efforts of the meet. Highland took the other two girls field events, with Sierra Podolan, Ellen Fuller and Jordan Miller combining to win the discus relay with 276-4, ahead of Medina (272-3). Maya Piechowiak led the Hornets to a win in the high jump relay when she topped 5-2 on her second attempt for the best jump of the day. The Colts' Ashley Sigmon finished one inch shy of Piechowiak and Highland took the victory 14-4 to 14-3. Piechowiak's matched her personal best. "It was really great to clear 5 foot on my first try and not tire myself out," Piechowiak said. "I'm working to get that 5-4. I tried to get a consistent stride every time, and I'm pretty happy with how it went." The Cloverleaf girls claimed two of the five individual running events. First, sophomore Madison Snyder took the 3,200 in a 12:37.18 ahead of Twinsburg's Lauren McClung (12:42.16). "Getting into the front sets the pace and gets me a good lead, which is really important," Snyder said. "When everyone sets into their pace it's a little bit easier (if I'm already up front). I'm looking to keep cutting time off of my two-mile and the same with my one-mile." Sophomore Riley Evans, who qualified for the state tournament as a freshman, won the 100 with a 12.56. "I feel it's really important to get out of the blocks fast," Evans said. "I didn't do that great today, but you've got to keep pushing. I like to focus on my form to help keep my mind focused." The Highland boys team took its lone win in the 4x800 (Daylen Madison, Zachary Paulus, Ayden Boucher, Ty Sgambati) in 8:22.57. Sgambati closed the race over the last 400 to clinch victory. "There's a lot of good teams here, so we had to go all out," Sgambati said. "We weren't expecting to be in this position, but once my third leg Ayden (Boucher) was sticking with (St. Ignatius), I knew I could beat him." The Cloverleaf boys team's highest finish came from the 4x800 of Andrew Hibler, Nolan Freeland, Hunter Stallings and Vova Herdman, which placed fourth. Despite cold, windy and often various forms of precipitation, St. Edward senior Evan Bork set a meet record of 9:26.51 in the 3,200. Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Results GIRLS Team standings: 1. Medina 116, 2. Solon 81, 3. Twinsburg 73.5, 4. Avon Lake 72, 5. Cloverleaf 69, 6. Highland 56, 7. Boardman 45, 8. Copley 39.5, 9. Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy 21 10. Medina 'B' 8, 11. Firestone 4. 4x1,600: 1. Medina (Cara Razavi, Jenna Razavi, Mia Heine, Haley Black) 22:17.47; 5. Cloverleaf (Alyssa Stoner, Brooke Gucker, Allison Yagersz, Vanessa Monhemius) 24:33.81. 3,200: 1. Madison Snyder (Cl) 12:37.18; 3. Lindsay Jones (M) 12:55.52; 7. Kaitlin Herman (H) 13:43.63. Sprint medley: 1. Twinsburg (Paris Gosha-Foreman, Akira Johnson, Savannah Swanda, Arriah Gilmer) 1:50.87; 4. Cloverleaf (Callee Gibson, Julia Armogida, Paige Munchick, Riley Evans) 1:55.07; 5. Medina (Alison Kollar, Taylor Nicol, Kylie Casal, Rachel Smith) 1:56.11; 7. Highland (Natalee Studd, Hannah Stasiowski, Maya Piechowiak, Sophia Scavuzzo) 1:56.11; 8. Medina 'B" (Jillian Sohar, Makenzie Clor, Ameila Webb, Audrey Pedro) 2:02.80. 4x800: 1. Medina (Kayla Kutcel, Black, Aubree Neura, Ruth Schmeller) 10:19.46; 3. Cloverleaf (Stoner, Emma Hibler, Snyder, Yagersz) 10:50.18; 4. Highland (Ella Dykeman, Kendall Leatherman, Grace Lebeck, Evelyn Boucher) 11:01.69; 8. Medina 'B' (Myiah Parente, Kayleigh Terrell, Abby Petz, Abby Acierto) 11:32.91. 100 hurdles: 1. Morgan Blackford (S) 15.60; 2. Lauren Dawson (M) 15.63; 5. Maddie Miller (H) 17.45; 7. Vicki Brandt (Cl) 18.49; 8. Ashley Kollar (M 'B') 18.58. 100: 1. Evans (Cl) 12.56; 3. Hannah Neiger (M) 12.67; 8. Alexis Filote (H) 13.35. Distance medley: 1. Medina (J. Razavi, Kutcel, Heine, C. Razavi) 13:06.56; 7. Highland (Leatherman, Grace Madison, Dykeman, E. Boucher) 14:23. 78; 8. Cloverleaf (Bro. Gucker, Reese Barnett, Lauren Jensch, Monhemius) 15:07.68. 4x100: 1. Twinsburg (Bree Banach, Swanda, Johnson, Gosha-Foreman) 49.69; 2. Medina (Al. Kollar, Neiger, Smith, Nicol) 50.93; 6. Highland (Studd, Filote, Samantha Kovacs, Wren Marquis) 52.90; 8. Cloverleaf (Gibson, Ashley Sigmon, Kierston Campbell, Armogida) 53.58. Shuttle hurdles: 1. Solon (Mackenzie Blackford, Jessica Jenkins, Rachel Arnov, Mo. Blackford) 1:08.87; 2. Medina (Al. Kollar, As. Kollar, Katherine Dawson, L. Dawson) 1:09.87; 7. Cloverleaf (V. Brandt, Hailey Strasser, Liberty Ridenour, Grace Goldsberry) 1:19.01; 8. Highland (M. Miller, Lillian Gozzard, Lauren Sage, Herman) 1:20.70. 200: 1. Gosha-Foreman (Tw) 26.33; 3. Smith (M) 27.23; 7. Delaney Miller (H) 28.43; 8. Munchick (Cl) 28.74. 4x400: 1. Solon (Nia Booker, Kennedy Ford, Ma. Blackford, Mo. Blackford) 4:03.77; 3. Medina (Ky. Casal, Mackenzie Thomas, Schmeller, Neura) 4:18.72; 4. Highland (M. Miller, Marquis, Piechowiak, Scavuzzo) 4:22.99; 8. Cloverleaf (Munchick, Armogida, Emma Malikowski, E. Hibler) 4:42.55. High jump relay: 1. Highland (Piechowiak, D. Miller, M. Miller) 14-4; 2. Cloverleaf (Sigmon, Laurell Brown, Campbell) 14-3; 3. Medina (Aubrey Terrell, As. Kollar, Thomas) 13-6; 4. Medina 'B' (Annalise Stockman-Bell, Kamryn Anderson, Pedro) 13-5. Long jump relay: 1. Medina (Anderson, As. Kollar, Al. Kollar) 46-9; 2. Cloverleaf (Malikowski, Brown, Barnett) 44-3 1/4; 5. Highland (Kovacs, D. Miller, Stasiowski) 41-2 1/2. Discus: 1. Highland (Sierra Podolan, Ellen Fuller, Jordan Miller) 276-4; 2. Medina (Kayla Joyner, Ella Silvis, Jaylynn King) 272-3; 5. Cloverleaf (Presly McConnell, Cydnei Miller, Sarah Kelly) 226-6. Shot put: 1. Medina (Joyner, King, Claire Kocar) 98-1 1/4; 3. Cloverleaf (McConnell, Karoline Kreider, Kelly) 90-4 1/4; 4. Highland (J. Miller, Podolan, Fuller) 89-0 1/2. BOYS Team standings: 1. Solon 99, 2. Medina 91, 3. St. Edward 80, 4. St. Ignatius 65.5, 5. Twinsburg 54, 6. Boardman 47, 7. Highland 35, 8. Avon Lake 32, 9. Cloverleaf 19.5, 10. Firestone 19, 11. Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy 18, 12. Copley 11, 13. Villa Angela-St. Joseph 7, 14. Medina 'B' 7. 4x1,600: 1. St. Edward (Luka Bork, Evan Typpo, Ian Harrington, Thomas Hoffman) 18:13.69; 3. Medina (Santino Ramos, Zachary Bugner, Jacob Sebaugh, Michael Warnement) 18:41.42; 4. Highland (Elijah Hadler, Ayden Boucher, Zachary Paulus, Ty Sgambati) 18:46.29; 8. Cloverleaf (Luke Malena, Nolan Freeland, Brett Gucker, Andrew Hibler) 19:17.94. Sprint medley: 1. Twinsburg (J.D. Roberson, Michael Cline, Jr., Josh Mikulka, Logan Doyle) 1:35.98; 2. Medina (Keegan O'Reilly, John Wojciak, Carson Davis, Brennen Schramm) 1:36.82; 8. Medina 'B' (Camden Sokolowski, Aedyn Ruiz, Grant Noftz, George Cobb) 1:42.75. 4x800: 1. Highland (Daylen Madison, Paulus, A. Boucher, Sgambati) 8:22.57; 3. Medina (Kyler Cusick, Evan Kotick, Emerson Lindsley, Braighden Sullivan) 8:25.84; 4. Cloverleaf (A. Hibler, Freeland, Vova Herdman, Hunter Stallings) 8:30.95. 100 hurdles: 1. Damon Frabotta (SI) 15.07; 7. Garrett Shook (M) 17.40; 8. Gavin Mullen (H) 18.15. 100: 1. Michael Bissler (SE) 11.00; 4. Bryce Turek (H) 11.42; 5. O'Reilly (M) 11.55. Distance medley: 1. St. Edward (Harrington, Bradley Eaton, Typpo, Hoffman) 10:52.36; 4. Medina (Sebaugh, Nicolas Colosimo, Ramos, Warnement) 1:05.29. 4x100: 1. St. Edward (Jayson Morris, Bissler, Kyan Mason, Cartlon Landingham) 42.72; 2. Medina (O'Reilly, Wojciak, Tallen Hulvey, Corbin Derrig) 43.04. Shuttle hurdles: 1. Solon (Antonio Coleman, Sumanth Gopal, Jacob Newby, Joel Kpassou) 1:03.29; 4. Medina (Donald Darrell, Aiden Dillon, Shook, Austin Knowles) 1:09.79; 8. Medina 'B' (Jaxson Ahlborn, Andrew Avalon, Hayden Chenevey, Ka. Casal) 1:15.86. 200: 1. Landingham (SE) 21.79; 6. Jacob Marzulli (M 'B') 23.27; 7. Wojciak (M) 23.28. 3,200: 1. Evan Bork (SE) 9:26.51; 2. Hadler (H) 9:39.10; 5. Malena (Cl) 10:01.48; 6. Andrew Piehler (M) 10:05.07. 4x400: 1. St. Ignatius (Samurai Chung, Frabotta, Peter McGreal, Max Muresan) 3:29.38; 2. Medina (Marzulli, Kotick, Ramos, Davis) 3:31.51; 5. Highland (Mason Wright, Thomas Hubbard, Sgambati, D. Madison) 3:40.29; 8. Cloverleaf (Herdman, Kevin Bittaker, Will Jerome, Bre. Gucker) 3:46.52. High jump relay: 1. Solon (Gopal, James Howell, Colin Wong) 17-0; 2. Medina (Tyrek Kelley, Bryce Howington, Knowles) 16-0; 6. Cloverleaf (Philip Hamilton, Jerome, Colton Funai) 10-11. Long jump relay: 1. Medina (Hulvey, Thomas Komar, Knowles) 59-9 1/2; 6. Cloverleaf (Oakley Kemp, Hamilton, Jerome) 55-10 1/4. Discus: 1. Solon (Chase Johnson, Jakob Oldenburg, Jamari Holmes) 419-1; 2. Medina (Nick Manley, Patrick Gillespie, Elliott Avalon) 347-7; 7. Highland (Samuel Arnold, Wyatt Vondran, Patrick Flannery) 314-10; 8. Medina 'B' (Dylan Caldwell, Matthew Suliks, Mark Halstead) 289-2. Shot put: 1. Solon (Oldenburg, Johnson, Holmes) 138-11 1/4; 2. Medina (Manley, Alexander Miller, Dylan Forster) 133-8 3/4; 6. Cloverleaf (Luke Yuravak, Will Rogalski, Clay Combs) 117-3 1/4; 8. Medina 'B' (Halstead, Aaron Angell, Chad Shinsky) 103-5.