High school track: Cloverleaf girls crush competition at MAC meet

RAVENNA — Senior Ashley Sigmon jumped the Cloverleaf girls to the front of the pack on the first day of the Metro Athletic Conference track and field championship Tuesday at Gilcrest Stadium. Sigmon improved on her own Medina County-best jump of the season by a wide margin with a leap of 17 feet, 10 1/4-inches on her first attempt in the finals to take a victory. The record jump made up for finishing second at last year's conference meet. "That was crazy," Sigmon said. "It felt really good. Last year, I lost by a tiny bit, so I really wanted it. I jumped like 16-11 last year and lost by half an inch and that really motivated me." The victory in the long jump started a big day for the Colts, who took a 33-23 lead over Norton. The girls finalized the long jump and discus, as well as the 4x800 relay. The sprint events ran preliminaries. The rest of the finals will be run on Thursday at Ravenna. "(Sigmon) has had a remarkable career if you step back and appreciate what she's done in four years," Cloverleaf coach Garth Gucker said. "Last year was the first year she long jumped, and to go from learning how to long jump to be a school record holder is a reflection of her athleticism and attitude. "From a team aspect, this sets the tone for a championship meet." Sigmon's jump broke Janelle Shaffer's 2011 school record of 17-6 and as well as her season best of 16-9½. She closed the meet by finishing sixth in the 200 to qualify for the final. "I feel pretty good after we took it easy for a couple meets because of my shin splints and other injuries," Sigmon said. "I feel really good for the end of the season." The Cloverleaf boys sit in second place with 19½ points, behind leader Woodridge (43). They finalized the high jump and shot put, along with the 4x8, which the Colts won in 8:03.4. "It feels great," Hunter Stallings said. "We've been working hard all season to drop our times and had a goal to come out and win this. It's huge for us and jump starts us for the rest of the tournament." Andrew Hibler held off a hard charge by Woodridge's Aaron Dutt on the final lap to secure the victory. "I knew he was coming and he's a great runner," Hibler said. "Everyone was telling me to go and I went for it to do the best I could to keep him off of me." Nolan Freeland and Vova Herdman kicked off the relay. The Cloverleaf girls 4x8 won with a time of 10:20.11 to score key points after Woodridge was disqualified for going out of its zone while in the lead. "That was probably the hardest race I've run so far," anchor Reese Barnett said. "That was the third time I've run the 800 and I just wanted to run a good anchor leg to pull my team through for the win. It feels really great, because I want us to win the conference. This is the first step in us getting there." Along with Sigmon and the 4x8, sophomore Riley Evans had the top qualifying times in the 100, 200 and 400. Evans topped her season best in the 100 with a 12.56. "For the final, I'm definitely looking to push myself to do the best I can for the team, along with my great teammates in the 4x2," she said. "Being top-seeded from winning all of the conference meets gives us a confidence boost, but we still have to go out hard to defend that." Laurell Brown ook third in the long jump with a personal best 15-7 3/4. Karoline Kreider (95-4) and Cydnei Miller (84-7) took fifth and sixth in the discus. Scoring for the boys were Philip Hamilton in the high jump with a 5-8 effort. Luke Yuravak (4th, 44-1) and Will Rogalski (8th, 39-6) scored in the shot. Results Metro Athletic Conference Championship Girls Standings: 1. Cloverleaf 33, 2. Norton 23, 3. Field 17, 4. Streetsboro 16, 5. Springfield 11, 6. Woodridge 10, 7. Ravenna 4. Qualifiers: 100: 1. Riley Evans (Cl) 12.53, 7. Sarah Kelly (Cl) 13.45. 200: 1. Riley Evans (Cl) 26.12, 6. Ashley Sigmon (Cl) 27.72. 400: 1. Riley Evans (Cl) 1:00.77, 2. Julia Armogida (Cl) 1:04.64. 100 hurdles: 1. Anna Rorrer (W) 15.69, 4. Paige Munchick (Cl) 17.27, 6. Vickie Brandt (Cl) 17.68. 300 hurdles: 1. Hannah Siudak (F) 46.14, 3. Paige Munchick (Cl) 50.20, 7. Natalie Bailey (Cl) 54.61. Finals: 4x800: 1. Cloverleaf (Alyssa Stoner, Emma Hibler, Meghan Cavey, Reese Barnett) 10:20.11. Long jump: 1. Ashley Sigmon (Cl) 17-10 1/4, 3. Laurell Brown (Cl) 15-7 3/4. Discus: 1. Morgan Hallett (N) 140-0, 5. Karoline Kreider (Cl) 95-4, 6. Cydnei Miller (Cl) 84-7. Boys Standings: 1. Woodridge 43, 2. Cloverleaf 19.5, 3. Field 15.5, 4. Norton 15, 5. Streetsboro 12, 6. Coventry 5, 6. Ravenna 5, 8. Springfield 2. Qualifiers: 100: 1. Preston Hopperton (St) 11.12, 8. Oakley Kemp (Cl) 11.77. 200: 1. Preston Hopperton (St) 22.73. 400: 1. Micah Schuster (St) 53.85, 3. Vova Herdman (Cl) 54.12, 7. Hunter Stallings (Cl) 55.77. 100 hurdles: 1. Kyle Carey (W) 16.27, 5. Chase Young (Cl) 17.11. 300 hurdles: 1. Kevin Murphey (St) 42.42, 5. Chase Young (Cl) 44.90. Finals: 4x800: 1. Cloverleaf (Nolan Freeland, Vova Herdman, Hunter Stallings, Andrew Hibler) 8:03.4. High jump: 1. Cooper Defrange (W) 6-0, 5. Phillip Hamilton (Cl) 5-8. Shot put: 1. Oliver Mayer (W) 49-2 1/4, 4. Luke Yuravak (Cl) 44-1, 8. Will Rogalski (Cl) 39-6.