High school track: Brunswick's Ciara May finds final surge to finish third in hurdles

AVON LAKE — Ciara May's final push turned out to be the difference in her race. May closed in on GlenOak's Addison Hamm during the final stretch of the girls 300-meter hurdles Saturday at the Avon Lake Invitational, and a strong clear on the final hurdle gave her the push she needed to hold off Hamm by 0.63 seconds to take the heat and ultimately finish third. Like every other competitor, May had to fight through cold conditions along with strong wind on the final stretch of her race. Rain and lightning forced the invitational to delay for about an hour midway through. "I got really strong in the end and was just pushing as hard as I could," May said. "I was really excited when I passed her. As soon as I saw I was catching up, I gave it my all and cleared that last hurdle." May's third-place finish was the best among the Brunswick girls, who sent four others to the podium with fourth-place finishes. Olivia Komperda clocked 2:27.23 in the 400, Lili Kotar finished at 16.92 in the 100 hurdles and Natalie Tracy took fourth in the high jump at 4 feet, 8 inches. The 4x800 relay of Ella Daddario, Olivia Komperda, Emma Bradbury and Kylie Lockwood also took fourth at 9:59.18. On the boys side, Andrew Rauscher narrowly took fifth in the 400, clocking 54.93. He was neck-and-neck with Solon's Charles Kasper, who narrowly beat Rauscher by 0.13 seconds to win the heat and finish fourth. Rauscher took fifth. Rauscher also ran anchor for the 4x4, which also consisted of Jimmy Toomey, Mark Semanco and Josh Krecic, that took fourth at 3:40.61. "Going into it, I knew the wind was coming at us in the back stretch," Rauscher said. "I really had to fire going into that last stretch. I gave it all my got, and I'm happy with the result. I just want to focus on improving my times and getting valuable information on how to improve from this race." Brunswick had two other podium finishes on the boys side, with Chris Johnson taking third in the 200 at 23.82 while the 4x1 of Landen Case, Chris Johnson, Collin Kavulic and Eli Nichols finishing second at 44:55. Contact Chris Sweeney at sports@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on Twitter. Results BoysStandings: 1. Solon 89, 2. Avon Lake 85, 3. GlenOak 67, 4. Avon 64, 5. Chardon 63, 9. Brunswick 37. 100: 1. Cole Sigan (Olmsted Falls) 11.47. 200: 1. Joel Kpassou (Sol) 23.27, 3. Chris Johnson (Bru) 23.82. 400: 1. Karl Dietz (Char) 51.40. 800: 1. Matthew Sopchak (Char) 2:01.64. 1,600: 1. James Howell (Sol) 4:37.16. 3,200: 1. Tesfaye Young (GO) 9:54.42. 100 hurdles: 1. Jack Dillen (Strongsville) 15.83. 300 hurdles: 1. Jack Dillen (Str) 43.26. 4x100: 1. Solon (Joel Kpassou, Brian McQuaide, Jaelin Apple, Eric Del Torto) 44.09, 2. Brunswick (Landen Case, Johnson, Collin Kavulic, Eli Nichols) 44.55. 4x200: 1. GlenOak (Ja'Brailon Wilcox, Cole Greenwood, Sean Leahy, Javi'ion McClendon) 1:33.37. 4x400: 1. Solon (Matt Headen, Jaelin Apple, Cole Taylor, James Howell) 3:35.87, 3. Brunswick (Jimmy Toomey, Mark Semanco, Josh Krecic, Andrew Rauscher) 3:40.61. 4x800: 1. Rocky River (Grant Preto, Guillaume Carroll, Luke Dorenkott, Majid Abuaun) 8:04.26. Shot put: 1. Luke Hamilton (Avon) 56-2. Discus: 1. Braeden Quigley (AL) 156-05. High jump: 1. Mason Birch (Str) 6-2. Long jump: 1. Jayden Perrine (Bay) 21-6.25. Pole vault: 1. Quinn Kroneker (AL) 13-6. GirlsStandings: 1. GlenOak 65, 2. Magnificat 64, 3. Avon 60, 3. Lorain 60, 5. Olmsted Falls 55.5, 8. Brunswick 50. 100: 1. Nakeya Hermon (Lorain) 12.80. 200: 1. Even Clark (Euclid) 26.25. 400: 1. Cariona Lewis (Solon) 1:00.67. 800: 1. Sarah Peer (Westlake) 2:21.87, 4. Olivia Komperda (Bru) 2:27.23. 1,600: 1. Rae Kawalec (Chardon) 5:19.10. 3,200: 1. Kate Clute (OF) 11:05.51. 100 hurdles: 1. Morgan Blackford (Sol) 15.84, 4. Lili Kotar (Brunswick), 16.92. 300 hurdles: 1. Blackford (Sol) 47.75, 3. Ciara May (Brunswick), 51.62. 4x100: 1. GlenOak (Natalie Bisesi, Milana Leahy, Jenna Delp, Sydney Stepanovich) 51.03. 4x200: 1. GlenOak (Jenna Delp, Milana Leahy, Sydney Stepanovich, Allison Williams) 1:47.69. 4x400: 1. GlenOak (Jenna Delp, Kaitlyn Esporite, Sophia Ngetich, Sydneh Stepanovich) 4:21.4. 4x800: 1. Westlake (Sydney Peer, Ellie Irwin, Sarah Colman, Sarah Peer), 9:37.34, 4. Brunswick (Ella Daddario, Olivia Komperda, Emma Bradbury, Kylie Lockwood), 9:59.18. Shot put: 1. Samone Whitt (Lor) 37-10.5. Discus: 1. Riana Brown (Avon) 132-08. High jump: 1. Madison Miller (Mag) 5-0, 4. Natalie Tracy (Bru) 4-8. Long jump: 1. Camryn Koski (AL) 15-9.75. Pole vault: 1. Sarah Connor (Avon) 10-6.