State track: Medina junior Brooke Diello breaks county mark

COLUMBUS — Medina junior Brooke Diello pushed herself to the limit at the Division I state girls track meet Friday. It resulted in the fastest 200-meter dash in Medina County history. Diello was timed at a blistering 24.51 in finishing 12th in the preliminaries, breaking the local mark of 24.58 by Brunswick's Brianna Neitzel in 2012. "I don't think I've ever run that hard before, but it feels good," Diello said while still catching her breath at the finish line. "I've been trying for this all year, so I'm glad I got to perform my best at this track." The top nine in each event advanced to the finals today at Jesse Owens Stadium. Another highlight occurred in the last race of the evening, when the Blue Devils' boys 4x400 relay team finished 12th in a school-record 3:20.11. Senior Brandon Kerr was followed by juniors Ryder Kern, Kai Piskach and Noah Surovey. "We ran against great competition, and I couldn't be more proud of our guys, just putting everything out there," said Kern, who also placed 16th in the 100. "I'm definitely happy to be where I am, but I will work hard in the offseason to get a lot stronger, which will make me faster. I know I have a lot more work to do." Medina's boys 4x200 was competitive throughout and finished fifth in its heat. Tallen Hulvey, Garrett Shook, Camden Sokolowski and Jackson Riffle wound up 10th overall in 1:27.86, 0.17 behind Solon. Walsh University signee Shook added a 12th in the 110 hurdles. Three local girls relays took part in the 4x200 semifinals, but Wadsworth, Brunswick and Medina did not move on after going 1-2-3 at the Port Clinton Regional. The Grizzlies' Cece Craig, Ashley Valatka, Avah Coviak and Hailey Otradovec were 12th, while the Blue Devils' Autumn King, Mackenzie Soeder, Zaria Roberts and Kaila Peterson placed 13th. Kylie Casal, Michaela Gwinn, Mariana Cunningham and Diello of the Bees finished 16th. "It was definitely a good learning experience," Diello said. Cece Craig, younger sister Athena Craig, Jessica Stoops and Otradovec were 13th in the 4x400. Otradovec matched that position in the open 400. Brunswick accomplished the rare feat of reaching state in all four relays. King, Taylor Tully, Bella Weinmann and Peterson were 15th in the 4x100. Wheeling University volleyball recruit King soaked in every moment of her farewell to the sport. "I had way more anxiety warming up than I've had before, but I turned it into good vibes to run," she said. "Then I looked up and realized that all of these people are here to watch us. That was so sweet. "I saw all our supporters and I heard them cheering for Brunswick, it was just amazing." Contact Brian Dulik at sports@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @BrianDulik on X.