Track & field: Alex Valentine vaults Wadsworth over hosts at Massillon Jackson Twilight Invitational

JACKSON TWP. — Alex Valentine vaulted the Wadsworth boys track and field team over the host Polar Bears at the Massillon Jackson Twilight Invitational on Friday night. Jackson tied the Grizzlies after the 3,200-meter run with only the pole vault and 4x400 to be completed. Valentine won the pole vault with 14 feet and Hunter Harris came in fifth at 12-0, beating the Polar Bears' Asher Helsel and Quinn Keller (11-0), who tied for sixth, and eighth-place Tommy Ralston (10-6). That gave Wadsworth an eight-point bump on the way to a 181.5-174 victory in the final meet before the Suburban League National Conference Meet next week. Wadsworth finished third in the 4x400 (3:34.27) behind Quinn McMaster, Dominic Jackson, Landon Giauque and Jimmy O'Connell. That edged the Polar Bears (4th, 3:35.04), but because Jackson ran a second team that finished fifth, both schools got six points. The Wadsworth girls elected to compete at the Woodridge Wrap-Up today. "I missed the first attempt at 13-6, but I was already tired and wanted to save my legs," Valentine said of the pole vault. "I skipped a 14 and took the risk of only two attempts. I missed on the first attempt, but then I cleared it for a big make on the second attempt. "That secured us the first place." Valentine had earned the right to be a little tired after also winning the 100 (11.01) and 200 (22.26) to secure three of Wadsworth's four event victories. The fourth belong to Brayden Murphy, who tied Northwest's Colton Helmick with 6-0 in a crazy high jump that also saw a three-way tie for third. "I think it could have gone a little bit better," Murphy said. "We actually had a bit of confusion if we were going to tie for first or not, because I passed at 5-6 and he jumped it, but they figured it out. It's kind of funny to see two of us on the first place and three of us on third place (on the podium). "I feel like I should have gotten 6-2, but it ended up pretty good." Wadsworth also had a series of top-three finishes to reach the podium, led by Jimmy O'Connell's seconds in the 110 hurdles (15.16) and 300 hurdles (40.19). Calix Lemp finished behind Valentine in the 100 (11.16), while Landon Lanham was leading for most of the 1,600 before Northwest's Smith Doubet passed him on the final lap to take put Lanham in second, 4:34.18-4:34.55. The Grizzlies got other seconds from Lincoln Reeling (141-0) in the discus and Evan Lilly (47-4) in the shot put. The final individual second belonged to McMaster in the 400 (52.28). Wadsworth also was second in the 4x100 (44.34). The Grizzlies were third in the other three relays. That's also where Chase Otradovec finished in the 800 (2:05.28) and Cooper Gray in the 200 (22.83). Valentine's first win came in the 100, where he edged Lemp by 0.15 seconds. Gray finished fifth in 11.51. "The 100 was alright," Valentine said. "I was feeling a little tight, so the start wasn't the best. I got a decent time." He was just warming up, taking the 200 in 0.24 seconds over Jackson's Corey Jacobs. The 22.26 was a personal best for Valentine. "The 200 felt better," Valentine said. "I was a little more loose. My top end kind of shone out there." All in all, the night proved to be a good warmup for Valentine in the Grizzlies with the league championships and postseason on the horizon. "I'm feeling pretty good," Valentine said. "I think I'm getting faster, so hopefully I'll do pretty well at (the) league (meet) and then advance to state." Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Results Boys Standings: 1. Wadsworth 181.5, 2. Massillon Jackson 174, 3. Canal Fulton Northwest `46.5, 4. Chardon 91, 5. Alliance 35 4x800 — 1. Northwest (Luca Novakovic, Rylan Ellis, Elijah Givens, Smith Doubet) 8:13.67, 3. Wadsworth (K.J. Mack, Carter Myers, Landon Myers, Eli Loveless) 8:40.11. 110 hurdles — 1. Logan Allman (N) 14.47, 2. Jimmy O'Connell (W) 15.16, 5. Brock Gornowicz (W) 16.88, 8. Caden Kurtz (W) 17.65. 100 — 1. Alex Valentine (W) 11.01, 2. Calix Lemp (W) 11.16, 5. Cooper Gray (W) 11.51. 4x200 — 1. Jackson 1:29.05, 3. Wadsworth (Dominic Jackson, Luke Maddox, Landon Giauque, Hudson Macko) 1:34.04. 1,600 — 1. Smith Doubet (N) 4:34.18, 2. Landon Lanham (W) 4:34.55. 4x100 — 1. Jackson (Micah Regimbal, Isaiah Spaulding, Preston Young, Jackson Baker) 42.79, 2. Wadsworth (Gavin Madigan, Cooper Gray, Alex Porter, Calix Lemp) 44.34. 400 — 1. Toby Rogers (C) 51.08, 2. Quinn McMaster (W) 52.28, 4. Landon Giauque (W) 53.07. 300 hurdles — 1. Logan Allman (N) 38.86, 2. Jimmy O'Connell (W) 40.19, 7. Caden Kurtz (W) 45.76. 800 — 1. Luca Novakovic (N) 2:00.69, 3. Chase Otradovec (W) 2:05.28, 4. Mason Hiltner (W) 2:05.44, 7. Jacob Mount (W) 2:07.82. 200 — 1. Alex Valentine (W) 22.26, 3. Cooper Gray (W) 22.83, 7. Damian Jackson (W) 23.98. 3,200 — 1. Isaac Swartz (N) 10:32.22, 5, Jaden Schmitt (W) 10:55.83, 8. Jude Cole (W) 11:22.22. 4x400 — 1. Northwest (Elijah Givens, Brayden Venables, Chantz McGlumphy, Logan Allman) 3:29.07, 3. Wadsworth (Quinn McMaster, Dominic Jackson, Landon Giauque, Jimmy O'Connell) 3:34.27. High jump — 1. Brayden Murphy (W) 6-0. Long jump — 1. Jackson Baker (J) 21-6.75, 6. Quinn McMaster (W) 19-6.75. Pole vault — 1. Alex Valentine (W) 14-0, 5. Hunter Harris (W) 12-0. Discus — 1. Reese Myers (J) 145-0, 2. Lincoln Reeling (W) 141-0, 5. Jack Blubaugh (W) 133-2, 7. Evan Lilly (W) 131-10. Shot put — 1. Conner Stephenson (N) 51-2.5, 2. Evan Lilly (W) 47-4, 5. Scott Ita-Leiendecker (W) 42-2.5.