When it comes to preparing for the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II track postseason, competing in the Metro Athletic Conference championship serves as a good warm-up. The Streetsboro Rockets boys’ track team captured third place by scoring 105.5 points and the girls snagged third with a team score of 143.5 points last Saturday at Woodridge High School in Peninsula.
“It really is a state meet prep,” said Coach Robb Kidd. “The level of competition that we face here pretty much across the board even from teams that don’t necessarily fare well as a team are bringing top level people in some events. For me to walk away and tell someone we placed third in our league doesn’t sound impressive but if you really know the sport and see how everything went, it was a phenomenal accomplishment.”
The Rockets’ postseason march will begin when they compete in the OHSAA Division II Lakeview District Meet on Thursday afternoon in Cortland at 4 p.m.
Although the boys scored only 17.5 points in the field events, their performance in the running events propelled them to overtake Portage County rival Ravenna by four points, which came down to the final event of the meet, the 4×400 relay.
“When you got us onto the track, I just thought we did amazing,” noted the six-year coach. “Our short speed looked phenomenal.”
The quartet of seniors Timothy Harkleroad, Jackson Gula, juniors Chris Daniels and Jaden Hushion earned fourth place in the 4×800 relay with a time of 8:29.03.
Senior Marr Fall secured fifth place in the 110-meter hurdles, clocking a time of 16.75 seconds.
Junior Ethan Laryea won the 100-meter dash, setting a meet record of 10.91 seconds.
Juniors Devon White, Braden Hodge, Ryan Roscoe and Laryea captured first place in the 4×200 relay, with a time of 1:30.21.
Harkleroad finished in fourth place in the 1600-meter run by clocking 4:38.56.
The team of White, Laryea, Chester and Roscoe snagged first in the 4×100 relay, crossing the finish line in 43.53 seconds.
Hodge took second place in the 400-meter dash with a time of 51.70 seconds, followed by Chester who placed seventh by clocking 56.73 seconds.
“He did phenomenal,” Kidd said. “He has been so consistent year-round. He has been so dedicated and again just so consistent in his effort. His turnover looks incredible, and he is very strong and his speed is going great.”
Senior Preston Laryea netted sixth place in the 300-meter hurdles by clocking 42.79 seconds, followed by sophomore Adrian Monroe who wrapped up seventh place with a time of 42.88 seconds.
Daniels finished in fifth place in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:03.18, followed by Gula who came in seventh place by clocking 2:07.24.
Ethan Laryea captured first place in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.98 seconds.
“Ethan right now is running as good as anyone in the State,” remarked Kidd. “He set a new meet record in the 100-meter dash on Thursday then broke it on Saturday. He came from behind in the 200-meter dash to beat a really fast kid from Field and looks phenomenal running a sub 22 in the 200-meter dash and a sub 11 in the 100-meter.”
Harkleroad took fourth place in the 3200-meter run with a time of 10:04.62.
Sophomore Jaiden Kendrick teamed up with White, Hodge and Roscoe to finish as runners-up in the 4×400 relay with a time of 3:27.82.
Preston tied for fifth in the long jump with Field junior Victor Brown with a height of 5 feet, 10 inches.
Junior Brayden Pocek earned seventh place in the shot put with a distance of 43 feet, 8¾ inches.
Junior Cooper Richmond netted fifth place in the discus throw, throwing 127 feet, 5 inches, followed by Pocek who placed sixth with a distance of 121 feet, 6 inches.
Junior Jordan McCarty placed fourth in the long jump at 20 feet, 5 inches.
On the girls’ side, Streetsboro was fueled by some dominant performances in the hurdles and distance events, scoring 67 points.
“I was so impressed by our girls on Thursday and Saturday,” Kidd said. “They looked strong, and we had contributors in every single event, I don’t think there was not an event that we scored in, let alone a couple of events that we just dominated in.”
The quarter of juniors Kendall Epple, Meredith Mattmuller, sophomore Morgan Vales and freshman Cara Thomson finished as runners-up in the 4×800 relay with a time of 10:25.25.
Junior Olivia Johnson-Wilson won the 100-meter hurdles by clocking 15.85 seconds, followed by sophomore Jenna Fall who netted second place with a time of 15.98 seconds.
Sophomore Carman Marcini earned fourth place in the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.11 seconds.
Junior MacKenzie McIntosh and freshmen C’Niyah Ivory and Kylie Sladky joined forces with Epple to place second in the 4×200 relay by clocking 1:50.49.
Thomson took fourth place in the 1600-meter run with a time of 5:44.64, followed by junior Sonia Downing earning eighth place by clocking 6:13.90.
Freshman Bria Robinson teamed up with Marcini, McIntosh, and Johnson-Wilson to take third place in the 4×100 relay with a time of 51.59 seconds.
Ivory netted second place in the 400-meter dash with a time of 59.82 seconds, followed by Sladky who wrapped up fourth place by clocking 1:01.06.
Johnson-Wilson captured first in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 48.542 seconds, followed by Fall who finished as the runner-up by clocking 48.546 seconds.
“Jenna got off and was leading most of that race and I really thought she was going to win but Olivia’s speed and strength in the last two hurdles put her ahead,” Kidd said. “Jenna tried to respond as she came over that last hurdle and they went nose-for-nose across the line.”
Epple snagged sixth place in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:33.56, followed by junior Briana Hushion who placed eighth by clocking 2:39.54.
Ivory won the 200-meter dash, stopping the clock at 26.06 seconds, followed by McIntosh who earned seventh place with a time of 27.93 seconds.
Thomson took fourth in the 3200-meter run with a time of 12:39.32, followed by sophomore Kaelyn Malloy who netted sixth place by clocking 13:13.87.
The quartet of Fall, Sladky, Epple and Ivory secured third place in the 4×400 by clocking a time of 4:14.03.
Marcini wrapped up second place in the long jump with a distance of 16 feet, 9¾ inches.
Sophomore Emma Chamberlain earned fifth place in the discus throw, hurling 101 feet, 9 inches, followed by freshman Alivia Simmons who placed sixth with a distance of 94 feet, 8 inches.
Sophomore Sydney Abbuhl wrapped up second place in the high jump, with a height of 5 feet, 3 inches, followed by sophomore Sara Koyan who tied for sixth place with Cloverleaf sophomore Abigail Reinhardt by clearing the bar at 4 feet, 8 inches.
Simmons netted third place in the shot put, throwing a distance of 36 feet, 3½ inches.
