Three Harvey athletes and seven from West Geauga punched their tickets to the regional track meet with strong performances at the Division I Riverside District on Saturday.
Both schools took home one individual district championship as Harvey senior Shareef Clayton won the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.34 and West Geauga junior Jonathan Gembka threw the discus 142-feet flat to win that event.
Harvey senior J.T. Basco placed second in the 3200-meter run with a time of 9:38.97 and senior Mario Sturdivant will join his teammates at the regional meet after he finished fourth in the long jump with a leap of 20-feet, 10 ¼-inches.
The Red Raiders had several other athletes score in the meet including senior Sami Weber, who was eighth in the long jump (15-8 ¾), Sturdivant (6th, 100m, 11.48), senior Jalaun Gorham (7th, 100m, 11.49, 5th, long jump, 20-9 3/4 and 8th, 200m, 23.47), Clayton (7th, 300m hurdles, 42.02), and senior Derry Gaston (8th, 300m hurdles, 42.88).
West Geauga’s other district qualifiers include junior Grace Gyetko, who placed fourth in the 800 with a time of 2:17.06, Shannon Swinerton, who was fourth in the 300 hurdles with a time of 46.71, and senior Patrick Garrett, who ran a time of 1:57.51 in the 800 to place third.
Garrett also advanced to regionals in the 4×800-meter run. He teamed up with senior John Patterson, junior Lorenzo Linek, and sophomore Grant Congdon to finish that race in 8:11.83, good for fourth place.
A host of Wolverines scored in the meet by finishing among the top eight.
That group included senior Aubrey Zanella (5th, 100m hurdles, 16.78), sophomore Megan McGinnis (6th, 300m hurdles, 48.31 and 7th, high jump, 5-0), freshman Maggie Furst (8th, discus, 105-8), and sophomore Daniel Kearns (8th, 3200, 10:06.02).
West Geauga also had four relays finish among the top eight.
Zanella teamed up with senior Bailey Zanella and sophomores Gabby Gudger and Grace Laster to finish fifth in the 4×100 (51.92), and Bailey Zanella, Gudger, and juniors Olivia Bartlett and Holly Hamilton placed eighth in the 4×200-meter relay with a time of 1:50.05.
Hamilton, McGinnis, Swinerton, and Gyetko ran the 4×400-meter relay in 4:09.91 to place seventh and Gyetko and juniors Julia Martinez and Skye Hackathorn, and freshman Taylor Deets placed sixth in the 4×800 with a time of 10:16.82.
The Division I regional track meet begins on Wednesday, May 26 at Austintown Fitch High School and will conclude on Friday, May 28.
