KIRTLAND—Cardinal and Kirtland split a dual meet at Rogers Field on Thursday in the final primer for both teams before the start of the postseason next week.
Cardinal edged the Hornets in the girls’ competition, 68-67, while Kirtland topped the Huskies in the boys’ event, 84-45.
Megan Maddox, Sarah Shahan, Anna Blubaugh, and Taylor Zeigler each won two events to lead the Huskies to the win.
Maddox won the pole vault by clearing 6-feet, 6-inches and helped the 4×800-meter relay team to a win with a time of 11:10. She also finished second in the 800-meter run (2:39).
“I was pretty satisfied with my day,” Maddox said. “I was happy to have gotten first in pole vault, as well as in the 4×800, and second in the 800. I was hoping to have run a faster time in both the 4×800 and 800, but I now know where to focus my attention when practicing the next few days.”
Maddox cleared the bar on her first attempt at 6-0 and 6-6.
“I knew that if I ran and planted hard I could clear the bar,” she said. “I aim to get over the bar the first time every time and I was successful in doing that tonight, allowing me to take first”
Camille Cummins, Jenna Ayer and Lauren Dines teamed up with Maddox to win the 4×800.
“Our 4×800 had a rough start in the beginning of the season, but we are coming together and making progress,” Maddox said. “I’m happy that we were able to take first tonight. We push each other and help to cheer each other on along the way. We hope to continue to make strides come (the Chagrin Valley Conference meet) next week.”
Blubaugh set a new personal record in winning the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:04 and she also helped lead the 4×200-meter relay team to a win with a time of 1:56.9. Taylor Zeigler, Mackenzie Conley and Shahan also competed in that event. Shahan also won the 100-meter dash (14.3) and Zeigler took home first place in the 300-meter hurdles (52.7).
Also placing first for the Huskies were Anna Avalon in the discus (105-10 ½), Daisy Robinson in the high jump (4-4), and Marina Cooper, who won the 110-meter hurdles (17.9).
Kirtland’s Emily Ungrady won two events for the Hornets in her first time on the track this spring.
Ungrady, who led Kirtland’s softball team to a 7-0 win over Cuyahoga Heights on Wednesday by pitching a one-hitter also hit a double and triple and knocked in three runs, won the long jump and shot put.
“I’ve wanted to compete with the team all year but with softball being my No. 1 sport I haven’t had the opportunity,” Ungrady said. “Today felt great to get back out there.”
Ungrady set Kirtland’s junior high school record in both the shot put and 4×400-meter relay, so she’s had some success in track and field in the past. But, her only preparation for Thursday’s meet came in the moments before she competed.
“I just went out and asked coach (Erika) Eberhardt to help me get back into the flow and after a few run-throughs she helped me with a few things to tweak when it came competition time,” Ungrady said. “She was a big help with what I accomplished today.”
Ungrady surpassed 14-feet in each of her four attempts in the long jump. She won the event with a leap of 14-feet, 11-inches, which would have earned her a spot in the Division III regional tournament last spring.
She won the shot put with a throw of 32-8 ¾, edging out Cardinal’s Kaylee Klepper, a returning regional qualifier, who finished with a best throw of 32-5.
Ungrady credited her sister Macey, a veteran thrower for the Hornets, with helping to fine-tune her technique in the event.
“My sister is the one who had encouraged me to go out there and compete in shot today,” Ungrady said. “She’s the one who I owe it to. She taught me form and always pushes me to do better each time. I love being out there with her. That feeling is great; it’s like we accomplished that together today.”
Jenna Sayle won three events for the Hornets.
She finished first in the 800 (2:29) and the 1600 (5:19) and also anchored the winning 4×400-meter relay team to a time of 4:26. Danielle Brylle, Kristi Bryll and Isabel Anness also competed in that relay.
Danielle Bryll won the 200 (27.9) and also paced the 4×100-meter relay team to a win with a time of 55.5 seconds. Kristi Bryll, Mia Rini and Gabby Piazza also completed in the 4×1. Julie Namciu claimed a win in the 3200 with a time of 13:57.
Joey Torok led Kirtland’s boys’ team to the win over the Huskies by winning the 100-meter dash and also leading the 4×100 and 4×200-meter relay teams to wins.
Like Ungrady, Torok splits his time between Kirtland’s track team and its baseball squad.
“It’s very hard to split the time between the two because I am not in the shape I would be if I just focused on track,” he said. “My legs aren’t used to that much running right now but it is just fun to get out there and run. Also, it’s hard because I never know what meets I’m going to be at due to rainouts and rescheduled games. It takes a lot of communication with my baseball and track coach.”
Torok ran the 100 in 11.0 flat and teamed up with Tommy Powers, Alex Weaver and Logan Miguet to win the 4×100 in 55.5 seconds. Torok, Miguet, Powers and Colin Stack won the 4×200 in 1:35.2.
“I am very satisfied with how I ran today,” Torok said. “I ran an 11.0 in the 100 which is a lot better than the last meet I went to. I also was a part of two winning relays that were a lot of fun to be a part of. Just to get out there and run makes things fun.”
Powers also won the 200 for the Hornets with a time of 24.5 seconds.
Konnor Duncan also won three events for Kirtland.
He won the 1600 (5:16) and the 3200 (13:13) and paced the 4×800-meter relay team of Andrew Beinhardt, Joey Zovko and Andrew Schneider to a win with a time of 9:48.
Austin Fulco won the discus (123-4) and the shot put (41-9 ¾) while Zovko won the open 800 (2:17), Luke Gogolin won the high jump (5-8) and Ryan Ritossa set a new PR in winning the pole vault (10-0).
Michael Lucarelli and Hayden Cummins both won a pair of events for Cardinal.
Cummins swept the 110 (17.0) and 300 hurdles (46.5) while Lucarelli won the long jump and the 4×400-meter relay.
“Overall, the meet was an average one,” Lucarelli said. “I’m proud of my times, but there still are many things to work on and improve for CVC coming up.”
Lucarelli edged teammate Connor Sodee to win the long jump. Lucarelli cleared 17-feet, 11-inches while Sodee finished with a best jump of 17-9.
“I’m real confident heading into the CVC meet with Connor Sodee for the long jump,” he said. “I’m hoping our best shows and we can get some points for the team.”
Lucarelli also set a PR in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.9 seconds to finish second.
Jacob Revak, Ben Lobdell and Tyson Sinclair teamed up with Lucarelli to win the 4×4.
