Northridge's dynamic duo warms to the occasion at huge Heath invite
HEATH ― Heath's annual Hank Smith Invitational was the first big meet of the season for many. On top of that, athletes were getting used to the consistently warmer temperatures and new electronic starting gun.
In all, 19 girls and 17 boys teams took to the track, and Northridge showcased two of the best competitors in senior Colette Patti and sophomore Isabel Evans, returning state qualifiers.
In a meet featuring a number of tight finishes, Patti nosed out Buckeye Valley's Grace Daily :12.456 to :12.460 to win the 100; and Daily returned the favor, prevailing :26.15 to :26.29 in the 200. In another thriller of a race, Patti anchored a 4x100 relay of freshman Ava Travis and seniors Mia Siegenthaler and Hannah Aamodt that clocked :51.87, but was nipped in :51.85 by Mount Vernon. Patti also ran on the all-senior, runner-up 4x200 relay of Darla Dorman, Siegenthaler and Stephanie Gilmore, which was just a second off the school record in 1:49.46.
Patti said running all the races so close together is very tough. "But it's mostly a mind game," she said. "You just stay prepared, mentally and physically. With it being my first actual electronic (start) meet, and first big meet of the year, I'm pretty happy. I'm very happy with the 100."
While Patti was piling up 22 points, Evans was scoring 18. She ruled the 100 hurdles in :15.25, was right behind Patti in the 200 and ran on the runner-up 4x400 relay (4:20.10) with Gilmore, Dorman and Aamodt.
Evans was able to slip past John Glenn senior Kara Fields by beating her over the last hurdle.
"I was able to finish strong, and it was definitely a better start than the prelims," she said. "My form is getting better, a lot better than last year. I would like to get it down to the low 14's if possible. I'm actually better at the longer sprints, because I can use my stamina."
In the end, Patti's and Evans' performances helped the Vikings place third out of the 19 girls teams with 81 points, trailing only champion Fairfield Union's 101.5 and John Glenn's 95.5.
Lakewood was 10th with 20, Heath 11th with 16, Utica 12th with 15, Licking Valley 13th with 11 and 14th-place Newark Catholic had 9.
The Northridge 4x800 relay of Chyanne Severance, Albree Ashbrook-Hall, Courtney Bevier and Sarah Koker took third, as did Travis in the 400.
Lakewood senior All-Ohioan Landry Driskel continued her impressive start to the season, winning the discus by nearly 11 feet with her 129-3 effort. Heath senior Allie Dunlap was second in the pole vault at 10-6, while Licking Valley's 4x200 relay of Bella Reynard, Rylee Hillis, Reagan Campbell and Nicole Gearhart finished third.
Meanwhile, Heath's 4x800 relay of freshman Ryan Baker, junior Leo Ore, junior Tucker See and senior Jacob Elam got the boys meet off to a rousing start on their home track. They won in 8:40.13.
"We dropped seven seconds," Elam pointed out. "I'm so proud of all of them. We've had a nice training schedule, and everyone is being held accountable. We're doing more challenging workouts and have really picked things up in practice. I think we won my sophomore year here, too, but it's nice to get this last one at home for my senior year."
Junior Brayden Bayles nearly claimed another Bulldog title, but he was edged out by the scantest of margins, :11.333 to :11.339 in the 100 by River View senior Jamal Watts. Bayles was also third in the 300 hurdles and long jump, and ran on the third-place 4x100 relay with Carter Wiley, Jahki Royster and Daylen McIntyre, leading Heath to third place out of 17 boys teams with 70 points. Bayles totaled 21.5 points. Carter Higgins was second in the discus with 140-11 for the Bulldogs.
Mount Vernon won with 92 and Buckeye Valley had 79. Licking Valley was fifth with 58, Northridge seventh (47), Lakewood 10th (35.5), NC 13th (8) and Utica 16th with 1.
Licking Valley junior Jacob Wheeler leaped 20-.5 to capture the long jump, and he gave all the credit to assistant coach Tyler Kuhnes.
"I'm working my way up, and coach Kuhnes started the process with me back in middle school," Wheeler said. "He saw that I was really fast, could jump high, and played basketball, and that I could use that to my advantage. I skipped a year, and he convinced me that I needed to come back. He was a good salesman. Football is my main sport. I want to keep kicking and play it in college, but to compete out here like this is great."
Valley classmates Trevor Croak and Cooper Hornfeck also had big days with runner-up finishes. Croak bettered his personal record by four feet with a 53-11.25 effort in the shot put, while Hornfeck cleared 13-0 in the pole vault. Hornfeck was also on the third-place 4x200 relay with Wheeler, Marshall Carr and Ayden Stalnaker.
Lakewood senior Ryan Byers brought home a sixth LCL title, leading from start to finish with a victorious 2:01.23 in the 800.
"I felt pretty good," he said. "I went 60 on the first lap and 61 on the second, and that's the closest I've come to going even. It was pretty hot, so I really wasn't going for time or a PR. I was going for the win, and I could not allow myself to get passed. The school record is 1:55.6, and I would like to get it and lower it to 1:54 or 1:55."
Junior Isaiah Mitchell was third in the 200 for the Lancers.
Northridge got third-place finishes from Bryce Isler in the discus, Zach Holder in the high jump and Stihl Foster in the pole vault.
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Northridge's dynamic duo warms to the occasion at huge Heath invite
