Tallmadge boys, Aurora girls win SLAC track titles; Woodridge boys dominate first day of MAC
TRACK AND FIELD
Suburban League American Conference championship
The Tallmadge boys won their second SLAC team title in a row at home and Aurora finished atop the girls team standings on Tuesday.
Tallmadge set a meet and school record in the boys 800-meter relay with Collin Dixon, Ben Hudak, Brennan Glover and Riley Murphy finishing in 1:29.18. Tallmadge's Jared Newenhisen set a meet record in the boys 800 in 1:59.28.
"The only league championship in school history [in boys track and field] was in 1966, and we just went back-to-back," Murphy said. "That is pretty nice."
Dixon, a junior, added a victory in the 100 in 11.26 seconds and Hudak won the 400 in 49.73. Murphy, a senior, won the high jump (6-feet, 6-inches) and long jump (23-2½) titles Monday.
"We had a lot of young guys step up," Dixon said. "We had a sophomore [Newenhisen] take 10 points in the 800."
Tallmadge's boys scored 146 points to narrowly top Aurora (144.5 points). Highland (126.5 points), Copley (78) and Revere (64) rounded out the top five.
"The culture that the kids have created here is awesome," Tallmadge coach Mike Srodawa said. "We as coaches always try to help foster that and they have taken charge with this. It is a ton of fun to coach and we are blessed with some very, very good athletes."
Aurora set a meet record in the 1,600 relay with Ryan Kotora, Matt Singleton, Tyler Ertle and Aiden Henderson posting a time of 3:27.81. Kotora also won the 200 in 22.78.
Elsewhere in the boys meet, Ken Roosevelt's Daniel Hido won the 110 hurdles (16.03) and the 300 hurdles (41.31); Highland's Elijah Hadler placed first in the 1,600 (4:23.09) and the 3,200 (9:40.85); and Copley won the 400 relay (Isaac Pittman, Luke Brenner, Cory Arp, Glen Parker, 43.68).
Aurora won two girls relays as Hannah Salgado, Alyssa Marotta, Hannah Rogge and Lauren Tincher clocked a time of 1:47.56 in the 800 and Grace Barto, Marotta, Rogge and Tincher teamed up to post a 4:08.56 in the 1,600.
Barto added a victory in the 800 in 2:26.10, and Aurora teammate Morgan Schmitt crossed the finish line first in the 1,600 (5:12.23) and 3,200 (11:42.66).
Aurora's girls scored 152 points to narrowly top Highland (150 points). Kent Roosevelt (97.5 points), Tallmadge (92.83) and Copley (69.5) rounded out the top five.
Copley's Kami Ayoup won the 100 in 12.69 seconds, the 200 in 26.69 and joined Timia Christian, Thara Douglas and Madilyne Wicks on the top 400 relay in 50.64.
Other girls champions were Kent Roosevelt's Lea Parham (100 hurdles, 16.13) and Highland teammates Sophia Scavuzzo (400, 1:00.04) and Maddie Miller (300 hurdles, 47.37).
More: Woodridge Bulldogs boys, Wadsworth Grizzlies girls win Woodridge Wrap-Up team track titles
Metro Athletic Conference Meet
Based on regular season results, most at the MAC Championship Meet expected the team race to turn into a dog and pony show.
After day one at PCB Stadium in Ravenna, the Bulldogs and Colts were right where they expected.
Woodridge's boys had a commanding lead with 43 points, as the defending Division II state champions already were well ahead of Cloverleaf (19.5 points) and Field (15.5)
The Cloverleaf girls led with 33 points, 10 ahead of second-place Norton.
The Bulldogs boys swept the field events. Oliver Mayer won the shot put with a personal record toss of 49-2¼ inches, and high jumper Cooper Defrange was the only competitor to clear 6 feet.
Cloverleaf (8:03.48) edged Woodridge (8:05.74) for the boys 3,200 relay title.
The Colts girls also got two victories, including a win in the 3,200 relay (10:20.11) after Woodridge was disqualified for stepping out of the exchange zone.
Cloverleaf senior Ashley Sigmon won the long jump title by nearly two feet, finishing with a jump of 17-10¼. Norton sophomore Morgan Hallett won the discus with a toss of 149 feet, which is the longest throw in the state this spring.
SOFTBALL
Manchester 27, Garfield Heights Trinity 0
Rachel Baker threw a five-inning no-hitter and struck out 11 to lift the eighth-seeded Panthers (10-8) over 21st-seeded Trinity in a Wellington Division III sectional opener. Emma Stamperd hit a home run. Baker (four RBIs), Corinne Hite (three RBIs), Alli Hodgkinson (three RBIs), Cayleigh Bowe (two RBIs) and Lilly Konen (two RBIs) had multi-hit games.
More: Firestone tops Medina in Division I softball sectional semifinal
Firestone 13, Kenmore-Garfield 3
Jordan Williams had a double and two RBIs for the Falcons (12-3, 6-0 City Series). Marissa Shannon notched two hits and drove in three.
Copley 11, Norton 1
Sammy Gingras hit two home runs to lead host Copley (14-7).
More: The Perfect Storm: Springfield softball has great one-two punch in Hochstetler, Ruggiero
Springfield 15, Ellet 2
Leah Kern, Erin Stubbs and Destiny Ruggiero combined for five singles, two doubles, one triple, five runs and 10 RBIs for the visiting Spartans.
Brecksville 13, Twinsburg 0
The Bees (22-2, 12-0 SLNC) picked up solid days from Kaleigh Urbanowicz (single, double, four RBIs), Grace O’Malley (single, double, RBI), Chelsea Mack (three singles, RBI, three stolen bases) and Gianna Roth (three singles, three RBIs).
More: Hudson softball has its own 'Fab Five' and the Explorers are ready to take over the game
Hudson 12, North Royalton 7
Aubrey Hill (two singles, double, three RBIs) Katie Carrillo (three singles, double, run), Laurel Gomersal (two singles, two RBIs) and Sam Farabee (two singles, run) paced Hudson.
St. Vincent-St. Mary 10, Cuyahoga Falls 2
Kaidyn Schrader hit her second home run in as many days and picked up the win with a complete game. It was Schrader's third dinger of the season for the visiting Irish (8-11). Jane Clark added three hits and four RBIs for STVM.
More: Wadsworth's John Allen throws no-hitter against Stow
BASEBALL
Wadsworth 6, North Royalton 5
An SLNC game between Akron commit John Allen (5-1) and Alabama pledge Gavin Jones (2-2) turned into a hit parade for the Grizzlies (14-4, 10-0). Wadsworth touched up Jones for six runs – four earned – on 11 hits and struck out six times.
“We were thinking about seeing him all week,” Wadsworth center fielder Aaron Keating said. “The pitcher was scooting closer to the plate during warmups to get us ready for him. When you see the kid in front of you do well, you want to do well. It gives you a lot of confidence.”
Allen pitched five innings, allowing one run on two hits with nine strikeouts and five walks.
The Bears (11-7, 6-5) made things interesting with a three-run seventh and left the winning run on second base.
Jon Byers had two RBIs and picked up his second save. Keating had a triple and RBI.
Walsh Jesuit 14, Padua 2
Seniors Jackson Phelps, Logan Oakes, Will Harding, Andrew Gormley, Henry Kaczmar and Kasey Kish led host WJ (16-4) to a win on Senior Day.
Phelps (4-0) pitched four shutout innings, allowing two hits, in relief to get the win.
WJ junior Topher Salek hit a two-run home run. Harding hit two singles and scored a run and Gormley hit two singles and scored three runs. Junior Mason Eckelman singled and scored two runs. Kaczmar and Kish both had a single, a run and an RBI, and juniors John Simecek and Alex Covas each added a double, a run and an RBI.
CVCA 9, Northwest 1
Andrew Hendrickx, Jules Hernandez, Dillon Webb and Trevor Vojtkofsky helped the host Royals (21-2, 11-0 PAC-7) tie their school record for wins in a season.
Hendrickx (4-1) struck out 13 and allowed one earned run in five innings, and hit a home run, had two RBIs and scored three runs. Hernandez had two hits and four RBIs, Webb had two hits and scored a run and Vojtkofsky had three walks, a hit, a run and an RBI.
— Michael Beaven, Michael Leonard and Brad Bournival
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Tallmadge boys, Aurora girls win SLAC track and field championships
