Twinsburg girls track gets total team effort to win Nordonia district

Akron Beacon Journal
·3 min read
Sanayah Ruffin, right, of Twinsburg, hands off the baton to teammate Arriah Gilmer, as they and their teammates Bree Banach and anchor Sophie Besett run to a first place finish in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:59.60 during the Suburban League National Conference track meet in Twinsburg on Thursday.
Sanayah Ruffin, right, of Twinsburg, hands off the baton to teammate Arriah Gilmer, as they and their teammates Bree Banach and anchor Sophie Besett run to a first place finish in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:59.60 during the Suburban League National Conference track meet in Twinsburg on Thursday.

MACEDONIA — The Twinsburg girls track squad has built itself into a state power over the last decade on the strength of its sprint crew.

The Tigers are not a one-dimensional team, however, and the results from the Division I district meet at Nordonia proved it.

The Tigers won the girls team title at Nordonia Friday with 117.1 points, well ahead of runner-up Hudson (104).

Twinsburg's boys squad had a solid meet as well, finishing fourth in the 13-team race with 83 points. Hudson edged Stow-Munroe Falls 95-93 for the boys team title.

The best part about Twinsburg's meet? The Tiger girls scored in every even save the 800-meter run, much to coach Sara Kmet's delight.

"That's pretty impressive," Kmet said. "The sprinters all do their thing and and they do it well. But the points are coming from all over."

Sophie Besett of Twinsburg, anchors the team of Bree Banach, Sanayah Ruffin and Arriah Gilmer to a first place finish in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:59.60 during the Suburban League National Conference track meet in Twinsburg on Thursday.
Sophie Besett of Twinsburg, anchors the team of Bree Banach, Sanayah Ruffin and Arriah Gilmer to a first place finish in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:59.60 during the Suburban League National Conference track meet in Twinsburg on Thursday.

The top four finishers in each event advance to the Division I district meet at Austintown, which will take place Wednesday and Friday.

While the Twinsburg girls got contributions from everywhere, it was in the sprint relays where they dominated.

Twinsburg opened by winning the 900-meter relay in 1:42, 93, followed by victory in the 400-meter relay in 48.79 seconds. The Tigers then put a cap on the meet by winning the final even — the 1,600-meter relay — in 4:01.23.

Individually, Twinsburg enjoyed a sweep in the 400-meter dash.

In the girls race, senior Sophie Bessett won the title in 57.5 seconds, with teammate Arriah Gilmer taking third in 59.7.

Logan Doyle, left, of Twinsburg, runs to a first place finish in the 400 meter dash with a time of 49.38 past Jackson Herbert, of Wadsworth placing second and Tyler Travis of Hudson placing third during the Suburban League National Conference track meet in Twinsburg on Thursday.
Logan Doyle, left, of Twinsburg, runs to a first place finish in the 400 meter dash with a time of 49.38 past Jackson Herbert, of Wadsworth placing second and Tyler Travis of Hudson placing third during the Suburban League National Conference track meet in Twinsburg on Thursday.

Senior Logan Doyle then completed the 400 sweep by winning the boys race in 48.3 seconds. It was the lone individual title for the Tiger boys.

While the Twinsburg had no other sprint champions, they qualified tons of girls to regionals.

In fact, sophomore Savannah Swanda and senior Paris Gosha-Foreman ran similar races in both the 100- and 200-meter dash.

Swanda finished as runner-up in both the 100 (12.52) and 200 (26.04), while Gosha-Foreman was third in the 100 (12.53) and fourth in the 200 (26.16).

Twinsburg also got a runner-up finish in the field evens, as junior thrower  Sophie Adick finished second in the shot put with a toss of 34 feet, 3.50 inches. Adick just missed advancing in the discus, as she finished fifth with a throw of 101 feet, 9 inches.

Twinsburg also saw senior Sydnee Donegan take third in the high jump with a leap of  4-feet-10, while junior Cecelia Radicelli took fourth in the pole vault by clearing 10 feet for the first time.

For the Twinsburg, senior Aidan Cain booked his ticket to Austintown in the 800, as he finished second in 1:56.36.

Also finishing as runner up for Twinsburg  was junior pole vaulter Josh Schiopota. He took second with a vault of 12 feet.

Three was the lucky number for senior Josh Mikulka and senior thrower Tyson Jacobs, as they each finished third in both of their events.

Mikulka ran third behind All-Ohioans Matt Hayes of Nordonia and Malachi Collier of Maple Heights in the 110-meter (15.38 seconds) and 300-meter hurdles (40.51 seconds)

Nordonia's Matthew Hayes, left, and Twinsburg's Josh Mikulka compete in the boys 110 meter hurdles during the Division I district track meet at Nordonia High School on Friday.
Nordonia's Matthew Hayes, left, and Twinsburg's Josh Mikulka compete in the boys 110 meter hurdles during the Division I district track meet at Nordonia High School on Friday.

Jacobs took third in the shot put with a throw of 48-feet-9, while taking third in the discus with a heave of 136-feet-7. Fellow senior Donald Mold also qualified in the discus, taking fourth with a throw of 129-feet-4 5.

"Everyone knows the competition at Austintown is tough," Kmet said.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Twinsburg girls track gets total team effort to win Nordonia district