St. C sweeps Buckeye 8 meet
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ST. CLAIRSVILLE -- The Buckeye 8 championship banner inside the St. Clairsville High School gymnasium is littered with titles. There are 102 listed to be exact.
The Red Devils will have to make room for a couple of more numbers.
St. Clairsville used its strong combination of top-end points and depth to sweep the team titles Tuesday evening at sun-splashed, but chilly Red Devil Stadium at the annual Buckeye 8 Track and Field Championship.
The Red Devils girls finished with 121.5 points, which was 27 better than runner-up Cambridge. St. Clairsville's bots, meanwhile, cruised to the win, scoring 171.5 points, while East Liverpool was second with 104.
In track and field, St. C. has claimed four girls titles in a row and this was the second straight and 11th overall in boys.
GIRLS
The Red Devils won four events en route to the title.
Fueling that total was the sprint work was junior standout Emma Henry. The multiple-time All-Ohioan from a season ago breezed to a 12.76 to win the 100. She later added the 200 in a Buckeye 8 record time of 25.75.
With Henry running up the backstretch, St. C. ran away with the 4×1 title, prevailing by almost two seconds. The other members of the team were Ava Crum, Lauren Powell and Brynlee Newton.
St. Clairsville's first win came in the pole vault when freshman Ava Borkoski won the pole vault with a 9-foot jump.
Martins Ferry's team of Karis Oliver, Madeline Clark, Taylor Tucker and Madison Oberle posted an 11:08.41 to win the 4×8 title.
Edison's Josie Lesnansky won the 1600-meter run in 5:50.89.
Indian Creek's Madison Conrad was the 3200-meter champion in 13:01.83. Just a few minutes prior, she won the 800 meter run in 2:28.69.
BOYS
St. Clairsville came into the meet as the favorites and didn't disappoint. The Red Devils claimed the top prize in seven events.
Junior distance ace Ben Shields was ultra impressive in winning both the 1600 and 3200 meter runs. He not only prevailed, but he did so with a meet record in both events.
He claimed the 1600 with a 4:29.83 and then circled the track eight times in 9:52.97 to win the 3200.
Senior Grant Swider picked up a win in the 300 intermediate hurdles in 41.97. He had won the long jump earlier in the meet with a mark of 20-8.
The Red Devils' first win on the track came in record-setting fashion. The team of Gage Wolfe, Rece Spomer, Gavin Schoolcraft and Andrew Vera turned in a 1:31.92 for the title and a new meet record.
Also in the field, one of the most competitive events occurred in the shot put. St. C. junior Perry Patrone launched the iron ball to a mark of 56-10 1/4, which was 5.25 inches better than Union Local's Johnny Sabinski. Harrison Central's Hunter Boals was third and he also broke the 51-foot barrier.
Union Local got a win thanks to the aforementioned Sabinski etched his name into Buckeye 8 records with a discus victory and record-equalling mark of 168-5.
Beaver Local, which finished third in the team standings, received a sprint triple from standout senior Caleb White.
The Kent State track and field signee won the 100 in 11.05. He then shifted to the 400 and captured that title in 51.67 and then completed the trifecta in the 200 with a time of 22.92.
Cambridge's 4×1 team of Eli Edwards, Xander Caldwell, Owen Feldner and Reed Johnson posted a 44.26 to win the sprint relay.