High school track and field: Avon sweeps own invite; boys cruise while girls rally to win by two

AVON — Victory came in two vastly different ways for the Avon boys and girls track teams at Friday's 45th edition of the Avon Jim Reynolds Invitational. The Avon boys won nine of 16 events to cruise to a convincing 146.5 to 89 win over Austintown Fitch. Conversely, depth carried the Avon girls, as they rallied after trailing through 15 out of 17 events to edge Twinsburg, 98-96. It was the Avon boys' sixth win at its home invite since 2015 and 10th overall. It was the Avon girls' first win at its home invite since winning six straight from 2014-19 and was its 14th Reynolds win overall. A special ceremony hosted by Avon alumni was held prior to the track events to honor the former Avon coach James "Jim" Reynolds, affectionally know as "JR" Reynolds, of Ashland, who died Feb. 6 at his home at the age of 90. Reynolds coached Avon boys and girls track for 32 of his last 33 years of coaching, between 1973-2006. Senior Drew Lindsay was one of many standouts for the Avon boys, winning the 300 hurdles in a meet-record 39.65 seconds and was a member of meet-record performances by the Eagles' 800-meter (1:29.96) and 1,600-meter (3:26.32) relays. Lindsay also added a second in the 110 hurdles (15.28). "It was very nice to be able to win tonight in honor of coach Reynolds," he said. "A lot of his former athletes were here. It was nice for both the boys and girls teams to be able to win tonight as a tribute to him. That's awesome." The Avon girls pulled out victory by taking first, second and fifth places in the 3,200 meters — the second to last race of the night. Kaitlyn Reese won in a meet- and school-record time of 11:09.92. Madeline Harrington was second in 11:22.93 with Carolina Reed in fifth (11:44.62) Leading Twinsburg 92-88 going into the final event — the 1,600-meter relay — the Avon girls needed to finish no worse than two places behind Twinsburg. The Eagles did better than that. Noor Odeh, Layan Odeh, Anna Argabright and Anika Singh clocked 4:15.14 to finish third. Amherst defeated Twinsburg for the relay win, 4:05.81 to 4:08.13, securing the Eagles' victory. "The pressure was a little on, but our team was behind us," Singh said. "We knew we were four points in the lead and needed to get top three to win (for at least a tie). We all just had good energy about it and just pushed it." The Avon girls finished fourth at the Reynolds invite last year, one point out of third. "After last year, especially with being on our home turf, tonight's win was so important to us," Singh said. "We're so excited." The Avon boys had several other standouts in addition to Lindsay. Luke Hamilton swept the throws, taking discus with a meet-record mark of 166-4, while also winning the shot put (54-3.5). "My marks were OK, not the best but they were fine," said Hamilton, a Division I state qualifier in shot last season. "It was a pretty good day in discus, but I should have rotated a little better on the last one. If I did, I probably would have thrown 170." Hunter Maxey broke his 2021 school record of 14-6 in the pole vault with a winning mark of 14-7, clearing that height on his third and final attempt. "My first try was very good. The second not so much, I kind of got stuck on the pole," said Maxey, who ships off to begin a six-year stint in the US Navy in early July. "On my third attempt I pushed on my arms and got over the bar. The wind wasn't too bad. I got lucky with a nice tailwind. You just had to time it out. Some people got bad winds. I got lucky." The Avon boys also got lucky in the 400-meter relay. Dan Colburn stumbled, tripped and fell into Cole Kepner on the third exchange with the Eagles leading. Kepner and Colburn kept their wits and managed to still get the exchange off and Kepner took the baton to the finish for the win in a time of 43.99. Colburn suffered a gash on his hand during the exchange when Kepner accidentally stepped on his teammate's hand. "He came right on top of me by accident," Kepner said. "It was just a mistake. He was right behind me during the exchange instead of right beside me. I think he's going to have to get stitches." The Amherst girls got a pair of wins from senior Ella Baker in the 400, in a meet-record time of 56.99, and the 200 over Lorain standout Nakeya Hermon, 25.60 to 26.46. "It really wasn't what I wanted but it was my first 200 of the season," Baker said. The Reynolds meet switched to invitational style format from a relay format in 2021 which it had used since 1988. The 45th Avon meet first began as an evening meet in 1958. The meet was renamed in 2008 after Reynolds, who coached the Avon girls track teams from 1977-2006 and the Avon boys from 1974-79 and from 1985-88. Contact Paul Heyse at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. BOYS TEAM STANDINGS: 1. Avon A, 14.6.5; 2. Austintown Fitch, 89; 3. Amherst, 56.5; 4. Twinsburg, 56; 5. Rocky River, 53; 6. St. Edward, 39; 7. North Ridgeville, 38.33; 8. Olmsted Falls, 36.33; 9. Bay, 35.33; 10. North Olmsted and Westlake, 21; 12. Avon B and Benedictine, 18; 14. Lakewood, 12; 15. Holy Name, 11; 16. Sandusky, 9 100 meters: 1. Colin Sigan (Olmsted Falls), 11.11; 2. Jared Kelley (North Olmsted), 11.14; 3. Collin Willard (North Olmsted), 11.15; 4. Michael Bissler (St. Edward), 11.22; 5. Cole Kepner (Avon), 11.29; 6. Kelon Mayberry (Benedictine), 11.34 200: 1. Michael Bissler (St. Edward), 22.38; 2. Cole Sigan (Olmsted Falls), 22.41; 3. Keion Mayberry (Benedictine), 22.73; 4. JD Roberson (Twinsburg), 22.89; 5. Tyrese Buchanan (St. Edward), 22.89; 6. Sean McQuate (Amherst), 23.14 400: 1. Jakob Weatherspoon (Avon), 50.29 (MEET RECORD, old record 50.63 set in 2022 by Bedford's Drevon Trapp); 2. Keion Mayberry (Benedictine), 50.52; 3. Cole Sigan (Olmsted Falls), 50.62; 4. Jeffrey Jemison (Holy Name), 51.08; 5. Ryan Mulenga (Twinsburg), 51.52; 6. Damarion Pruchinsky (Lorain), 51.67 800: 1. Majid Abuaun (Rocky River), 1:56.66; 2. Justin Sahli (Austintown Fitch), 1:59.12; 3. Sam Hopp (Twinsburg), 1:59.63; 4. Aiden Bennage (Twinsburg), 2:00.61; 5. Brogan Roby (Austintown Fitch), 2:01.19; 6. Luke Dorenkott (Rocky River), 2:01.89 1,600: 1. Tayo McLaughlin (North Ridgeville), 4:32.45; 2. Phillip Coury (St. Edward), 4:35.15; 3. Jeremy Snyder (Westlake), 4:36.85; 4. Adam Esa (St. Edward), 4:38.20; 5. Guillame Carroll (Rocky River), 4:38.98; 6. Jack Phillips (Olmsted Falls), 4:41.72 3,200: 1. Luke Bowlsby (Amherst), 9:33.79 (MEET RECORD, old record 9:50.23 set in 2022 by SPIRE's Alex DeRoussel); 2. Michael Hanselman (Rocky River), 9:36.57; 3. Charles Payne (Lakewood), 9:40.86; 4. Ty Perez (Amherst), 9:43.84; 5. Ruairi Zuercher (Rocky River), 9:47.20; 6. Jeremy Snyder (Westlake), 9:54.35 110-meter hurdles: 1. Nick Tibolla (Austintown Fitch), 14.65; 2. Drew Lindsay (Avon), 15.28; 3. Josh Cayson (Austintown Fitch), 15.53; 4. Zion Dixon (Twinsburg), 15.97; 5. Eric Barber (Lakewood), 16.25; 6. Nyqueze Ortiz (Avon), 16.50 300-meter hurdles: 1. Lindsay (Avon), 39.65 (MEET RECORD, old record 40.53 set in 2021 by Westlake's Austin Norris); 2. Tibolla (Austintown Fitch), 39.69; 3. Ortiz (Avon), 42.24; 4. Henry Cislo (Amherst), 43.04; 5. Josh Cayson (Austintown Fitch), 43.56; 6. Dre Campbell (Sandusky), 44.21 400-meter relay: 1. Avon A (Tommy Ptacek, Jakob Weatherspoon, Dan Colburn, Cole Kepner), 43.99; 2. Austintown Fitch, 44.10; 3. North Ridgeville (Aaron Putt, Mark Pierce, Devin Williams, Connor Costin), 44.25; 4. Twinsburg, 44.49; 5. Avon B (Ethan Holbrook, Connor Rowlinson, Evan Garcia, Nick Colburn), 44.84; 6. St. Edward, 44.94 800-meter relay: 1. Avon (Tommy Ptacek, Drew Lindsay, Cole Kepner, Jakob Weatherspoon), 1:29.96 (MEET RECORD, old record 1:30.11 set in 2022 by Twinsburg); 2. Amherst (Kayden Tackett, Benjamin Thompson, Evan Draga, Sean McQuate), 1:31.37; 3. North Ridgeville (Travis Good, Nicholas Geraci, Devin Williams, Mark Pierce), 1:32.26; 4. Twinsburg, 1:32.52; 5. Westlake, 1:33.31; 6. Austintown-Fitch, 1:33.44 1,600-meter relay: 1. Avon (Tommy Ptacek, Drew Lindsay, Jack Farney, Jakob Weatherspoon), 3:26.32 (MEET RECORD, old record 3:31.70 set in 2022 by North Royalton); 2. Amherst (Sean McQuate, Evan Draga, Devin Ramirez, Kayden Tackett), 3:28.22; 3. Rocky River, 3:31.31; 4. Austintown Fitch, 3:35.54; 5. St. Edward, 3:35.867; 6. Twinsburg, 3:39.03 3,200-meter relay: 1. Rocky River (Guillame Carroll, Henry Lange, Grant Preto, Majid Abuan), 7:57.99 (MEET RECORD, old 8:33.40 set in 2021 by Rocky River); 2. Twinsburg, 8:13.90; 3. Avon (Logan Bittle, Franco Gallo, Colin Frazier, Cooper Tanski), 8:21.00; 4. Olmsted Falls, 8:21.55; 5. North Ridgeville, 8:29.17; 6. Bay, 8:29.98Shot put: 1. Luke Hamilton (Avon), 54-3.5; 2. Jamell James (Austintown Fitch), 53-5.75; 3. Jaylen Bogarty (Twinsburg), 47-4; 4. Jack Hricovec (Avon), 46-9; 5. Ethan Jones (Avon), 46-4.25; 6. Arrington Taylor (Westlake), 44-11.5 Discus: 1. Luke Hamilton (Avon), 166-4 (MEET RECORD, old record 160-10 set in 2022 by Avon's Evan Schackel); 2. Brandon Knaack (Bay), 149-11; 3. Austin Mitchell (Avon), 145-10; 4. Daniel Furdui (North Olmsted), 140-2; 5. Erich Frombach (Avon), 139-7; 6. Abel Sereika (Rocky River), 138-10 High jump: 1. Brody Herman (Austintown Fitch), 6-1; 2. Mike Yeager (Avon), 6-0; 3. Zander Johnson (Sandusky), 6-0; 4. Kory White (Austintown Fitch), 5-10; 5. Darrick Pou (Twinsburg), 5-8; 6. Jackson Hughes (Avon), 5-8 Long jump: 1. Tommy Ptacek (Avon), 20-6; 2. Jesse Kilgore (North Ridgeville), 20-4; 3. Jayden Perrine (Bay), 20-2; 4. Mike Yeager (Avon), 20-1.25; 5. Jeffrey Jemison (Holy Name), 19-10.25; 6. Owen Walsh (Rocky River), 19-7 Pole vault: 1. Hunter Maxey (Avon), 14-7 (MEET RECORD, old record 14-0 set in 2021 by Maxey); 2. Evan Draga (Amherst), 13-6; 3. Harrison Spalding (Austintown Fitch), 13-0; 4. Alan Ritvo (Rocky River), 12-6; 5. Tie - Cooper Miller (Amherst) and Grant Higgins (Avon), 11-6 GIRLS Team standings: 1. Avon A, 98; 2. Twinsburg, 96; 3. Rocky River, 85; 4. Lorain, 59; 5. Westlake, 52; 6. Olmsted Falls, 48; 7. Amherst, 47.33; 8. Lakewood, 41.33; 9. Magnificat, 38; 10. Bay, 29.33; 11. Avon B, 26; 12. Austintown Fitch, 19; 13. North Olmsted, 10; 14. North Ridgeville, 7; 15. Sandusky, 5; 16. Holy Name, 3 100 meters: 1. Nakeya Hermon (Lorain), 12.58; 2. Taylor Dye (Twinsburg), 12.95; 3. Ava He-Schenk (Twinsburg), 13.28; 4. Kenya Simpson (Lorain), 13.30; 5. Briah McArthur (Austintown Fitch), 13.44; 6. Olivia Byall (Rocky River), 13.50 200: 1. Ella Baker (Amherst), 25.60; 2. Nakeya Hermon (Lorain), 26.46; 3. Kaydence Doxley (Lakewood), 26.47; 4. Taylor Dye (Twinsburg), 26.59; 5. Arriah Gilmer (Twinsburg), 27.02; 6. Elizabeth Schiffbauer (North Ridgeville), 27.05 400: 1. Ella Baker (Amherst), 56.99 (MEET RECORD, old record 1:00.19 set in 2021 by Westlake's Sarah Colman); 2. Sanayah Ruffin (Twinsburg), 59.79; 3. Arriah Gilmer (Twinsburg), 1:00.69; 4. Morgan Kress (Westlake), 1:01.47; 5. Mikaela Davala (Magnificat), 1:01.72; 6. Dalasha Pruchinsky (Lorain), 1:01.72 800: 1. Katie Clute (Olmsted Falls), 2:18.16 (MEET RECORD, old record 2:19.93 in 2022 by Westlake's Sarah Peer); 2. Aurora Wilson (Amherst), 2:21.26; 3. Grace Lavelle (Rocky River), 2:22.22; 4. 1,600: 1. Katie Clute (Olmsted Falls), 4:58.98 (MEET RECORD, old record 5:02.59 set in 20222 by Westlake's Sarah Peer; 2. Katie Stirm (Rocky River), 5:25.51; 3. Maggie Hennessey (Westlake), 5:26.57; 4. Maeve Ransom (Bay), 5:27.87; 5. Christina Ware (Westlake), 5:27.90; 6. Josie Kavc (Lakewood), 5:31.35 3,200: 1. Kaitlyn Reese (Avon), 11:09.92 (MEET RECORD, old record 11:14.08 set in 2022 by Rocky River's Sam Coleman); 2. Madeline Harrington (Avon), 11:22.93; 3. Julia Richards (Westlake), 11:31.91; 4. Brianna Chaves (Rocky River), 11:43.38; 5. Carolina Reed (Avon), 11:44.62; 6. Aubrey Prada (Olmsted Falls), 11:59.01 100-meter hurdles: 1. Mary Sollars (Rocky River), 16.17 (MEET RECORD, old record 16.18 set in 2021 by Avon's Juliet Goodelle); 2. Payton Krafchek (Bay), 16:42; 3. Ellie Harkins (Rocky River), 16.72; 4. Megan Mahaffey (Olmsted Falls), 16.80; 5. Charieon Doxley (Lakewood), 17.02; 6. Margaret Calabrise (North Ridgeville), 17.21 300-meter hurdles: 1. Lia Stewart (Twinsburg), 48.16; 2. Ellie Harkins (Rocky River), 48.16; 3. Noor Odeh (Avon), 49.46; 4. Taliyah Farris (Sandusky), 49.62; 5. Aniya Johnson (Lakewood), 49.98; 6. Alex Vargo (Amherst), 50.21 400-meter relay: 1. Twinsburg (Taylor Dye, Ava He-Schenk, Bree Banach, Savannah Swanda), 49.60; 2. Lorain (Dalash Pruchinsky, Iyanna Alves, Ineyah Palos, Hermon), 49.87; 3. Avon (Sarai Kittelberger, Makenzie Ptacek, Mollie Geiger, Alexis Titas), 51.67; 4. Rocky River, 51.88; 5. Lakewood, 52.22; 6. Magnificat, 52.31 800-meter relay: 1. Twinsburg (Sanayah Ruffin, Taylor Dye, Bree Banach, Arriah Gilmer), 1:44.95; 2. Lorain (Ineyah Palos, Simpson, Dalasha Pruchinsky, Hermon), 1:47.06; 3. Westlake, 1:48.74; 4. Lakewood, 1:49.18; 5. Avon (Sarai Kittelberger, Alexis Titas, Ella Pepera, Mollie Geiger), 1:49.87; 6. Rocky River, 1:50.88 1,600-meter relay: 1. Amherst (Jayla Cruz, Aurora Wilson, Alaina Alflen, Ella Baker), 4:05.81; 2. Twinsburg, 4:08.13; 3. Avon (Noor Odeh, Layan Odeh, Anna Argabright, Anika Singh), 4:15.14; 4. Lakewood, 4:18.62; 5. Westlake, 4:18.82; 6. Rocky River, 4:19.04 3,200-meter relay: 1. Rocky River (Katie Stirm, Corinne Angney, Brianna Chaves, Grace Lavelle), 9:57.45; 2. Olmsted Falls, 10;00.44; 3. Avon (Julianna Stein, Jane Rini, Olivia Pajak), 10:15.29; 4. Magnificat, 10:25.03; 5. Bay, 10:28.79; 6. Westlake, 10:45.44 Shot put: 1. Samone Whitt (Lorain), 38-1; 2. Emily Agostin (Avon), 37-6.75; 3. Molly Drenick (Avon), 36-5; 4. Rania Brown (Avon), 36-3.25; 5. Sophie Adick (Twinsburg), 35-3.25; 6. Doris Kale (Rocky River), 35-1.5 Discus: 1. Rania Brown (Avon), 133-10; 2. Macy Brennan (Westlake), 127-7; 3. Bridgett Bergen (Avon), 126-11; 4. Samone Whitt (Lorain), 119-3; 5. Anika Norris (Westlake), 109-10; 6. Addison Bartal (Olmsted Falls), 108-4 High jump: 1. Madison Miller (Magnificat), 5-1; 2. Megan McClain (North Olmsted), 5-0; 3. Jadyn James (Twinsburg), 5-0; 4. Anika Norris (Westlake), 4-8; 5. Claire Egan (Magnificat), 4-8; 6. Bethany Sherwood (Avon), 4-8 Long jump: 1. Payton Krafchek (Bay), 16-10 (MEET RECORD, old record 16-8); 2. Morgyn Cruz (Rocky River), 16-4.75; 3. Kaydence Doxley (Lakewood), 16-3.5; 4. Makenzie Ptacek (Avon), 15-8.75; 5. Aniya Symons (Lakewood), 15-8; 6. McArthur (Austintown Fitch), 15-4 Pole vault: 1. Meghan Vadas (Austintown Fitch), 10-0; 2. Ashley Houng (Avon), 10-0; 3. Sarah Connor (Avon), 9-6; 4. Jillian Sayoc (Twinsburg), 9-6; 5. Allison Eppich (Magnificat), 9-6; 6. Emily Allman (Magnificat), 9-0