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Boys finish second at elite invitational

by Steve Batko

Correspondent

With state powers like Reynoldsburg and Youngstown Boardman, plus a host of other quality teams on hand, it made the April 26 performance at the Poland Invitational that much sweeter for the Twinsburg boys track and field team.

The Tigers placed second overall out of 21 teams in the 13th annual Poland Seminary event.

"It was great to finish second to a perennial state power in Reynoldsburg," said head coach Mike Martin.

Reynoldsburg won the team crown 126-70 over Twinsburg as Boardman was third (67), followed by Cuyahoga Falls (45), Youngstown East (44), Hubbard (37), Poland Seminary (32), Canfield (28.50), Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy (27) and Warren Harding (26.5).

It was a solid field and the icing for Martin came when junior standout Stuart Edmonds captured the 3,200-meter title at Poland, but in the process, shattered the school record with a clocking of 9 minutes, 31.47 seconds.

Edmonds beat some strong runners with CVCA's Kyle Sullinger (9:46.21), Calvin Garza (9:57) of Reynoldsburg, plus Crestwood's Josh Franek, the fourth seed who placed eighth.

Mike Baxter, of Cuyahoga Falls, is another runner who Edmonds beat as Baxter was fourth overall.

Edmonds' teammate Ryan Smith, a junior, set a personal best in the 3,200 with a time of 10:14.44 while placing seventh overall, just ahead of Franek.

Junior Eric Cooper placed fourth in the 100 with a time of 11.17 and was fourth in the 200 with a time of 23.29. He also was a member of two relays that scored -- the 800 relay that ran fourth (1:31.48) and the fifth-place 400 relay (44.38).

"Eric really continued his hot running this season," said Martin.

Joining Cooper on the 800 relay were seniors Shawn Rall and Shawn Barker, plus sophomore Dominic Allen. The 400 cast included Cooper, sophomore Mike Maier, Allen and senior Evan Hunter.

Martin was thrilled to see the 3,200 relay record its fastest time of the year with the likes of Edmonds, juniors Nate Tarach and Chris Kelly and senior Sean Reynolds.

"They ran their fastest time of the year [8.13.78],"î said Martin, whose relay was only beaten by Reynoldsburg, which set the new meet record at 8:03.17.

Rall also has been making his strides as he placed seventh in the long jump (19 feet, 3 inches) and was on the third-place 1,600 relay (3:32.54).

"Shawn continues to have a strong season for us in several events," said Martin.

Rall was joined in the relay by senior Shawn Barker, sophomore Jalil Bishop and Tarach. Tarach also placed fifth in the open 800 race with a clocking of 2:01.52.

Kelly also finished third in the 1,600 (4:37.13).

Hurdlers Dion Johnson and Waquiem Comar have caught Martin's attention. The duo both grabbed places and season bests in the 300 hurdles. Comar was fifth (31.0) and Johnson ran sixth (41.05).

The Tigers' throwers grabbed points in the shot-put and discus events.

Junior standout Kevin Miller snagged fifth place in the shot put with a throw of 48-5 and senior Dominic Surace placed seventh (47-5.75) in the shot put.

Surace came back and placed eighth in the discus (135-7).

Not only are the Tigers excelling in the big meets, but they have fared well in dual-meet action.

The Tigers were scheduled to visit Northeast Ohio Conference Lake Division rival Nordonia April 30, but final results weren't available at press time.

Visiting Twinsburg beat previously undefeated Stow-Munroe Falls (2-1) 94-43 April 23. Nordonia also was 3-0 along with the Tigers.

"I thought we were well-balanced and Eric Cooper led us," said Martin.

Cooper was victorious in the 100 with a blazing 10.9-second race.

He captured the 200 with a time of 22.4. He also was on the winning 400 relay and 800 sprint relays.

Tarach led a sweep in the 800 with a time of 2:02.3, followed by Kelly (2:03.3) and Reynolds (2:05). Johnson and Comar ran first and third, respectively, in both hurdle races.

Johnson won both in 15.8 and 41.0 ticks. Comar had a 42.8 in the 300.

Rall led a one-two-three Tiger finish in the 400 (51.3), along with Bishop and Barker. Twinsburg also had a sweep in the 3,200 with Smith (10:22), Edmonds and Hunter.

Allen ran second in the 100 (11.0) and 200 (23.3) while Edmonds was second in the 1,600, followed by junior Eric Teepen, running his seasons-best at 4:50.4.

Miller led a sweep in the discus (132-4), besting Surace and junior Brett Zenobi. Miller and Surace came back with a one-two effort in the shot put with throws of 47-5 and 46-0, respectively. Freshman Aaron Macer was third in the high jump.

In upcoming action, Twinsburg is scheduled to compete in the May 3 Austintown Fitch Optimist Invitational (9:15 a.m.) and hosts River rival Cuyahoga Falls May 7 (4:30 p.m.).

The Tigers junior varsity unit is set to compete in the May 2 Revere Relays in Richfield.

E-mail: stowsports@recordpub.com

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