Perkins boys, Bellevue girls win titles at Pirate Relays

PERKINS TWP. — Huron's Joe Schaeffer was impressive Friday. Running in the 100-meter dash at the 42nd annual Jim Hauser Pirate Relays, Schaeffer set a meet record by finishing in 10.51 seconds. That broke the previous mark of 10.7 seconds, set by Mansfield Madison's Mike Blevins in 1997. It's also a school record for Huron, breaking Mitch Nickoli's mark of 10.90 in 2003. "At the beginning of races, I always try to center myself," Schaeffer said. "I want to focus on the goal of getting to the finish line first. On the blocks, I center and see what I want to work on. Today, I wanted to be good out of the blocks and get a good first step." Last year's Division III state champion, Ethan Bosch, ran a 10.76 to win the title last spring. Schaeffer's time would have been good enough to set the state meet record. "My prediction was 10.87 and he blew that out of the water," Tigers coach Mike Lemponen said. "His start has been his biggest weakness and today he had an amazing start. Yeah, the wind helps. But, if you take the wind away, it's still a 10.7-something. "It's a school record for us and that's been an item on the checklist. He got it out of the way early." He finished just ahead of Sandusky's Daviyon Jackson, who crossed the line in 10.77 seconds. Schaeffer was able to compete with runners from Perkins, Bellevue and Norwalk, as well. "With these bigger schools, there's a lot of great competition," Schaeffer said. "The kid from Sandusky is really good and has a great start. I knew he might get me out of the start, but it was trusting I could get there. Having good competition around you makes you better." Perkins won the team title with 123 points while Bellevue was second with 81.5. "The guys are a very young team," Pirates coach Shane Burrows said. "We have a seasoned distance group with a lot of seniors, but the rest of the team is made up of a lot of juniors, sophomores and freshmen. I'm really happy with their performance. "The long jump guys broke the school record that was set back in 2002 or 2003. Those three all jumped personal records today. Jumping that distance this early in the season is nice, but we also had 70-degree weather." Huron took third with 81 points, Sandusky (80) was fourth, Norwalk (70) was fifth and Edison (54.5) was sixth. "The big thing for us in the 4x100 and 4x200 is we have a new core," said Lemponen, noting that Swiss Army knife Peter Cencer wasn't in attendance. "We have a couple seniors that have never run before. We're trying to work out some kinks as far as timing. "We have to be patient and in the zone. We got DQ'd in the 4x100 and that's OK. It happens. I'd rather have it happen now than in the postseason. We did well." Perkins (46 points) won the field portion championship, as well. In the long jump, Paul Keys (21 feet, 9.5 inches), Fredrick Taylor (21-4.25) and Brandon Harvey (19-8.25) teamed up for the victory. Keys (6-0), Levi Groot (5-8) and Taylor (5-8) were victorious in the high jump. Also in the field, Dominic Hauke (10-0), Cooper Murphy (10-0) and Max Zess (9-0) combined to win the pole vault relay. The Pirates had a pair of wins in relays. Nicholas Coiffard, Benjamin Musser, Blake Witter and Joel Smelcer won the distance medley in 11:29.54. Musser and Witter then teamed with Cayden Adock-Greenman and Kannon Harris to take the 4x400 in a time of 3:40.24. "We have some things we have to work on," Burrow said. "We have some areas that we're not as strong as I'd like to be right now. When you have young kids, you're trying to get ready for the end of the season. Hopefully in the next five or six weeks, we can get them ready for the conference meet because that's going to be a grind like everything else." Schaeffer anchored the 800 sprint medley with Hayden Wilson, Caleb Staley and Ayden Miller that won in 1:35.63. Wilson won the 110 hurdles in 15.64. Sage Edgerly-Bork added a win in the 1600 for Huron, crossing the line in 4:29.31. Sandusky had four relay wins. In the discus, Donavon Gant (182-0), Connor Moffit (137-05) and Hunter Straub (127-09) combined to win. The same trio won the shot as Moffit (47-02.25) led the way with Gant (43-07.75) and Straub (41-11.75) right behind. The quartet of Kaden Peake, Louis Johnson, Elijah Seavers and Jackson took wins in the 4x100 (44.10) and 4x200 (1:32.98). Clay Heyman, Tristan Biddinger, Alex Christophel and Casey Kromer won the 4x800 relay for Norwalk in 9:01.21. Bellevue wins girls title Like last year's Pirate Relays, Amerie Wagner piled up wins, helping the Lady Red capture the girls team title with 124.5 points. Huron was second with 100 points while Sandusky (85) was third, Perkins (79) was fourth, Norwalk (69) was fifth and Edison (47.5) finished sixth. "It's kind of a fun meet," Bellevue coach Lee Booze said. "You get to do some events you don't normally get to do. It allows you to get some young girls some experience in a big meet that you wouldn't normally do at a regular invite because of entry limitations. "We were able to get some girls some really good reps and experience and expose them to a big meet." Wagner started her day with a win in the 100 in a time of 12.39 seconds. Bellevue's first meet that was scheduled for Tuesday at Perkins was postponed due to weather. "I was really hoping to get first," Wagner said. "We haven't had a meet yet, so here I wanted to get out and have a good race with a good time under my belt. I was trying to push for a PR and work on my block starts. I wanted to stay smooth throughout the race. I tend to lean at the end. I wanted to stay tall." She then teamed with Hallie McCarthy, Lilly Sosa and Natalie Littlejohn to capture the 4x200 relay. Wagner had the lead when she took the baton and never wavered late. "My team is great," Wagner said. "They give me a good start where I can focus. I focus on form and getting us higher times." Wagner (5-4) also teamed with Kaitlyn Turinsky (5-4) and Payton Taylor (4-6) to take the high jump victory. She also tagged with Bella Slater, Ava Jakubcin-Theis and McCarthy to win the 800 sprint medley in 1:53.11. "She came off a really good indoor season and she's been training well," Booze said. "She has high expectations and works pretty hard for it." Slater, Jakubcin-Theis, Littlejohn and Taylor won the 4x100 relay in 52.03 while Littlejohn, McCarthy, Lilly Sosa and Emma Raymond won the 4x400, crossing the line in 4:27.06. Bellevue (34 points) won the field portion championship, as well. McCarthy (17-0.25), Littlejohn (16-7.25) and Brooklyn Stovall (13-5.50) won the combined long jump relay. Sosa had the top mark in the pole vault at 10-6. "Lilly Sosa was our only vaulter today. She won the vault individually and still got fourth overall," Booze said. "I told her to go out there and have fun and win it. You can't win the relay part, but you want her to jump well. Our long jumpers did great. Our throwers are coming along, too. The field event trophy is fun because you don't get to do that at most meets." Huron opened the meet with a win in the 4x1600 as Liz Heidl, Andrea Lesnak, Laney Schlessman and Rylie Towns won in 22:41. Heidl, Cece Elliott, Allison Kohlmann and Leah Kohlmann took home the distance medley in 14:19.66 while Allison Kohlmann, Leah Kohlmann, Claire Putnam and Towns won the 4x800 in 10:26.91. Putnam added a victory in the 1600 in a time of 5:33.80. "It's our spring break, so we came without a full team," Lemponen said. "We have 15 freshmen on the girls side and a lot of them were running today. Distance is very young and they contributed big, big points. We were looking for everyone else to compete and give 100 percent. They did a great job. "We had a lot of new relays, just because we were missing some pieces." Sandusky's Taliyah Farris picked up a win in the 100 hurdles in a time of 15.90. Her personal-best is 15.6. "I was really scared for the wind, but it definitely helped because it was behind me," Farris said. "I was a little nervous going in because I feel like I haven't been training as well this year. I used to go out of town to train, but this year I couldn't do that. I felt like getting back into a groove." Perkins got wins from Austin Bilger (117-6), Gabriella Schirg (112-1) and Addison Mason (111-2) in the discus and from Schirg (40-1.25), Elizabeth Green (38-1) and Mason (34-11.75) in the shot put. "We did well in the field," Burrows said. "We have a couple kids that are out because they're at JO volleyball or on vacation. My girls team did not have a full group here, but the girls that were here competed. We had a lot of freshmen step up in relays that normally don't run. "It's not junior high anymore. This is varsity track and field. There is no JV or freshmen. You have to come out, compete and beat somebody." Norwalk had a win in the pole vault as Adyson Lepley (10-0), Allison Konik (8-0) and Taryn Temple (6-0) teamed up for the win. There were two events where two girls and two boys ran relay races. Huron won the mixed 4x100 as Sasha Fry, Kate Ryan, Miller and Schaeffer won in 47.20. Norwalk was victorious in the 4x400 as Grace Norris, Xavia Immel, Jake Bissell and Elliot Gahring crossed the line in a time of 3:43.78. "We have some relays that we want to run pretty strong later in the year," Booze said. "That gives us a baseline of where we're at. We got to take some young girls and get them experience in meets where we can fit them into some relays. "When it comes to the state level, we're always looking to build good relay teams. This is where you start experimenting." TEAM STANDINGS Boys 1. Perkins, 123 points; 2. Bellevue, 81.5; 3. Huron, 81; 4. Sandusky, 80; 5. Norwalk, 70; 6. Edison, 54.5; 7. Cloverleaf, 49; 8. Wellington, 41.5 Girls 1. Bellevue, 124.5 points; 2. Huron, 100; 3. Sandusky, 85; 4. Perkins, 79; 5. Norwalk, 69; 6. Edison, 47.5; 7. Cloverleaf, 37; 8. Wellington, 27.5 EVENT WINNERS Boys 4x1600 relay — Cloverleaf (Caleb Neville, Noah Mion, Clay Gucker and Gavin Forbes), 19:28.19 110 hurdles — Hayden Wilson, Huron, 15.64 100 meter — Joe Schaeffer, Huron, 10.51 4x200 relay — Sandusky (Kaden Peake, Louis Johnson, Elijah Seavers, Daviyon Jackson), 1:32.98 1600 meter — Sage Edgerly-Bork, Huron, 4:29.31 4x100 relay — Sandusky (Kaden Peake, Louis Johnson, Elijah Seavers, Daviyon Jackson), 44.10 Distance medley — Perkins (Nicholas Coiffard, Benjamin Musser, Blake Witter, Joel Smelcer), 11:29.54 800 sprint medley — Huron (Hayden Wilson, Caleb Staley, Ayden Miller, Joe Schaeffer), 1:35.63 4x800 relay — Norwalk (Clay Heyman, Tristan Biddinger, Alex Christophel, Casey Kromer), 9:01.21 4x400 relay — Perkins (Benjamin Musser, Blake Witter, Cayden Adock-Greenman, Kannon Harris), 3:40.24 Discus — Sandusky, Donovan Gant (182-00), Connor Moffit (137-05) and Hunter Straub (127-09) Shot put — Sandusky, Connor Moffit (47-02.25), Donovan Gant (43-07.75) and Hunter Straub (41-11.75) High jump — Perkins, Paul Keys (6-00), Levi Groot (5-08) and Fredrick Taylor (5-08) Long jump — Perkins, Paul Keys (21-09.50), Fredrick Taylor (21-04.25) and Brandon Harvey (19-08.25) Pole vault — Perkins, Dominic Hauke (10-00), Cooper Murphy (10-00) and Max Zess (9-00) Girls 4x1600 relay — Huron (Liz Heidl, Andrea Lesnak, Laney Schlessman, Rylie Towns), 22:41 100 hurdles — Taliyah Farris, Sandusky, 15.90 100 meter — Amerie Wagner, Bellevue, 12.39 4x200 relay — Bellevue (Hallie McCarthy, Lilly Sosa, Natalie Littlejohn, Amerie Wagner), 1:48.63 1600 meter — Claire Putnam, Huron, 5:33.80 4x100 relay — Bellevue (Bella Slater, Ava Jakubcin-Theis, Natalie Littlejohn, Payton Taylor), 52.03 Distance medley — Huron (Liz Heidl, Cece Elliott, Allison Kohlmann, Leah Kohlmann), 14:19.66 800 sprint medley — Bellevue (Bella Slater, Ava Jakubcin-Theis, Amerie Wagner, Hallie McCarthy), 1:53.11 4x800 relay — Huron (Allison Kohlmann, Leah Kohlmann, Claire Putnam, Rylie Towns), 10:26.91 4x400 relay — Bellevue (Lilly Sosa, Emma Raymond, Natalie Littlejohn, Hallie McCarthy), 4:27.06 Discus — Perkins, Austin Bilger (117-06), Gabriella Schirg (112-01) and Addison Mason (111-02) Shot put — Perkins, Gabriella Schirg (40-01.25), Elizabeth Green (38-01) and Addison Mason (34-11.75) High jump — Bellevue, Amerie Wagner (5-04), Kaitlyn Turinsky (5-04) and Payton Taylor (4-06) Long jump — Bellevue, Hallie McCarthy (17-00.25), Natalie Littlejohn (16-07.25) and Brooklyn Stovall (13-05.50) Pole vault — Norwalk, Adyson Lepley (10-00), Allison Konik (8-00) and Taryn Temple (6-00) Combined 4x100 relay — Huron (Sasha Fry, Kate Ryan, Ayden Miller, Joe Schaeffer), 47.20 4x400 relay — Norwalk (Grace Norris, Xavia Immel, Jake Bissell, Elliot Gahring), 3:43.78