Huron sweeps chilly Edison Invitational

MILAN TWP. — They say that success breeds success. The Huron track teams have taken that to heart as both squads were victorious at the Edison Invitational on Saturday. The Huron girls won their third invitational title of the season after previously winning two invites at Perkins. "It was really awesome to see our full girls squad today compete," Huron coach Mike Lemponen said. "The fact we have 15 girls that are freshmen on the team and a lot of them are contributing, such as Andrea Lesnak, is a good sign. Even though she is not a freshman, Rylie (Towns) broke a meet record." A big part of the success of the Tigers' girl program is a balance between all disciplines. Despite battling adverse weather conditions Saturday, Huron found success in the pole vault as Hadley Barkema kicked off the meet with a vault of 10 feet, which placed her second. That success continued to the track as all four Huron relays placed in the top three, with the 4x100 team of Elli Ness, Khloe Wagner, Sasha Fry and Kate Ryan taking first in 52.18 seconds while Ava Manner, Olivia Kohlmann, Fry and Ryan won the 4x200 in a time of 1:47.44. The highlight of the track events for the girls from Huron featured Towns, who just last week broke the school record in the 3,200 meters in 10:58.02. Towns followed up that performance by finishing first in the 1600 with a meet record time of 5:05.15. The meet record stood since 2015 (Dominique Clairmonte, 5:08.38). Towns followed up that record with a runner-up finish in the 800 in 2:22.10. "Going into today's meet, I felt pretty confident," Towns said. "I knew I could make a big PR today, and coming off my sub 11:00 I feel much more motivated now. It feels good knowing I started my season strong and will keep getting better." Another championship performance for the Tigers came from Lesnak in the 3200 with a time of 11:34.83. On the boys side of the meet, Huron got championship performances from Joe Schaeffer in the 100 (11.20) and 200 (22.01). Joining Schaeffer on the victorious 4x200 relay in a time of 1:30.32 were Caleb Staley, Ayden Miller and Peter Cencer. Cencer topped the field in the 300 hurdles with a time of 41.48 while Sage Edgerly-Bork won the 800 in 2:01.38. Finishing the Tigers' championship performances was Sam Case in the 3200, finishing in 11:17.66. In the boys team scoring, Huron came out victorious with 111.5 points while Norwalk finished with 80 points to place second. Margaretta and Vermilion finished third and fourth, respectively. "It's encouraging to see the results as we are throwing people into events," Lemponen said. "It has been trial by fire and so far the results have been great." The Tigers girls won with 134.5 points, which was ahead of Norwalk, who took second with 92.5. Margaretta and Vermilion placed third and fourth. Margaretta's girls got double championship performances from Lillian Belak and Kenadie Saylor. Belak won the 100 (17.07) and 300 hurdles (48.79). For Belak, it adds to a successful start to her last high school track season. "I feel pretty strong going into my last high school track season," Belak said. "It is nice to take momentum from our successful basketball season and build it into track season, especially with a lot of basketball girls on the team." Saylor won the long jump (16-08.50) and high jump (4-10). Just like Belak, Saylor has adjusted coming off that basketball season. "Track is a very different sport because everything is based on individual times and events," Saylor said. "But the season has been good so far and I enjoy every moment of it." Margaretta's Kenadee Lesch won the discus with a toss of 122 feet. For Vermilion, do-it-all sprinter Brooke Whisenant had a successful day placing in all four of her events. She won the 100 (12.83), placed second in the 200 (26.66) and 400 (58.99) and anchored the runner-up 4x200 team (1:50.03) that also included Jazlyn Rayl, Addison Williams and Adelina Stepp. Norwalk's Norris breaks 2 records Another highlight of the meet came from Norwalk's Grace Norris, who set meet records in the 200 (25.88) and 400 (57.30). "I think for this part of the season, it has been really good so far," Norris said. "It is a blessing to be able to run this fast at this part of the season. I feel like I could have pushed a little bit more at the end, but I am happy with my results." In the 400, Norris' time broke a 20-year-old record of 59.12 by Western Reserve's Steffanie Tinney. Her time in the 200 broke a 48-year-old record of 26.2 set by Monroeville's Annette Moore. Norris finished her day anchoring the winning 4x400 relay. Norwalk's Xavi Immel set a meet record in the 800 with a time of 2:17.36. That broke Huron's Jadyn Towns meet record of 2:19.66 set in 2024. "These kids have worked so hard this season," Norwalk coach Phil Oglesby said. "We are hoping we can keep everyone healthy because there have been a lot of special performances so far this season." Norwalk added a record on the boys side with Elliot Gahring winning the 400 in 48.96, which bested the 49.1 record by Dylan Keller of St. Mary Central Catholic in 2008. TEAM SCORES Girls 1. Huron, 134.5 points; 2. Norwalk, 92.5; 3. Margaretta, 79; 4. Vermilion, 54; 5. Old Fort, 42; 6. Western Reserve 38; 7. St. Paul, 35; 8. Fremont SJCC 30.5; 9. Woodmore, 22; 10. Edison, 11.5 Boys 1. Huron, 111.5 points; 2. Norwalk, 80; 3. Margaretta, 79; 4. Vermilion, 64; 5. Old Fort, 56; 6. Edison, 49; 7. Western Reserve, 48.5; 8. Woodmore, 24; 9. Fremont SJCC 14; 10. St. Paul 13 EVENT WINNERS Girls 4x800 relay — Norwalk (Xavi Immel, Allison Konik, Peyson Bigler, Saige Konik), 10:27.43 100 hurdles — Lillian Belak, Margaretta, 17.07 100 meter — Brooke Whisenant, Vermilion, 12.83 4x200 relay — Huron (Ava Manner, Olivia Kohlmann, Sasha Fry, Kate Ryan), 1:47.44 1600 meter — Rylie Towns, Huron, 5:05.15 4x100 relay — Huron (Elli Ness, Khloe Wagoner, Sasha Fry, Kate Ryan), 52.18 400 meter — Grace Norris, Norwalk, 57.30 300 hurdles — Lillian Belak, Margaretta, 48.79 800 meter — Xavi Immel, Norwalk, 2:17.36 200 meter — Grace Norris, Norwalk, 25.88 3200 meter — Andrea Lesnak, Huron, 11:34.83 4x400 relay — Norwalk (Xavi Immel, Olivia Ysaguirre, Adyson Lepley, Grace Norris), 4:10.17 High jump — Kenadie Saylor, Margaretta, 4-10 Long jump — Kenadie Saylor, Margaretta, 16-08.50 Pole vault — Adyson Lepley, Norwalk, 10-00 Discus — Kenadee Lesch, Margaretta, 122-00 Shot put — Libby Lark, Norwalk, 34-07 Boys 4x800 relay — Edison (Kellen McDonnell, Mason Leber, William Corfman, Trey Hines), 8:37.09 110 hurdles — Henry Beisner, Old Fort, 15.91 100 meter — Joe Schaeffer, Huron, 11.20 4x200 relay — Huron (Caleb Staley, Ayden Miller, Peter Cencer, Joe Schaeffer), 1:30.32 1600 meter — Myles Byrd, Woodmore, 4:59.34 4x100 relay — Margaretta (Zack Bouy, Carter Luzader, Kale Bailey, Julian Washington), 43.42 400 meter — Elliot Gahring, Norwalk, 48.96 300 hurdles — Peter Cencer, Huron, 41.48 800 meter — Sage Edgerly-Bork, Huron, 2:01.38 200 meter — Joe Schaeffer, Huron, 22.01 3200 meter — Sam Case, Huron, 11:17.66 4x400 relay — Old Fort (Aiden Dick, Brayden Davis, Isaac Gallagher, Aidan Chapman), 3:33.60 High jump — Henry Beisner, Old Fort, 6-00 Long jump — Noah Jameson, Norwalk, 19-00 Pole vault — Colt Watson, Margaretta, 13-00 Discus — Jace Berg, Margaretta, 170-00 Shot put — Hayden Keith, Western Reserve, 55-02