SHADYSIDE — It was a sweet homecoming for Morgantown head girls track coach Steve Blinco on Saturday as his Mohigans claimed the team title at the 53rd annual Shadyside Relays at the sunny, but windy and chill-filled Fleming Field oval. The Mohigans made it a Motown sweep with the boys’ title as well.
Blinco is a Shadyside graduate and starred on Fleming Field during his scholastic days.
The Mohigan girls piled up 152 points to easily out-distance Weir, which finished with 89.5. Morgantown had a double winner in distance ace Jennifer Palko (800, 1600) while three others (Sasha Hunter, 400; Emma Smith, high jump; and Charlee Dunlap, long jump, while a trio of relay teams (4×200, 4×400 and 4×800) all placed first.
Buckeye Local, with a pair of double winners champions, was third with 66. Wheeling Central ran fourth with 43 and Shadyside completed the top 5 with 40.
On the boys side, Morgantown posted 138 points to 72 for runner-up Buckeye Trail. Wheeling Central and Linsly tied for third with 60, while Shadyside nipped Claymont for fifth, 32-31.
The Mohigans’ individual winners included Zachary Workman (800) and Evan Stacy (1600). The 4×400, 4×800 and shuttle hurdles relay teams also prevailed.
Locally, Caldwell junior Gwyn Lori set a pair of meet records in the discus and shot put. Her heave of 43-feet, 1-inch bettered the old mark of 42-1 set by St. Clairsville’s Alyssa Robinson in 2012. She twirled the platter 142-feet to break the mark of 140-04 set in 2000 by Revere’s Melissa Bickett.
The only male double winner, individually, was Union Local weightman Johnny Sabinski. The Louisville University recruit established a new meet record in the discus with a fling of 177-11, which was better than the 175-7 effort of Bellaire’s Colt Sechrest in 2022. Sabinski won the shot put with a throw of 61-10.5. Both performances were well ahead of the second-place thrower.
Shadyside’s Nathan Booth barely missed a meet record in the 110 high hurdles. His time of 14.13 seconds was a mere .02 off the mark set in 1997 by Barnesville’s Ryan Grear. Booth was second in the 300 lows to Linsly’s Colby Gibbons who clocked in at 40.78.
The Cadets had another champion in long jumper Ramello Derr who sailed 20-7.
Wheeling Central had individual champs in Braden McWreath in the 100 in 11.03 and JJ White in the 400 in 50.82. The Maroon Knights 4×100 relay team of Luke Minor, White, Quinton Burlenski and Dominic Gianangeli nearly set a record with their time of 44.90, which was .63 off of the mark of Hamilton Township in 2007.
Martins Ferry sophomore Jermale Thompson won the high jump with a leap of 6-foot.
Buckeye Local’s duo of Brynn McKeever (100, 200) and Jenna DelVecchio (100H, 300H) were the lone female double winners, besides Lori. McKeever, a Marshall University recruit, sprinted to a 12.44 timing in the 100, which was .33 off the mark of Bridgeport’s Brittany Hocker back in 2004. McKeever finished the 200 in 25.59.
DelVecchio doubled up in the hurdles with times of 15.89 and 51.07, respectively.
Wheeling Central claimed the 4×100 relay as Isabelle Cox, Ally Jefferson, Mischa McGhee and Kayleigh Whittington timed out at 53.59. The Maroon Knights’ Alexa Loy was second in the high jump.
Shadyside’s Kaci Tsoras leaped 9-6 to win the girls pole vault, while Weir’s shuttle hurdles team won in 1:09.64.
By KIM NORTH/The Intelligencer
