After having our own Hilltopper Invitational cancelled last weekend for the 2nd year in a row due to weather, the teams looked forward to competing at the Willoughby South Invitational Thursday night.  The girls ended up 2nd of 11 teams, finishing behind a very talented Twinsburg team and just ahead of Mentor.  The guys ended up 3rd of 9 teams behind two of the best teams in the area - Mentor and Lake Catholic.

In field events, the teams were led by Lily Bakers 1st place in the pole vault (10-0).  Ryan Smiddy (discus) and Emily Phillips (PV) also added some valuable points by placing 2nd in their events.

On the track the boys team was out front in:

• the 100m dash with a 1-2 finish by Ben Baierl and Joey Dinko,
• the  4x100 team of (Tommy Benenati, Ben Baierl, Spencer Stiffler, and Joey Dinko) who won with a season best time of 44.42.
• the 3200 where Nate Kawalec smashed a fine field with a 9:27.34  He led some of the best runners in the area by ~100 meters in the middle of the race and ended up with a winning margin of almost 11 seconds.

Jon McKnight was up against a great competitor from Normandy and ended up 2nd in 51.41, improving on his 51.73 which had led the News-Herald area leader board.

Outstanding performances for the girls on the track included:

• The 4x800 team of Denali Selent, Maria Peters, Mila Stropkay, and Mikaylie Park as they had a season best by more than 20 seconds to win.  Everyone has outstanding efforts, but none more so than Mila's 2:33 - a big PR.
• Deanna Ogrinc who reset her own school record in the 100m Hurdles and ran the 2nd fastest time in the state so far this season in the 300m Hurdles.
• Denali Selent and Mikaylie Park finishing 2-3 behind one the very top distance runners in the state.
• Molly Green dipping under 12 minutes for 3200m with a big PR of 11:59.74!
• The girls 4x400 team running a huge season best of 4:08, with a 58.1 anchor leg by Deanna Ogrinc.

The teams travel to Brush for a dual meet on Wednesday then head to Eastlake North for the Ranger Relays on Saturday.