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MARION – To say that Chance Basilone and other members of Lexington’s distance crew have been lights-out this track season is no exaggeration.
Basilone, an Ohio State commit and the area’s only double winner in Friday’s 75th Marion Night Invitational, capitalized on an impromptu workout some of the Minutemen got in seven days earlier.
CHANGES COMING? Everything is on the table: OHSAA looking at potential changes to football playoff format
When the Eastwood Relays were cancelled on April 25 because of stormy weather, Basilone and his cohorts made sure their three hour round trip wasn’t for naught.
On the ride home they talked distance coach Denise Benson into coming up with a workout and then executed it upon arrival back at the school. It had to be a sight to behold, eight boys and one girl running on the high school track – in the dark – after 9 p.m.
“It was definitely something we’ll remember forever, that’s for sure,” said Basilone, who in Friday’s meet anchored the first place 4 x 800 meter relay and won the 3200 by over 18 seconds.
“We push each other every day in practice to be good. It’s really showing this year. We have so much depth and everyone is fighting for a spot (in the lineup).”
Benson, who has long presided over one of the premier cross country programs in Ohio, is accustomed to working with distance runners whose incredible work ethic matches their stamina.
“As soon as they got off the bus, they sprinted to my car. ‘Are we going to do the workout?’” Benson said. “They want to compete. You get there (to the invite) and feel like something was taken away, so you make the best of the situation and create a new opportunity.”
No one is more appreciative than boys track coach Mike Moore. Even though he put a lot of his athletes in odd events and used new relay combinations, the Minutemen nearly won their fourth invite title of the season, thanks in part to those firsts in the 4x8 and 3200, a 1-2 finish in the 800 and a 3-4 finish in the 1600.
Olentangy Liberty won with 120.5 points and Lex was runner-up with 107.5 as two of only three teams in the 14-team field to crack 80. Fremont Ross ran away with the girls crown, out-distancing runner-up Ashland by a 125-76 margin.
“The distance kids are a different breed,” Moore said. “They are all mentally locked in. We have five kids ranked in the top seven in the 2-mile (3200) in our (Northwest) district. Those kids are fighting for spots.”
Basilone showed that no lead is safe when he’s handed the baton, making up 75 meters on his anchor leg of the 4x8 as Lex (8:08.14) overtook Ontario (8:11.52).
The Warriors used All-Ohioan Jace Young, their usual anchor, on the third leg. That helped Ontario open up a big lead. Just not big enough.
Basilone was closing fast at the 300 meter mark and then zoomed in front with about 100 meters to go.
“I told the boys, get me within 75 to 100 meters (of the lead),” said Basilone. “I knew that (Ontario’s) usual anchor wasn’t their anchor, so I knew I had a shot.”
Basilone and junior lead-off runner Nathan Reed were the only two regulars on the 4x8. They were joined by junior Luke Haring and freshman Trevor Reed, Nathan’s brother, on the second and third legs, respectively.
“I like to chase down kids,” Basilone said, “but I also like head-to-head (battles) because it pushes you naturally.”
Basilone made everyone else do the chasing in the 3200, winning easily in 9:26.23 as he continues to rotate between the 800, 1600 and 3200 in the one open race he runs per meet.
“We’ve been changing up some things (with the lineup),” the Lex senior said..“I prefer to run multiple events (instead of focusing on one). It gets you ready for the postseason.”
Lex’s other first came in the 800, where junior Latrell Hughes (1:53.18) and senior Will Perkins (1:57.97) went 1-2. Hughes set a meet record in the process in just his second stab at the open 8 this season.
“I definitely think it’s different,” Hughes said, comparing how it feels to run the open 800 and the leg he usually runs on the 4x8. “I would say the open 8 is harder because of all the good times, and you tend to run faster than you do on one of the splits in the 4x8.”
It’s hard to pigeonhole Hughes as a mid-distance runner, because he also excels in the 200 and 400 dashes. Perkins is just as versatile, running everything from the 100 to the 800.
Friday night was his first open 800.
“It’s not my event,” he said, “but if we need points at the (Ohio Cardinal Conference) meet (in a couple of weeks), somebody needs to stand up and take on the job.”
Hughes and Perkins were told by Moore that if they had a great race they wouldn’t have to run any 800s, relays or otherwise, until districts. That was all the incentive they needed.
“He better not have lied,” Perkins said, grinning.
From a local perspective, the marquee event Friday night was the 400 meter dash. Clear Fork sophomore Taylor Bly set school and meet records with her winning time of 58.5. Ontario’s Jace Young was equally impressive in the boys race, setting the school record in 49.9.
“The goal was to break one minute (which she ran indoors) in the first (outdoor) meet,” Bly said. “That didn’t happen, so I just kept pushing, pushing, pushing.”
She shaved nearly two seconds off her previous best of 60.07.
“Today was as nervous as I’ve ever been before a race,” Bly said. “I had everybody running at me, ‘You’ve got to get out hard. You’ve got to get out hard.’ I’m like, I’m going to try. I’m really going to try.’
Last year, Bly was coming off a serious knee injury. She worked through it, but thought she had re-injured the knee the first week of this season. It turned out all she needed to heal was some ibuprofen.
“I came back even harder,” she said.
That doesn’t surprise Clear Fork coach Eric Beck.
“She’s a beast,” he said. “We’ve been working together for three years now. She trusts the programming. She was frustrated she hadn’t broken a minute and then she goes out and smashes a two-second PR and breaks the meet record. I couldn’t be prouder of her.”
Bly might be the only person Beck knows who loves track more than him.
“She’s hyper focused,” he said. “She’s one of those kids who absolutely loves track. I tell people all the time, kids are good at what they like, but they’re great at what they love. If I can teach them to love it, it’s a win for everybody.”
Bly was part of two winning relay teams at the recent 92nd Mehock Relays.
“I think this is going to be a massive confidence booster for her,” Beck said. “Hopefully, sub one-minute is going to be the new normal.”
Young, who medaled at last year’s state meet in the 800 and two relays as a sophomore, considers himself a distance runner. That’s why he was so surprised to get a school record in a race still referred to as a “dash” – which, incidentally, he was running for the first time since last year’s meet here.
“I think the main factor was the competition,” Young said, referring to a field that included Ashland’s Gavin Hoffman (third), Lex’s Bryston Hess (fourth), Clear Fork’s Ethan Beck (fifth) and Ontario’s Aidan Fox (sixth).
“Hess and Fox really pulled me out for the first 200,” Young said. “The old record was three years older than me.”
Young is 16. You do the math.
Ontario won the girls 4x100 in 49.72 behind the team of sophomore Jazlyn Johnson, junior Emma Kaple, junior Sasha Bulakovski and sophomore Audrey Mahon.
Ashland’s boys made it an area sweep in the 4x1, as the crew of junior Dakota Kruty, sophomore Tyler Sauder, sophomore Garrett Davis and senior Jacob Holbrook took first in 42.43.
The Arrows produced two other firsts. Senior Vivian Walter continued her strong season in the 100 hurdles, winning in 15.47, and junior Kelsey Kaeser won the discus with a throw of 114-9.
Clear Fork junior Julian Mills has been the area’s best shot putter all season and lived up to that billing with a first place toss of 53-11.25.
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Impromptu workout paves way to big night for Lex at Marion Invite
Continue reading...
Basilone, an Ohio State commit and the area’s only double winner in Friday’s 75th Marion Night Invitational, capitalized on an impromptu workout some of the Minutemen got in seven days earlier.
CHANGES COMING? Everything is on the table: OHSAA looking at potential changes to football playoff format
When the Eastwood Relays were cancelled on April 25 because of stormy weather, Basilone and his cohorts made sure their three hour round trip wasn’t for naught.
On the ride home they talked distance coach Denise Benson into coming up with a workout and then executed it upon arrival back at the school. It had to be a sight to behold, eight boys and one girl running on the high school track – in the dark – after 9 p.m.
“It was definitely something we’ll remember forever, that’s for sure,” said Basilone, who in Friday’s meet anchored the first place 4 x 800 meter relay and won the 3200 by over 18 seconds.
“We push each other every day in practice to be good. It’s really showing this year. We have so much depth and everyone is fighting for a spot (in the lineup).”
Benson, who has long presided over one of the premier cross country programs in Ohio, is accustomed to working with distance runners whose incredible work ethic matches their stamina.
“As soon as they got off the bus, they sprinted to my car. ‘Are we going to do the workout?’” Benson said. “They want to compete. You get there (to the invite) and feel like something was taken away, so you make the best of the situation and create a new opportunity.”
No one is more appreciative than boys track coach Mike Moore. Even though he put a lot of his athletes in odd events and used new relay combinations, the Minutemen nearly won their fourth invite title of the season, thanks in part to those firsts in the 4x8 and 3200, a 1-2 finish in the 800 and a 3-4 finish in the 1600.
Olentangy Liberty won with 120.5 points and Lex was runner-up with 107.5 as two of only three teams in the 14-team field to crack 80. Fremont Ross ran away with the girls crown, out-distancing runner-up Ashland by a 125-76 margin.
“The distance kids are a different breed,” Moore said. “They are all mentally locked in. We have five kids ranked in the top seven in the 2-mile (3200) in our (Northwest) district. Those kids are fighting for spots.”
Basilone showed that no lead is safe when he’s handed the baton, making up 75 meters on his anchor leg of the 4x8 as Lex (8:08.14) overtook Ontario (8:11.52).
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The Warriors used All-Ohioan Jace Young, their usual anchor, on the third leg. That helped Ontario open up a big lead. Just not big enough.
Basilone was closing fast at the 300 meter mark and then zoomed in front with about 100 meters to go.
“I told the boys, get me within 75 to 100 meters (of the lead),” said Basilone. “I knew that (Ontario’s) usual anchor wasn’t their anchor, so I knew I had a shot.”
Basilone and junior lead-off runner Nathan Reed were the only two regulars on the 4x8. They were joined by junior Luke Haring and freshman Trevor Reed, Nathan’s brother, on the second and third legs, respectively.
“I like to chase down kids,” Basilone said, “but I also like head-to-head (battles) because it pushes you naturally.”
Basilone made everyone else do the chasing in the 3200, winning easily in 9:26.23 as he continues to rotate between the 800, 1600 and 3200 in the one open race he runs per meet.
“We’ve been changing up some things (with the lineup),” the Lex senior said..“I prefer to run multiple events (instead of focusing on one). It gets you ready for the postseason.”
Lex’s other first came in the 800, where junior Latrell Hughes (1:53.18) and senior Will Perkins (1:57.97) went 1-2. Hughes set a meet record in the process in just his second stab at the open 8 this season.
“I definitely think it’s different,” Hughes said, comparing how it feels to run the open 800 and the leg he usually runs on the 4x8. “I would say the open 8 is harder because of all the good times, and you tend to run faster than you do on one of the splits in the 4x8.”
It’s hard to pigeonhole Hughes as a mid-distance runner, because he also excels in the 200 and 400 dashes. Perkins is just as versatile, running everything from the 100 to the 800.
Friday night was his first open 800.
“It’s not my event,” he said, “but if we need points at the (Ohio Cardinal Conference) meet (in a couple of weeks), somebody needs to stand up and take on the job.”
Hughes and Perkins were told by Moore that if they had a great race they wouldn’t have to run any 800s, relays or otherwise, until districts. That was all the incentive they needed.
“He better not have lied,” Perkins said, grinning.
You must be registered for see images attach
Records fall in the 400
From a local perspective, the marquee event Friday night was the 400 meter dash. Clear Fork sophomore Taylor Bly set school and meet records with her winning time of 58.5. Ontario’s Jace Young was equally impressive in the boys race, setting the school record in 49.9.
“The goal was to break one minute (which she ran indoors) in the first (outdoor) meet,” Bly said. “That didn’t happen, so I just kept pushing, pushing, pushing.”
She shaved nearly two seconds off her previous best of 60.07.
“Today was as nervous as I’ve ever been before a race,” Bly said. “I had everybody running at me, ‘You’ve got to get out hard. You’ve got to get out hard.’ I’m like, I’m going to try. I’m really going to try.’
Last year, Bly was coming off a serious knee injury. She worked through it, but thought she had re-injured the knee the first week of this season. It turned out all she needed to heal was some ibuprofen.
“I came back even harder,” she said.
That doesn’t surprise Clear Fork coach Eric Beck.
“She’s a beast,” he said. “We’ve been working together for three years now. She trusts the programming. She was frustrated she hadn’t broken a minute and then she goes out and smashes a two-second PR and breaks the meet record. I couldn’t be prouder of her.”
Bly might be the only person Beck knows who loves track more than him.
“She’s hyper focused,” he said. “She’s one of those kids who absolutely loves track. I tell people all the time, kids are good at what they like, but they’re great at what they love. If I can teach them to love it, it’s a win for everybody.”
Bly was part of two winning relay teams at the recent 92nd Mehock Relays.
“I think this is going to be a massive confidence booster for her,” Beck said. “Hopefully, sub one-minute is going to be the new normal.”
Young, who medaled at last year’s state meet in the 800 and two relays as a sophomore, considers himself a distance runner. That’s why he was so surprised to get a school record in a race still referred to as a “dash” – which, incidentally, he was running for the first time since last year’s meet here.
“I think the main factor was the competition,” Young said, referring to a field that included Ashland’s Gavin Hoffman (third), Lex’s Bryston Hess (fourth), Clear Fork’s Ethan Beck (fifth) and Ontario’s Aidan Fox (sixth).
“Hess and Fox really pulled me out for the first 200,” Young said. “The old record was three years older than me.”
Young is 16. You do the math.
You must be registered for see images attach
Area winners
Ontario won the girls 4x100 in 49.72 behind the team of sophomore Jazlyn Johnson, junior Emma Kaple, junior Sasha Bulakovski and sophomore Audrey Mahon.
Ashland’s boys made it an area sweep in the 4x1, as the crew of junior Dakota Kruty, sophomore Tyler Sauder, sophomore Garrett Davis and senior Jacob Holbrook took first in 42.43.
The Arrows produced two other firsts. Senior Vivian Walter continued her strong season in the 100 hurdles, winning in 15.47, and junior Kelsey Kaeser won the discus with a throw of 114-9.
Clear Fork junior Julian Mills has been the area’s best shot putter all season and lived up to that billing with a first place toss of 53-11.25.
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Impromptu workout paves way to big night for Lex at Marion Invite
Continue reading...
