Bees close GCC era with runner-up finishes

Medina officially said goodbye to the Greater Cleveland Conference with its final league event of the year, the GCC track meet at Brunswick on May 13 and 15. The Bees’ tenure in the league — they will begin competing in the Suburban League next school year — ended with strong performances as both track teams finished as runners-up.

The boys team finished with 129.5 points, trailing only champion Brunswick’s 143. The girls finished with 145 points, 11 behind Mentor and four ahead of Brunswick.

For the girls, senior Brooke Diello and junior Mariana Cunningham dominated the short sprints. Diello won the 100-meter dash, edging Cunningham by 0.04 seconds. In the 200, Cunningham finished just ahead of Diello, 25.40 to 25.41. The pair teamed with seniors Ruby Lloyd and Michaela Gwinn to win the 4x100 relay.

The girls also had a strong showing in the pole vault, with senior Kendall Perfect finishing second and sophomore Brianna DeBow placing fourth. DeBow was the only non-senior among the top seven finishers.

For the boys, senior Jackson Riffle won the 400-meter dash. He also posted top-four finishes in the 100, 200 and long jump, where he finished second.

Senior Lima Meade won the 800-meter run. His personal-best time of 1:56.30 held off Mentor’s Michael Maynard by 0.62 seconds.

Opening the meet, Meade and fellow seniors Nate Fischer, Carsson Henning and Joey D’Aurelio combined to win the 4x800 relay. Henning added a fourth-place finish in the open 800, while D’Aurelio placed fourth in the 1600, just behind senior teammate Peyton Davis.

In the field events, senior Owen Stepsis recorded a personal-best mark of 14 feet, 6 inches to win the pole vault by 6 inches.

Senior Roland Jackson finished runner-up in the discus with a personal-best throw of 146 feet, 5 inches, just 1 inch behind Brunswick’s Eli Nicholas. Junior teammate Greg Palinchik finished fourth and was the only non-senior among the top seven finishers.

In the high jump, junior Bishop Burch finished second, while sophomore Cooper Sokolowski placed fourth.

Under the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s new postseason format, Division I no longer includes district competition because of the expansion to five divisions statewide. Medina athletes were set to begin regional competition May 19 at North Royalton with running preliminary heats.

Regional semifinals are scheduled for May 28, with field events beginning at 4:30 p.m. and running events at 6:30 p.m. Finals are scheduled for May 30, with field events at 11 a.m. and running events at 1 p.m.

The top four finishers in each event at regionals advance to the state meet. Two at-large qualifiers in each event also will advance based on times, heights and distances from the state’s four regional meets in each division.

Offering a glimpse into the future, A.I. Root eighth grader Amiah Bell finished third in both the 100- and 300-meter hurdles at the OHSAA middle school state meet. Fellow eighth grader London Wilson of Claggett qualified in the high jump but did not record a height.

The middle school state meet is an invitational event featuring the top 24 declared athletes in each event. Athletes must compete in an OHSAA-sanctioned qualifying meet to be eligible.