Medina track teams show early strength in short season

In track, going fast is usually a good thing. That does not apply, however, to the season.

A high school track season is just a little more than two months long, giving coaches and athletes little time to figure out who’s going to be doing what and when. The entire thing becomes a feeling-out process.

“Investing in an indoor season helps with getting athletes ready,” Medina boys coach Tobin Stepsis said. “The weather in Ohio in the spring makes planning difficult, but having a full indoor season allows athletes to transition to outdoor season nicely.”

So far, so good for Stepsis’ troops. The Bees finished fourth at the Second Sole Eagle Elite Meet at GlenOak in Canton last weekend. From a talent standpoint, the 23-team event had the feel of a postseason meet, though plenty will change between now and the actual postseason nearly a month from now.

Wadsworth won the meet with 56 points, edging St. Ignatius by a single point. Twinsburg had 53 and Medina 49, showing the Bees are part of the upper echelon.

Who did what and when in that meet might have been a preview of things to come for Medina.

“The team is progressing well and competing well in our first few meets,” Stepsis said before his team went to Canton. “We have had our seniors step up to where we expect them to be right now, and we’ve had some underclassmen compete at a high level as well.

“Our sprint unit has put together some great relay and individual performances, as well as our distance unit and Jackson Riffle in the sprints and long jump.”

Riffle won the 400 at GlenOak and finished third in the long jump and fourth in the 100.

Other top performances included Liam Meade (fourth, 800), Joey D’Aurelio (fifth, 3200), the 4x400 relay (first) and the 4x800 relay (fourth).

Others Stepsis pointed to as athletes to watch this season included Bishop Burch, Cooper Sokolowski and Aiden Gontarz in the high jump; Meade, Carson Henning, Nate Fischer and Noah Brown in mid-distance races; and Riley Dworznik, D’Aurelio, Logan Jones, Zach Sohar, Peyton Davis and Logan Butsko in distance events.

Owen Stepsis, Jackson Riffle, Adam Gabel, Lucas Deidrick and Syd Lloyd should contribute in sprint relays, with Roland Jackson, Gage Palinchik and Connor Brink making progress in the throws.

While the season is short, it’s not necessarily short on opportunities. Medina athletes will take to the track at least a half-dozen more times before the postseason begins with Greater Cleveland Conference competition in mid-May.

“We get the opportunity to compete twice a week, and our dual meets serve as great training days,” Stepsis said. “We will be ready for the championship season in May and June.”

For good measure at GlenOak, Medina’s girls team finished tied for sixth among 21 teams, scoring 51 points to match Salem’s total. Twinsburg won with 72.2. Medina’s Brooke Diello continued what has been an outstanding season by winning the 200 and placing second in the 100. She was part of a winning 4x100 team.