TC girls, Gibsonburg boys win repeat TAAC titles
Westmeyer, Dembowski lead Eagles to 7th straight crown; Burmeister, Tille pace Golden Bears
5/17/2014GIBSONBURG — The Toledo Christian girls and the Gibsonburg boys repeated as champions Friday at the Toledo Area Athletic Conference track and field meet.
The TC girls were led by senior Darian Westmeyer and freshman Morgan Dembowski, who both won multiple events.
The Golden Bear boys were paced by senior Andy Burmeister and sophomore Marcus Tille, who also captured multiple titles. Gibsonburg tallied 152 points followed by Toledo Christian (117) and Cardinal Stritch (76).
The Toledo Christian girls won their seventh straight TAAC crown, posting 163 points followed by Gibsonburg (148) and Cardinal Stritch (86).
Westmeyer defended her titles in the 100 meter hurdles (15.94 seconds) and in the 300 hurdles (49.03).
“This has been beautiful to have the coaches and teammates we've had,” Westmeyer said. “This is for the girls that came before me and keeping the legacy going. Morgan was huge to see her come through and help us out. She's going to do great things.”
Westmeyer also led the Eagles' 800 relay team to victory in 1:50.93 along with Bebe Adebiyi, Brianna Stewart, and Sami Roose.
Dembowski easily won the 1600 in a time of 5:47.53 and pulled her team into a tie with Gibsonburg after nine events. She then put the team title away with a win in the 3200 at 12:47.51.
“We knew it would be just a matter of a few points between us and Gibsonburg,” TC coach Paul Barney said. “Some of our girls did some great things. We knew Morgan had this in her. And Darian has been a rock star for us for four years.”
In the 3200 relay, Toledo Christian’s Dembowski, Kavanaugh Phelps, Tavis Phelps, and Faith Salsbury won in 10:46.27.
Gibsonburg senior Colleen Reynolds, who was named female athlete of the meet, won two events (400 and 200) and her sister Kendall won the 100. The junior twins also helped the Golden Bears win the 1600 relay.
Colleen Reynolds was in a dead heat with Toledo Christian's Micah Johnston in the 400.
Johnston collapsed just five meters from the finish line and Reynolds set a meet record in 58.78 seconds. Johnston earlier had won the long jump (15 feet, 9 inches).
In the 100, Kendall Reynolds won in 12.66. Colleen Reynolds took the 400, while Kendall was second. Colleen then came from behind in the 200 to edge Kendall by two-tenths of a second and successfully defend her title in 26.44.
“We knew we had to match the Reynolds scoring in the sprints with outscoring in the distance,” Barney said. “And we did that superbly.”
The Reynolds sisters joined Selena Aljandro and Isabel Del Toro to win the 1600 relay (4:22.60).
In the pole vault, Gibsonburg sophomore Marie Villarreal took first (6-6).
Danbury sophomore Bri Adams won the high jump (4-10). Danbury senior Tori Wright captured the shot put (33-8.25).
Cardinal Stritch senior Jennifer Trumbell won the discus with a throw of 111-11. Stritch also won the 400 relay (Abbie Reichert, Cailyn Horna, Stella Dewitt, and Kali Hardy) in 52.29.
Northwood senior Olivia Carbe won the 800 in 2:33.94.
The TC boys had secured nine straight titles before Gibsonburg won last season.
The Golden Bears' Burmeister defended his title in the long jump with a leap of 18-8 1/4. Burmeister also anchored the 800 relay team along with Alex Garcia, Erik Jahna, and Josh Dyer (1:38.50).
“TC had won it so many times in a row. It was nice to continue our winning streak,” Burmeister said. “I knew it would be hard to win it again. The seniors took it on their shoulders to make sure the freshman and sophomores would work hard every day.”
Tille placed first in the 1600 (4:49.29) and the 3200 (10:32.17).
“For our kids it's a great deal,” coach Glenn Owens said. “We've been talking about it being goal No. 1 for us. So for us to get it done is special.
"We knew Andy would do well. Marcus has that ability to win the mile and the two mile. Maybe tonight he broke out.”
The Golden Bears got first places in the shot put, as junior Tyler Hovis won with a toss of 48-8, and the high jump, as junior Jacob Kiser won at 5-8.
TC junior Mike Norman was a triple winner and was named male athlete of the meet. In the 110 meter hurdles, he won easily in 15.57. Norman also took the 400 (53.11) and 300 hurdles (43.10).
“Mike came to me yesterday and told me he could win both [hurdles]. But I told him it has never been done,” Barney said. “That is huge.”
In the 200, Toledo Christian freshman Isaac Urban won in 24.25.
In the 3200 relay, Cardinal Stritch's Zach Matthew, Nathaniel Kuhn, Bobby Romstadt, and Tim Lynn placed first (8:49.79). Lynn also won the 800 (2:05.86).
Cardinal Stritch senior Michael Outland won the discus (132-9).
In the 400 relay, Maumee Valley's Thad Woodard, Solomon Collins, Richard Jin, and Nick Towns won in 46.98.
Danbury junior James Dorko took the pole vault (11-6).
Northwood freshman Austin Krueger had a strong finish to win the 100 in 11.87 seconds.
Contact Mark Monroe at: mmonroe@theblade.com, 419-724-6354 or on Twitter @MonroeBlade.