Conkle, LaVoy help Eastwood capture 13th consecutive NBC track and field titles

Eastwood’s Devin Snowden beats teammate Joey Salinas in a 300-meter hurdles heat. Snowden won the final and also captured the long jump and ran on two winning relay teams at the Northern Buckeye Conference meet.

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Eastwood’s Devin Snowden beats teammate Joey Salinas in a 300-meter hurdles heat. Snowden won the final and also captured the long jump and ran on two winning relay teams at the Northern Buckeye Conference meet.

BLOOMDALE — Eastwood continued its tradition of league dominance Saturday in track and field, built around attitude, focus, and effort.

The Eastwood girls won the Northern Buckeye Conference meet by 70 points at Elmwood, while the boys team won by 47 points.

Both teams captured their 13th straight league titles. The teams won the last 11 Suburban Lakes League championships and have won the first two NBC titles.

“The two teams together support each other so much,” Eastwood girls coach Nikki Sabo said. “It’s an attitude and culture at our school. They don’t want to be the first team where the headline is the Eagles were taken down.”

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Eastwood senior Aricka LaVoy set an NBC record in the long jump with an effort of 17 feet, 1 inch.

“A lot of records have been set by Eastwood, so it’s great to be a part of that,” LaVoy said.

She also was part of two victorious relay teams.

“No one wants to be the one to break the tradition,” LaVoy said. “Everyone has their mind set on that all year. We see it in middle school and it’s something we try to do every season.”

Eastwood’s Aricka LaVoy hands off to Kortni Montag as the Eagles won the 1600-meter relay. LaVoy also won the long jump and helped win the 400 relay.

Eastwood junior Elise Wolff set meet records in the 100-meter hurdles (16.41 seconds) and in the pole vault with a personal best effort of 10-3.

“I had my mind set on winning both of my events and I wanted the team to give it their all,” Wolff said. “We don’t let down. We want to get better and have faster times.”

LaVoy also helped the Eagles’ 400 relay team win along with Reagan Boice, Maddie Jackson, and Hannah Firsdon (51.43).

LaVoy also led off for the winning 1600 relay team. Kortni Montag, Alyssa Decker, and Jackson set a meet record with a time of 4:14.03.

Eastwood tallied 176.5 total points, followed by Lake (109.5) and Woodmore (96.5).

“I’m beyond pleased,” Sabo said. “They came to this meet inspired as a collective group. It was going to take placers in all 17 events. That’s what they did.”

Genoa freshman Carly Gose set two NBC records. She set a mark in the 1600 with a time of 5:19.01, and also cruised to victory in the 800 (2:17.45).

Woodmore senior Megan Pendleton established a meet record in the discus with a toss of 138-1. Pendleton also won the shot put (36-1¾).

In the 200, Woodmore senior Karli Keaton took first in an NBC record time of 27.38. The Wildcats also got a first-place finish in the 3200 from freshman Courtney Burner (12:32.36).

Rossford’s Ryan Clay defended his title in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:57.87.

In the 100, Lake junior Nicole Pennington set a meet record with a sprint of 12.89.

Elmwood freshman Emily Schmitz took first in the shot put (129-5). The Royals' Madison Sears, also a freshman, placed first in the 400 (1:00.57).

In the high jump, Lake senior Ashley Timmons won with a leap of 4-10.

Rossford won the 800 relay with Taylor Stolar, Jessie Pietrasz, Erica Stolar, and Shelby Redway crossing first in 1:50.58. Erica Stolar, a senior, also won the 300 hurdles in 49.21.

Otsego won the 3200 relay as Dayna Fackler, Allison Horen, Mallory Beach, and Alex Wenig turned in a record time of 10:04.10.

With the NBC in its second year of existence, 20 meet records in the 34 events were set.

The Eastwood boys posted 167 points, while Lake was second with 110 and Woodmore third at 96.

Eastwood senior Isaiah Conkle dominated the sprinting events en route to earning the runner of the meet award for the second straight season.

“It’s a blessing,” Conkle said. “It’s nice to have the title. This was better than expected.”

He sprinted to the title in the 200 in a meet record 22.68. Earlier in the meet, Conkle won the 100 with a time of 11.03, besting his own record set last spring.

“It doesn’t get old,” he said. “This is amazing to be part of a team that does it year after year. We have fun. This sets us on the right path for districts, regionals, and state.”

Genoa freshman Carly Gose captures the 800-meter run. She also won the 1600.

Eastwood also won three of the four relay events. Devin Snowden, a sophomore, was a member of the 400 and 1600 relay teams. Snowden also took first in the long jump (21-6½) and in the 300 hurdles (39.11).

“Being a young guy on the team, it’s great to be exposed to the talent the team has and the great coaching,” Snowden said. “It’s a great feeling to keep that tradition going.”

Conkle joined Snowden, Brennan Seifert, and Steven Bruning in setting an NBC record in the 400 relay (43.38).

In the 1600 relay, Snowden led off followed by Joey Salinas, Gabe Fredericks, and Derek Snowden (3:22.95).

The Eagles’ 3200 relay team of Tim Hoodlebrink, Randy Caris, Noah Smith, and Fredericks turned in a first-place finish and set a meet record (8:11.13).

Eastwood senior Blake Kohring won the 110 hurdles (15.19).

“We had dozens and dozens of PRs today,” Eastwood coach Brian Sabo said. “If there is a bigger word than pride, that is the word I would chose. This is the culmination of everything we’ve worked on this year. We're on track. There is more to come.”

Genoa junior Logan Bryer won both throwing events. Bryer won the the discus with a throw of 153-04. He also set a meet record in the shot put (54-11½).

Elmwood’s 800 relay team of Austin Jasso, Aaron Arnold, Michael Baer, and Derick Mobus won in 1:33.47.

Rossford senior Ryan Clay defended his title in the 800 with a meet record time of 1:57.87.

In the high jump, Woodmore junior Dan Sprinski topped the competition with a leap of 6-2. Woodmore also got a win from freshman Zach Sandwisch, who set a meet record in the 400 (51.23).

Otsego junior Cole Gorski also turned in a record-setting performance in the pole vault (14-0). Otsego sophomore Brandon Avers won the 1600 with a time of 4:35.

“This is huge for me as a sophomore to be competing with the top kids in the league and I walked out on top,” Avers said.

In the 3200, Lake junior Tyler Rickman established a record, running away with the title in 10:08.68.