Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes Canfield senior Nick Plant creates distance between himself and the rest of the pack during the final leg of the 800 meter race Friday night at Austintown Fitch.

AUSTINTOWN — There’s a lot of different ways an individual can approach less than desirable weather conditions at a track meet.

Some will loathe it, others won’t mind it, when it’s an absolute downpour, the rain is a factor that applies to everyone evenly.

Canfield senior Nick Plant’s winning strategy to battling the elements? Having fun.

“Unfortunately that’s just how it is sometimes, I just went out there and had fun, couldn’t really do much with this today. It’s a good day for me, I like this weather,” Plant said with a smile from ear to ear after booking a trip to states with a first place finish of 1:51.24 in the 800 meter race. “It’s a lot nicer than cold rain, it’s a little warmer, I’m happy with it.

“It’s part of the sport, it builds character I guess. For me, this is what I like, good temperature, it’s raining. Some people complain, I just like it more.”

Nearly a repeat of last year, when the weather tossed a wrench in events at the regional meet, Plant won back-to-back regionals titles, coming a bit short of his regional record of 1:50:59 from last spring, there was still plenty of excitement, especially after helping Canfield’s 4×800 squad book a trip to Columbus on Wednesday.

The key factor? Staying locked in and not letting the uncontrollable control you.

“There’s a lot that goes into this mentally, it’s taxing, so it’s just fun to come out and see what I can do in these conditions.” Plant added.

Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes
Boardman junior Logan Thompson reacts after winning the 300 meter hurdles and breaking the school record with a time of 37.93 seconds Friday evening.

SCHOOL RECORD

Similar to a mudder in horse racing, Boardman junior Logan Thompson feeds off of rainy tracks and slippery hurdles. In many regards, Thompson hit rewind, coming into the 300 meter hurdles seeded in the first lane again.

Last year in the weather, he earned his way to state with a third place finish, but when the Spartan junior crossed the finish line on Friday, he instantly knew that the first place title was his.

It wasn’t until he took a gander at the scoreboard that the reality of breaking the Boardman school record hit him, running a blazing 37.93 seconds.

His fellow teammates came over to greet Thompson who was laying down in near shock. It was a record that he’s been chasing for a long time.

“The way I feel about it, I don’t think anybody is fit to run in these conditions as well as I am, I feel like I always run my best races when it’s rainy and all odds are against you, I feel like I persevere,” Thompson explained. “Everyone gets in the wrong mental spot when they’re in bad conditions, they think “I’m not going to run this good because of the rain”, the way I feel, it’s normal conditions, just go, whoever wants it the most is going to get it.

“I looked at the times, and I was like I might really do something. I saw 36 seconds and 37 seconds, I was like wait, this might be crazy. Then when I saw 37.9, it shocked me, I’m still not even believing it right now.”

The previous record was set back in 2013 by Caleb Mattews in 2009. On top of his individual performance, Thompson will also compete at state in the 4×100 (41.82) and 4×200 (1:28:32)

“Even though we did not run, how we’re supposed to, we basically dropped two seconds from our (4×200) PR, we know that even if we do that, we’re still one of the fastest teams in the state, that it’s going to be really good when we get the hand-offs down and everything,” said Cam Thompson about Boardman’s 4×200 race.

A few missed exchanges sent top-seeded Boardman from first to fourth in the 4×200, but found a way to slip their way into state for the event despite the errors. Their 4×100 race was the first place finisher at regionals.

TWO TICKETS

It’s a story of redemption for Chaney senior Rhiea Ann Gordon. After finishing fifth at regionals and missing the cut for state by one spot last season, the Cowboys sprinter wanted to leave zero doubt this time around.

Missed accomplished. Gordon won the 100 meter race with a time of 12.22, while punching a second ticket to Columbus with a fourth place time of 25.57 seconds in the 200m.

“I feel like I just won the lottery, this is amazing, I really appreciate it, my coach (LaTalia Patterson), she’s been really pushing me and motivating me to get up every day,” Gordon said. “She’s gone to state and her time was 11.8, and we’ve been talking about that, we’re stealing her plaque, so that’s what I’m going to try and do.”

HOWLAND HIGH JUMPER

Howland senior Connor Durig wasn’t afraid to admit that he didn’t expect to finish in first place at regionals, but there’s a reason why the games are played. Clearing a height of 6-05, he’ll be packing his bags for Columbus next weekend.

“It felt pretty good because I knew that a couple of people have passed at 6-6, and if I got 6-5 I would have had a better chance at getting the lead and winning,” Durig said. “It definitely makes it harder to jump, it’s a little slippery when you’re running to your curve and your jump, that’s why it’s important to have high jump spikes, because it has spikes in the heel, so you get a good grip.

“After I got a couple of jumps in, I felt pretty comfortable with my steps. Coming into the season this was my goal to make it to states, and I didn’t think I was going to win regionals, so that feels really good to get that and go to state.”

ROSTER FILL IN TURNED STATE QUALIFIER

Austintown Fitch sophomore Savannah Jones isn’t a stranger to the state meet, competing as a member of the Falcons 4×100 relay team last spring, but when Fitch needed someone to step up to just fill the spot for a hurdler, Jones stepped up.

It ended up becoming a wise choice, with a third place finish of 15.32 being speedy enough to allow Jones to go 2-2 in regards to booking trips to Columbus.

“I still got a lot to learn, it was just a spot that needed filled on the team, and I didn’t expect to be this good,” Jones said. “I had a lot of help from my coaches and upperclassmen, I kinda just winged it and then got good.

“Last year we went and didn’t perform too well, I just wanted to get back this year and perform at my best. You just have to focus at what you did wrong and focus on that and work to get better.”

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