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Girard boys, Howland girls secure Trumbull County track championships

Girard’s Marisco captures two titles

Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes. Girard senior Ricky Marsico leads the pack during the first lap of the 1600 Thursday evening at Lakeview High School.

CORTLAND — It’s challenging enough to consistently win events meet after meet, but removing that factor and just straight up shooting for a school record? That’s an uphill climb.

He may have fallen a few seconds short of the Indians 1600 school record, but it was still all smiles for Girard senior Ricky Marsico who has cemented himself as one of the more talented middle distance runners in the Mahoning Valley.

Marisco earned wins in the 800 and the 1600 races Thursday evening to help the Girard boy’s to earn the Trumbull County Championships meet title with 110 points. Howland won the girls side with 99 total team points.

“That was my first time ever trying to do something like that, so it’s definitely something a little harder than I thought, especially doing semi finals on Wednesday, legs were a little bit more tired than usual, but I’m pretty happy with how I did,” Marsico said after finishing the mile with a 4:29.36 clocking. “You’ll probably be out by yourself most of the time when you’re going for a school record, but if you have those kids with you, it makes it a heckuva lot easier.

Marsico already etched his name in Girard’s record book as he owns the 800 record with a time of 1:55 — he ran a 1:58.60 Thursday night at Lakeview. After placing second at the state meet last spring, Marsico made the choice to go from just focusing on the 800 to adding the 1600.

“Running two laps at every meet gets a little monotonous sometimes.” Marsico said with a huge laugh.

FIRST-YEAR DOMINATION

Prior to this season, Warren John F. Kennedy senior Antwan Brown didn’t consider running track, a sport that most of the better runners begin in seventh grade, or freshman year at the worst.

For Brown, that doesn’t mean anything.

He has suited up for the Eagles in his last spring at high school and has become a key member of Kennedy’s sprinters core, winning the 200 (22.56 seconds), while partaking as the final leg their 4×100 (43.86) and 4×200 (1:29.88) wins Thursday night. He also added a third place finish in the 100 (11.34).

His first time stepping on the track for a meet was a bit over a month ago — although he’s a running back and defensive back on the gridiron.

“It felt good running and competing,” Brown said. “I thought I wasn’t going to do that well, but I came first. But, it’s the coaches that make us put in the work everyday.”

Above everything, putting the wins and times away, Brown has taken something even bigger out of his first track season — the bond with his fellow Eagles, like Antonio Smith, Thomas Easton and Donovan McCoy.

“It’s fun hanging out with the team and the coaches, they make it fun, but it’s a job, you got to make sure you get the job done to celebrate later,” Brown explained. “It’s a lot of fun, it’s intense, everybody is in your ear, so you’re just running. When you’re running, you’re zoned out, but once you’re done, you can hear the crowd and stuff, it’s fun.”

HOME COOKING

Rachel Campolito isn’t one to shy away from the fact she’s been in a rut at times this season. After missing the podium by one spot last spring at regionals, her senior season has been an opportunity to make one last go at it.

When Campolito crossed the finish line on Thursday, a huge smile spanned ear to ear, and a thunderous group of cheers followed from outside the fence. Besides defending her home turf and earning the Bulldogs an event win, she also gained something arguably more vital. Her confidence.

“I’ve been about four seconds slower than I have been, but I’ve gotten my personal record today, so that’s really nice,” Camplito said after running a 2:25.98. “It’s nice seeing all the familiar faces too around cheering you on. For us this is probably our biggest meet we’ve had all year, so overall it’s just good to see what we can go out and do.

“It was definitely an emotional release, it’s definitely going to give me more confidence going into my next big meet, because seeing what I can do, this year is really going to inspire me more.”

DISTANCE DOMINATION

She may only be a sophomore, but with each meet Caleigh Richards is just reiterating the point that she’s one of the most talented track athletes in the Mahoning Valley.

Richards has already earned Maplewood a pair of cross country state titles and an outdoor 3200 title. Tack on the Don Richards Memorial Stadium record and meet record with a 10:58.62 for the 3200, in addition to the facility record with a 5:01.19 for the mile, Richards has set herself apart.

“It felt great, I was just going out and seeing what kind of times I can get in both and it felt pretty good,” Richards said. “I’ve been definitely anticipating this (meet) a lot more than the other ones, just to see what I can do and how I can place with the other county competition, because there’s a lot of great competition, like Megan Hipple from McDonald.”

Richards ended her 1600 nearly 12.9 seconds faster than Hipple, who in turn finished 16.36 seconds faster than third-place finisher Maddy Gassman from Girard.

It was the same trio at the top for the 3200, but with a 28-second differential between her and Hipple, and a staggering minute and 27 seconds before Gassman crossed the finish line.

NOTES: McDonald senior Ryan Henry shattered his previous stadium record by over six feet with a 66-11.50….Girard junior Sieasia Triplett continued her tear, winning the 100 (12.56), 200 (25.85), and 400 (58.92)….McDonald’s Caleb Domitrovich (9:58.65) and Carson Klase (9:59.84) went 1-2 in the 3200….Girard won both the boys (3.32.68) and girls (4:16.84) 4×400…..Girard siblings Dom and Mia Malito both won field events, with Dom taking the long jump title (22-04.50) and Mia earning the high jump crown (5-00)…Howland’s Lexus Solarz won the discus with a 117-11.

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