Correspondent photo/Robert Hayes. Chaney senior Rhiea Ann Gordon wins the 100 with a time of 12.05 for the second year in a row. She also won the 200 and helped the Cowboys take first in the 4x100m relay.

AUSTINTOWN — Winning a district title is always reflective of a track athlete’s skill set and determination, although defending the crown can always be a little tricky.

Chaney senior Rhiea Ann Gordon made it look easy, winning the 100 (12.05 seconds) and 200 (25.39) as an individual to highlight a jam-packed evening in Austintown for the Division I district meet Friday evening.

On top of that, Gordon helped the Cowboys 4 x 100 relay team capture a first-place finish with a 49.62 clocking.

“I knew that there was some strong women that I was going to be competing with, so I knew that I just had to focus on me and zone in,” Gordon said. “Just seeing how I progress in every race and learning my race. Last year I placed fifth (at regionals), this year I want to place number one.”

Gordon’s only sport is track, looking up to her mother, Venus who ran track herself some time ago, but never made it to the college ranks.

Rhiea Ann wanted to carry on the legacy and is heading to Athens, Ohio in the fall to compete for the Ohio University Bobcats on a track scholarship.

SPARTAN STANDOUT

Boardman senior Ben Alvarico may have just began his track career last spring, but by the way he runs, you’d mistake him for a veteran sprinter. During his first go-around, he didn’t focus too much on individual events, but this season has been a bit of a change, with hard work showing in a 200 win with a 21.44 clocking to advance to regionals.

“You have to have a really tough mindset, I knew that (Connor Boland, Geneva) had a better seed time than me, and I came in and beat him so you never know what can happen,” Alvarico said. “Honestly, I was like did he get hurt or something because I knew he was going to come out fast, I heard him coming and I thought he was going to catch me but I just tried to push myself more and hold out and I ended up getting the job done.”

The Spartans have a strong sprinter core of Cam and Logan Thompson with Trey Depietro and the group of four won the 4×100 relay with a time of 41.57 and the 4×200 relay with a clocking of 1:26.37, both set new district meet records.

“I was a basketball player at first coming out of middle school and I wanted to go to college for basketball, but once I touched the track, I was like, maybe I can do something here,” he said. “I started taking it really seriously after that, I’m going to try and go Division I or Division II, anything like that just like my best friends.

“I was like, I really don’t know if I want to run in college for real, but Logan always tells me “you’re the one”, you’re him. He’s motivated, he’s helped me do a lot and is pretty much the reason I’m still running and going with this.”

Alvarico does have college interest with offers from Western Carolina and most recently, Youngstown State.

REPEAT CHAMP

Warren G. Harding senior Na’Veyah Parisi loves the feeling of just flying in the air.

She’ll be the first to admit that the landing isn’t always fun, but her success in the long jump continued Friday evening, defending her district crown with a jump of 17-04.75 feet, nearly a full foot further than the second place finisher.

“I feel like all of your nerves kinda like up in the air on your first one after hearing everyone else jump, but when you start to hit the board more, and then the second or third jumps come, they just come more easy, you already have the hang of it,” Parisi said. “You can’t come in here thinking that you’re just going to win, you kinda have to treat it as any other meet. You can’t come in here and kinda just expect to just come on top, you kinda just have to take it slow and whatever you jump, hopefully it’s a good one.”

Parisi is a former state qualifier, placing 15th in Columbus last spring. With the gained experience at the highest level, she decided to cut down on events and really focus on the long jump, her personal favorite, and what she’s been competing in since middle school.

“It kinda came natural to me and just being to jump and just see how far you can get is kinda just a fun experience. It was good, today was a good meet. I hope regionals is a good one too.”

SPLIT SECONDS

He’s still heading to regionals, but Fitch junior Nick Tibolla missed a first place finish by .03 seconds, ending with a time of 14.68. The Falcons sprinter didn’t fret however, earning a new personal record time and helping his school defend its home turf.

“The tail wind definitely helped, I just felt really smooth over the hurdles and felt like I snapped down as quickly as I could,” Tibolla said. “See, I’m different, I feel like in the beginning of the season, I didn’t PR, and now that I see the competition, I am PRing.

“It fuels me to get better, I just sit in school and think about how I need to win, I want to win and how I need to get better. It’s just training, I look at my post results and look at my videos and just see how exactly I can improve, it’s the little things.”

NOTES:Canfield senior Nick Plant broke his old district time and set a new stadium record of 1:50.89, nearly eight seconds faster than second place….Boardman sophomore Mackenzie Riccitelli won the 400m with a 59.72, the only member of the field to finish under a minute…Howland senior Saylor Biggin and Fitch freshman Meghan Vadas went 1-2 in the pole vault with a 9-08…Howland junior Connor Durig edged Fitch’s Adam Emerick in the high jump by an inch, clearing a 6-05….On Wednesday Howland’s Courtney Clark (shot put, 41-00) and Fitch’s Harrison Spalding (pole vault, 13-08) earned event wins.

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