Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes Boardman’s Sarah Bero throws the shot put at the Austintown Fitch regional meet, placing second with a mark of 40-2.25 feet.

AUSTINTOWN — As has been the case all spring, cooler than normal temperatures and a slight rainfall made late-May feel more akin to late-March. Nonetheless, the quest for the opportunity to compete at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium was on.

Among the first of the many valley hopefuls was Boardman senior Sarah Bero, who was the Division I, Region 1 runner up, marking 40-2.25 feet during the shot put to punch a ticket to her second consecutive state track meet. Fellow Spartan teammate sophomore Liliana Ison took sixth in the event with a toss of 38-7 feet.

“It was really good competition today. You had to stay locked in the whole time. The weather is kind of crappy a little bit, but overall, I did pretty well,” Bero said. “Not what I wanted, but I qualified for state and that was the goal, but coach always says, just survive. You can’t really worry about the little things. As long as you don’t think about them then they’re not there.

“For me, when I was throwing in the ring, it wasn’t raining, it wasn’t cold, it was just throw.”

Bero came off a trek to Welcome Stadium last June, where she took home fifth place in Dayton as a junior. Earlier this season, she broke the Boardman girls’ shot put record, one that was previously set in 1998 with a toss of over 45 feet.

Just seeing that record-breaking mark gave Bero some confidence.

“I kind of threw it, and I was really excited. But I know that there’s other girls that can throw that far consistently, so I need to work on just making sure and I keep throwing further and further consistently,” Bero said. “It’s been really great having Lilly with me through everything. She’s a really good teammate, she works really hard and she just really wants everything.

“I feel like I kind of bounce off of that and I feed from there. And she feeds from me and we both just keep each other competitive with good vibes and we just stay focused at practice and work together.”

Despite falling short of fourth place — and automatic qualifier — by half an inch, Ison wasn’t discouraged and sees a bright future.

“It’s taught me to be resilient and to worry about just me. It’s really going to fuel me going into my junior year, to just push myself as far as I can because there’s nothing left to lose,” Ison said. “Sarah has always been a role model for me through not only track, but basketball. She’s always been there, she always gives her 100%, and from just watching her and being able to experience and witness some of the great things she’s done for our school and sports programs.

“I’ve been able to just see what it takes to be not only a good athlete, but a good leader and to really leave a mark on the school.”

For Bero, having some state experience shook some nerves and jitters going into next weekend.

“Before we get there, I’m going to have a lot more practice, a lot of tweaking, just trying to get the best throw I can possibly get at Columbus,” Bero said. “Just to have fun. I feel like I didn’t really soak it in last year, but this year, since it’s my senior year, it’s my last time that I’m going to be able to be there, so I think I’m really going to try and enjoy it.”

ALSO COMPETING IN FINAL EVENTS

Kellen Halcomb (Canfield, freshman) 13th place, 140-6, boys discus. … Kaelyn DeBlois (Howland, junior) no height, girls high jump. … Boardman boys 4×800-meter relay (David D’Altorio, Adam Nigro, Chase Moore, Tommy Sullivan III), seventh, 8:03.36. … Canfield boys 4×800 (Aiden O’Brien, Alexander Hammar, Alex Taranto, Jason Dangol), 14th, 8:15.38.

ADVANCING TO FRIDAY’S FINALS

Deonte Stallings (Fitch, senior), 14.59 seconds and Gianmarco Malvasi (Howland, junior), 14.62, boys 110 hurdles. … Brayden Bryant (Fitch, sophomore) 10.75, boys 100. … Fitch boys 4×100 (Treavion Davis, Brayden Bryant, Robert Maderitz, Zack Reents), 42.59. … Robrick Taylor (Boardman, sophomore), 50.21, boys 400. … Donnie Ferko (Canfield, freshmen) 22.21, boys 200. … Boardman’s girls 4×400 (Abbi Mihok, Gina Dinapoli, Olivia Brady, Mia Duble), 4:06.13.

D-III AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS

Hosted at Serpentini Stadium in North Royalton. … Drew Zajack (McDonald, senior), 172-2 feet and Matthew Kujala (LaBrae, sophomore), 164-1 feet, boys discus. … Cierra Shiley (McDonald, junior) 40-3.75, Emma Bundy (McDonald, junior) 36-6 and Riley Grace (Garfield, junior) 36-4, girls shot put. … Halle Kuntz (McDonald, freshman), 5-0, Kelsey Cameron (Columbiana, senior), 5-0, Kirra Howard (Newton Falls, sophomore), 4-10, girls high jump. … McDonald girls 4×800 (Kylie Flere, Juliana Krumpak, Naomi Sheesley, Selah Sheesley), 9:35.69. … Maplewood boys 4×800 (Andrew Donaldson, Trevor Shipman, Ethan Nevinski, Micah Sparks), 8:02.74.