McDonald’s relay teams shine at state track and field meet

Correspondent photo / Robet Hayes McDonald freshman Naomi Sheesley competes in the Division III girl’s 1600-meter run, taking bronze at 5:02.99. She placed four times in Columbus, twice as an individual and twice in relays.
COLUMBUS — McDonald wasted zero time seeking out the podium at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. From the first event of the Division III meet on Day 1, to the finale on Day 2, the Blue Devils made a conscious effort to keep piling on medals.
It began with a bronze-medal run of 9:31.53 in the girls 4×800-meter relay, with freshmen Naomi Sheesley, senior Kylie Flere, junior Juliana Krumpak and sophomore Selah Sheesley.
That momentum carried into the second day of competition, with Naomi Sheesley earning an individual bronze during the 1600-meter run (5:02.99), which she followed up by taking sixth place in the 800 (2:17.59), before the 4×400 platoon of junior Rita Domitrovich, Krumpak, Flere and Naomi Sheesley concluded the meet by placing seventh (4:01.53).
As a freshman, Naomi Sheesley collected four medals, scoring 17 points in total in her state debut.
“It was a crazy day,” Sheesley said following her team’s 4x400m relay. “It was all over the place, not much time to warm up, but I just knew I had to do well for my team and my coaches, so I wanted to set a bar for the rest of my years in high school for myself.
“(The 4x800m) gave us a lot of momentum to do well. It’s a confidence booster early on to podium in the first event. I’m proud of myself, and I’m very proud of my coaches for being able to get me to the spot I am. I’m just really happy that I can do so well. I just have to up the intensity at practice and work 10 times more than I am. I’m so proud of all our team, all over. Our field events, our running events, we have such strong areas. I’m just so proud of our coaches to be able to get us where we are.”
Flere, being the lone senior of the bunch, helped navigate her teammates through the meet. She had state experience from her sophomore season when she qualified in three relay events.
“It was good having a strong start. It put me in a good mood and a good attitude to have. I just knew for the 4×400, we had to make it to the finals, which we did, and keep making our way up from there,” Flere said. “You definitely have to get out way faster and just keep that same sprint for the rest of the lap.”
Like Flere, Krumpak is a state veteran, having competed on relay groups two years ago.
“We left not how we wanted to finish off the year, so coming back here was really important to us, to finish and leave on a good term,” Krumpak said. “It makes it so much more fun and enjoyable and competitive, so it really helps.”
Having added a second medal to her count on the second day, Krumpak added, “It was definitely a big goal of ours to succeed. That was really motivating and it brings out a good vibe for next year.”
Like her sister Naomi, Selah Sheesley was making her state debut as a sophomore.
“It definitely brings a lot of nerves, but it also brings a lot of excitement. You know you have to do good because just making it here isn’t enough, you have to prove why you’re here,” Selah Sheesely said. “Last year we did not end where we wanted to, so coming in this year, we knew we’re here, so we have to show people why we’re here.”
The Blue Devils visited the podium frequently, something Domitrovich said was exciting to experience.
“I think that we all did pretty much what we were hoping to do this weekend. We were saying (before the 4×400), ‘This is our last one anyway, last one running as a team with Kylie leaving,’ so we just wanted to give it our best and put everything out there.”