Bees send 30 to regionals
Boys win district championship; girls squad runner-up
Medina’s Max Rayburn clears a hurdle en route to earning a regional berth in the 110s. Photo by BRUCE BILLOW
Max Rayburn knew Medina had a hurdle tradition. He just didn’t figure he’d be the one to keep it going.
At least not after the way his junior year ended.
“This whole season has been the best I’ve ever had,” Rayburn said. “Last year in the 110s I struggled just getting over the hurdles. This year I’ve dropped from 16.5 (seconds) and I’m at a PR of 15.2 right now.”
Rayburn, who finished second in the 110-meter hurdles at the Brunswick District on May 19, was among 30 Medina athletes who advanced to the Amherst Division I Regional in 23 events. The boys team had 17 qualify in 11 events, the girls 13 in 12.
Medina’s boys won the district championship with 122 points, besting Strongsville’s 105.4. The girls were second with 109.5, trailing Strongsville’s 135.
For Rayburn, advancing was initial goal. Now he’s hoping to take it a step further. His prospects looked good heading to Amherst, where he was seeded fourth in the semifinals.
“I don’t know if I got faster or just more consistent, but I got my form lower,” he said. “That’s all I know and it’s carried me this far and I’m hoping to keep it going, get better every meet.
“I knew the Febus family has been a strong hurdling family and last year with Cwinn leaving, I knew it was going to be a little different.”
It doesn’t hurt having a state title hopeful in his race. District champ Moe Abusway of Strongsville won in 14.61, beating Rayburn – and everyone else – by a sizable amount.
“I told him just before the race, ‘If I don’t beat you today, I’m going to beat you at states.’ I didn’t beat him today, but at states, it’ll be a different story.”
Elsewhere for Medina’s boys, senior Matthew Stump led the way by qualifying for Amherst in four events (1600, 800, 4x800 and 4x400). He won the 1600.
Junior Alex Stamper added a win in the 3200, with sophomore Caleb Cummins two spots behind.
Stump, Stamper, junior Jakob Wickert and freshman Harry Custer finished third in the 4x800. Custer placed fourth in the 800. He was the only ninth-grader in the field.
Junior Gavin Montgomery was runner-up in the 200 and finished fourth in the 100. The quartet of Rayburn, senior Da’One Jordan, senior Nicholas Pankow and Montgomery was runner-up in the 4x200.
Montgomery, senior Jonathan Clayton, and juniors Anthony Lebada and Jamison VanDrei won the 4x100. Stump, junior Demetrius Shannon, and sophomores Anthony Trujillo and Jack Hutz placed second in the 4x400.
Senior Jake Wickey advanced with a runner-up finish in the discus on the meet’s first day. Jordan was the long jump runner-up on Day 1. Junior Thomas Supan was shot put runner-up, placing one spot ahead of Wickey.
Medina’s girls had a pair of three-event regional qualifiers, freshmen Juliette Keller (800, 1600, 4x800) and Jessica Campbell (800, 4x800, 4x400).
Keller had a stellar meet, winning the 800-meter run, placing third in the 1600 and leading a runner-up 4x800 team that included fellow freshmen Campbell and Ava Tenaglia and sophomore Angela Dobson.
Senior Carolyn Wilder’s meet-record toss of 158 feet, 9 inches won the discus championship by more than 35 feet. Wilder won the shot put on the first day.
Junior Crosbee Lisser placed third in the 300 hurdles. Campbell placed third in the 800. Freshman Mary Beth Blakemore was third in the 400 to advance. Campbell, Tenaglia, Dobson and Blakemore finished third in the 4x400.
Seniors Allie Gibson and Kathryn Cassidy, and freshman Haley Anspach and Emma Chester placed fourth in the 4x200 to move on. Senior Riley Braun, Cassidy, Chester and Anspach placed fourth in the 4x100.
Finally, Braun won the high jump, overcoming a strong headwind, rain and increasingly cold conditions.
“We were going into the wind and it’s cold so the weather was fluctuating,” Braun said. “It wasn’t a great day for jumping. I just trusted myself and had confidence and tried to do my best.”
Braun headed to regionals among the top four seeds, so is at least an even-money bet to get to state. This is not something she was planning on when last season ended.
“Not at all, actually,” she said. “I did a lot of offseason training. I worked a lot with weight training, getting a lot stronger. I just came out of it feeling real good and I surprised myself.
“It’s really satisfying because I put in a lot of work this offseason. I was in the gym almost seven days a week, doing the best I could, being at practice every single day, doing the workouts. Even in the cold we were running outside too.”
At least not after the way his junior year ended.
“This whole season has been the best I’ve ever had,” Rayburn said. “Last year in the 110s I struggled just getting over the hurdles. This year I’ve dropped from 16.5 (seconds) and I’m at a PR of 15.2 right now.”
Rayburn, who finished second in the 110-meter hurdles at the Brunswick District on May 19, was among 30 Medina athletes who advanced to the Amherst Division I Regional in 23 events. The boys team had 17 qualify in 11 events, the girls 13 in 12.
Medina’s boys won the district championship with 122 points, besting Strongsville’s 105.4. The girls were second with 109.5, trailing Strongsville’s 135.
For Rayburn, advancing was initial goal. Now he’s hoping to take it a step further. His prospects looked good heading to Amherst, where he was seeded fourth in the semifinals.
“I don’t know if I got faster or just more consistent, but I got my form lower,” he said. “That’s all I know and it’s carried me this far and I’m hoping to keep it going, get better every meet.
“I knew the Febus family has been a strong hurdling family and last year with Cwinn leaving, I knew it was going to be a little different.”
It doesn’t hurt having a state title hopeful in his race. District champ Moe Abusway of Strongsville won in 14.61, beating Rayburn – and everyone else – by a sizable amount.
“I told him just before the race, ‘If I don’t beat you today, I’m going to beat you at states.’ I didn’t beat him today, but at states, it’ll be a different story.”
Elsewhere for Medina’s boys, senior Matthew Stump led the way by qualifying for Amherst in four events (1600, 800, 4x800 and 4x400). He won the 1600.
Junior Alex Stamper added a win in the 3200, with sophomore Caleb Cummins two spots behind.
Stump, Stamper, junior Jakob Wickert and freshman Harry Custer finished third in the 4x800. Custer placed fourth in the 800. He was the only ninth-grader in the field.
Junior Gavin Montgomery was runner-up in the 200 and finished fourth in the 100. The quartet of Rayburn, senior Da’One Jordan, senior Nicholas Pankow and Montgomery was runner-up in the 4x200.
Montgomery, senior Jonathan Clayton, and juniors Anthony Lebada and Jamison VanDrei won the 4x100. Stump, junior Demetrius Shannon, and sophomores Anthony Trujillo and Jack Hutz placed second in the 4x400.
Senior Jake Wickey advanced with a runner-up finish in the discus on the meet’s first day. Jordan was the long jump runner-up on Day 1. Junior Thomas Supan was shot put runner-up, placing one spot ahead of Wickey.
Medina’s girls had a pair of three-event regional qualifiers, freshmen Juliette Keller (800, 1600, 4x800) and Jessica Campbell (800, 4x800, 4x400).
Keller had a stellar meet, winning the 800-meter run, placing third in the 1600 and leading a runner-up 4x800 team that included fellow freshmen Campbell and Ava Tenaglia and sophomore Angela Dobson.
Senior Carolyn Wilder’s meet-record toss of 158 feet, 9 inches won the discus championship by more than 35 feet. Wilder won the shot put on the first day.
Junior Crosbee Lisser placed third in the 300 hurdles. Campbell placed third in the 800. Freshman Mary Beth Blakemore was third in the 400 to advance. Campbell, Tenaglia, Dobson and Blakemore finished third in the 4x400.
Seniors Allie Gibson and Kathryn Cassidy, and freshman Haley Anspach and Emma Chester placed fourth in the 4x200 to move on. Senior Riley Braun, Cassidy, Chester and Anspach placed fourth in the 4x100.
Finally, Braun won the high jump, overcoming a strong headwind, rain and increasingly cold conditions.
“We were going into the wind and it’s cold so the weather was fluctuating,” Braun said. “It wasn’t a great day for jumping. I just trusted myself and had confidence and tried to do my best.”
Braun headed to regionals among the top four seeds, so is at least an even-money bet to get to state. This is not something she was planning on when last season ended.
“Not at all, actually,” she said. “I did a lot of offseason training. I worked a lot with weight training, getting a lot stronger. I just came out of it feeling real good and I surprised myself.
“It’s really satisfying because I put in a lot of work this offseason. I was in the gym almost seven days a week, doing the best I could, being at practice every single day, doing the workouts. Even in the cold we were running outside too.”