'We like tight races': Perry boys 1,600 relay rises again at Federal League Championships

• The Perry boys and GlenOak girls won team titles at Friday's Federal League Track and Field Championships.
• The team title continued the Golden Eagles' unbeaten run this season.
• Hoover's Amahrie Harsh set a meet record in the girls 100 meters on her way to a four-win night.

LAKE TWP. — The unbeaten run for GlenOak's girls track and field team would continue. That much was known before the final running event at Friday's Federal League Championships.

Figuring out the boys champion wasn't as easy. Numbers still had to be crunched after Perry cleared things up a little in the 1,600-meter relay.

The Panthers' win proved to be vital. It gave them a one-point edge over Jackson for the meet title and created a three-way tie between Perry, Jackson and GlenOak for the overall league championship.

If this is a sign of things to come, anything is possible to for these teams in the postseason.

Perry's Tristan Swallen, Darnell McLeod, Jayden Wilson and Austin Mattox edged Jackson by just over a second in the 1,600 relay. That gave the Panthers a two-point lead in the team title race. When the pole vault ended, only one point was shaved off Perry's lead.

The situation the Panthers were in felt all too familiar. All they had to do was think about last week's Medina Last Chance Meet.

"We were losing by one and we had to win the 4-by-4," Mattox said. "We won it just like today.

"Us four in the 4-by-4, we like tight races."

There was one difference Friday, though. Mattox anchored the relay instead of running third. He took the handoff from Wilson with the lead and held on to it.

"Jayden runs really good times," Mattox said. "I knew he was going to get out, catch the guy in front of him if he needed to and give me a good cushion."

Wilson and Mattox helped the Panthers gain valuable points late in the meet. They also finished 1-2 in the 400.

Carson Basham's win in the 200 helped keep Perry's title hopes within reach.

"We came out here and took care of business," Mattox said.

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Another meet, another victory for GlenOak's girls

The GlenOak girls couldn't ask for a better way to enter the postseason.

Two wins and two runner-up finishes in the final four events helped the Golden Eagles wrap up a 13-point win over Jackson. They went through the regular season without losing a dual meet or an invitational.

"Going into this year, I knew the potential we all had," sprinter Sydney Stepanovich said. "I knew how great of a program GlenOak is and how well Coach (Scott) Ferrell has made it. I had very high hopes going into this season and I'm very happy with the outcome."

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Sophia Ngetich won the 800 and ran on GlenOak's winning 1,600 and 3,200 relays. Stepanovich also had a hand in the 1,600 relay win.

Bailey Nice won the discus for the Golden Eagles. Runner-up finishes from Stepanovich in the 200 and Nora Salem in the 3,200 helped push GlenOak over the top.

All the momentum heading into next week's Division I district meet is on GlenOak's side.

"There is a lot of potential out here and a lot of people who I believe are going to make it to the next level," Stepanovich said. "I think this is going to help our adrenaline going into the postseason to keep winning and keep being the best we can be."

Rerun never phases Hoover's Amahrie Harsh

Let the record show that Amahrie Harsh is a four-time league champion this season.

The Hoover senior actually crossed the finish line first five times on Friday.

Harsh swept the 100, 200 and 400 sprints and anchored the Vikings' winning 800 relay. Her 100 victory was a rerun. It was needed after a "camera malfunction" wiped out the first 100 and forced everyone back on the back for another try less than an hour later.

"At first they were going to have us run it after the 400 and I run the 400," Harsh said. "That would have been a little tough."

Harsh said her first 100 felt great. She just didn't know her time.

With enough recovery time, the second 100 felt even better. Harsh won it in a meet-record 11.89 seconds.

"That one ... that one was probably the best I ever ran," Harsh said. "I had a little celebration."

This was the first time Harsh broke 12 seconds in the 100. She ran her previous best of 12.08 earlier this season.

Beating the 12-second mark never weighed on Harsh's mind.

"If I don't give myself a specific time to run, I run so much better," Harsh said.

Around the track

Here are some other highlights from Friday's meet.

• GlenOak's Elena Knowles set an all-time Stark County record in the girls seated shot put with a throw of 19 feet, 1 inch. It beat the previous record of 19-0.5 she set earlier in the week.
• Jackson's Eli Ilg and Lake's Daniela Scheffler swept the 1,600 and 3,200 races. Ilg won the boys 1,600 in a meet-record 4:14.05. Scheffler's winning time of 10:51.30 in the girls 3,200 was one-tenth of a second shy of the meet record she set last season.
• Hoover's Isaiah Barker cleared a meet-record 23-10.25 to win the boys long jump. GlenOak's Ja'Brailon Wilcox, Sean Leahy, Javi'ion McClendon and Ryder Greenwood also set a meet record in the boys 800 relay with a winning time of 1:27.80.
• Perry's Camille Neutzling swept the girls 100 and 300 hurdles.

Reach Mike at mike.popovich@cantonrep.com

On X: @mpopovichREP