Varsity Federal League Meet
The Varsity Federal League Meet set at GlenOak High School was marked by many record-breaking performances by teams and individuals which included school records and meet records. The competition exhibited also allowed many athletes to hit their personal bests. In the team competition, GlenOak swept both boys and girls titles. This is the second in a row for the boys and a great comeback for the girls after placing fifth in 2022. Here are a few highlights from the meet:
Girls
In the seated events, Ahsha DiPietro from Perry has solidified herself among the top in the state. She currently holds three OH #1 marks in the 100m, 400m and 800m seated races. All of these events were meet records as well. As just a freshman, there is a lot of potential that she has left to give.
Amahrie Harsh Goes 3-3
As many anticipate, Amahrie Harsh from Hoover will be one to watch as this season moves forward. Her consistency and ability to race against strong competition has made her a great competitor. She won the 100m (12.47), 200m (25.17), and 400m (56.89) with a new PR being set for her in the 400m.
Daniela Scheffler Continues to Impress
Daniela Scheffler (Lake) completed a 1600-3200 double and came out on top in both. In the 1600m, she set herself a new PR running 5:04.51. Just an hour later, she came back and set a meet record in the 3200m, running 10:51.20. She is one who has improved immensely during her sophomore season and has the potential to continue accomplishing big things.
Leena Patibandla Never Stops
Leena Patibandla from Massillon Jackson is about the closest thing to being two places at once. At one moment, she is throwing discus while in the next, she is across the field high jumping. In total, she competed in four field events and added 22 points for the Polar Bears. She matched her personal best mark in the high jump with 5'7" and exceeded her PR in discus, throwing 141-4.
*Amahrie Harsh after the 200m dash earlier this season / GlenOak Second Sole Eagle Elite
Garrett Laubacher Hurdles to Victory
By winning both hurdle races, Garrett Laubacher of Perry continues to set new standards. He broke the 40 second mark in the 300m hurdles for the first time, running 39.88. In addition to this, he holds the OH #6 mark in the 110m hurdles with a PR of 14.34 which he ran earlier in the season.
Reese Welton On the Rise
Reese Welton from Massillon Jackson continues to be one to watch. He took the victory in the 100m dash and followed this up with a win in the 200m dash by 0.01 of a second. This is the second time that he has won both races with the other time being at Second Sole Eagle Elite.
Noah Johnson Acquires Two Meet Records
The difficulty of breaking a Federal League meet record is hard enough, let alone two in one night. However, Noah Johnson (Hoover) was able to accomplish this feat by setting new 800m and 1600m records, running 1:54.58 and 4:14.36 respectively. He placed 9th in the 1600m at the outdoor state meet in 2022.
Four Boys Run Under the 1600m Meet Record
Not enough credit can be given to the stacked field that the boys 1600m had. Despite Noah Johnson now holding the meet record, the previous record was also broken by Connor Reed (Perry), Theo Papas (Green), and Tommy Rice (GlenOak). All of these boys placed in the top-15 at the 2022 OHSAA DI State Championships. With the impressive runs that each of these athletes have had, they will all be ones to watch as post-season rolls around.
