The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Mentor girls capture GCC team crown
A sea of scarlet enveloped Brunswick on May 14 during Day 2 of the Greater Cleveland Conference meet.
Considering the GCC is in the argument for being the tough league track and field meet in Ohio, Mentor could rightfully take a bus load of confidence — not to mention plenty of thrilled student-athletes — back to Lake County.
The Cardinals’ girls squad took home top honors in the team title race at GCC with 155 points and 13 top threes on Day 2, led by their tireless meet MVP Paige Floriea, and the boys got breakout meets from Evan Harper and Kenny Jordan as the postseason road nears.
Floriea was her usual dominant self with four individual firsts in the long jump, 100- and 200-meter dashes and the 400.
This was perhaps the most stern test Mentor has received all spring at an invitational, given the meet’s caliber and some fine work across the facility from Medina (146.5).
So Floriea was especially pleased with the thorough nature of this night of work from the Cardinals.
“It shows that we’re an incredible team,” Floriea said. “We knew we were going to come into this meet and do the best we could. And we knew that was going to win us the meet. I am so proud of my team for fighting so hard with a bunch of different things: injuries, setbacks, this and that. We knew we needed to come out here and fight as much as possible to get that spot.”
The North Carolina recruit noted last week en route to her 400 crown at the Euclid Relays with a 2021 area-best time of 54.46 seconds that, due to the needs of the postseason, that was likely to be the last time she would be able to absolutely hammer a 400.
Fast-forward a week, Floriea’s rhythm and homestretch flow were superb and it drove her to an even better time at GCC, a 54.35.
“That gives me a lot of confidence, because I ran it today finishing through the line and thinking, ‘I won, but probably didn’t run a great time,’” Floriea said. “And then I heard my time, and I was like, ‘That didn’t hurt like it should.’ That gives me a lot of confidence going into the postseason.”
Floriea went 20 feet
on her first long jump attempt of the afternoon, which won the meet but meant another week in pursuit of Tianna Bartoletta’s Division I state record of 20-5 ¾. The 2019 D-I state champion had a strong sixth attempt in the final round, but had an agonizingly close foul.
On the boys side, Harper enjoyed a breakout performance in capturing a GCC 100 title.
Coming off a 22-0 ¾ to reign in the long jump on Day 1, Harper came right back in the 100 on Day 2 for an outstanding 10.82 to prevail.
Harper’s 10.82 and Jordan’s 10.98 for third are second- and third-fastest times in The News-Herald coverage area this season.
“I think, if I just keep doing what I’m doing, stay determined and keep practicing — stay determined and my competition, he’s just as good as me, we’re going to go all out me and him,”
Harper said. “We’re going to make each other better and do what we’ve got to do.
“I think (I found the sub11) coming out of my start. Wednesday (during Day 1 prelims), I wasn’t able to keep my head down all the way through the 50. But today, I kept it all the way through the 50. I kept my drive phase. I need to work on my finishing phase, and once I get that down, I think I’ll be able to get a new PR.”
Jordan electrified in the 400 with a first-class run all the way to the line with intent amid a 49.81 for top GCC honors.
The versatile junior nearly reeled in a 4x400 crown for Mentor as well as it went 3:29.59.
But that 400 gives Jordan plenty of optimism as district competition looms next week.
“Speaking from a point of confidence, it’s huge. It’s really big,” Jordan said.
“My biggest goal of the season was to break 50 in the 400, and I couldn’t have asked for a better time to do it. It was great competition. It just felt great to get the GCC title.”
Also encouraging on Day 2 at GCC area-wise on the boys side were a meet crown in the 110 hurdles from Mentor’s Brett Greer with a 15.07 and Cam Rigsby’s 1:57.75 to take a tight second in the 800.
Euclid’s Alaysia McKinney had a breakout performance in the long jump, taking second to Floriea with a 17-7¾ on her penultimate attempt, PRing by a foot and a half. Cardinals seniors Emma Potter (55.84 in the 400) and Rylee Yocum (2:17.61) also impressed in GCC runnerup runs.
Coming soon
For more from this meet, check back in the coming days on News-Herald.com and in our print edition.