The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Beachwood, Geneva athletes impress at Red Raider Relays
Bison’s Brown excels in relay, shot put; Eagles’ Boland paces winning long jump, relays
Sarah Brown might have the most unique skill set among News-Herald coverage area track and field athletes.
That distinction was on display April 2 amid Harvey’s Red Raider Relays as outdoor season commenced in earnest on a chilly morning at Recreation Park in Painesville.
The Beachwood junior logged an anchor rally for the win on 4×200-meter relay, then went over to nearly match her season
PR from a year ago in shot put.
That is assuredly a skill set you don’t see every day.
Brown led the Bison to the girls shot put relay title with the top individual throw of the day of 36 feet, 1 ½ inches.
Given her 2021 regular-season PR was a 36-2 ½, before getting to Division II regional competition and getting on the podium there in seventh, hitting low-36s one invite into this campaign was a welcome sight.
“I feel like I’m going to learn more and achieve more,” Brown said. “Since this is like the first meet. I feel like I can do better. At the end of the season, I want to get around 40.
“(The 36-2 ½) felt really fast, and I really pushed and everything. It felt like the strength, when you push really hard, it goes (whoosh sound).”
Much like it did for Elizabeth Metz, the only Beachwood thrower in school history with multiple state top fours after taking second in discus and third in shot put in D-II last spring and one of this area’s best shot putters of her generation with her deep 40-plus ability.
Having a chance to watch and be mentored by Metz aided Brown’s ongoing trajectory in the craft.
“I looked up to her, because she threw really, really far, and I liked her technique,” Brown said. “And so I always try to throw as far as her and see where I can go from there.”
On that aforementioned 4×2, the exchange into Brown’s anchor was less than ideal. But the junior, who was on Beachwood’s D-II state champion 4×1 in 2021, had a lovely 100 turn attack and powered through the homestretch as the Bison won in 1 minute, 53.76 seconds.
“So for the 4×2, the baton exchange, I had slowed down a bit,” Brown explained. “I felt the rush in chasing the people down. I was like, ‘OK. I got it. I got it.’ And it felt good.”
On the boys side, Connor Boland had a solid season debut.
Known more in local circles for his standout 200 and 400 work, the Geneva junior paced a relay first in long jump before even getting on the track, with the best individual effort, a 19-9 ¼, in a rare appearance in the event.
“Usually, in the beginning of the season, I do it to get points or see how well I can do in it,” Boland said. “But later, I more so focus on running events.
“This indoor season, I actually got 20. So I’m feeling pretty confident with that.”
He also led the Eagles to firsts in distance medley (11:43.77) and 4×4 (3:43.57).
Boland was on the Eagles’ D-I state-qualifying 4×4 last spring, Geneva’s first boys track and field relay to advance to the state meet since 1958, and was a strong fifth at D-I state indoor last month in open 400 with a 49.36.
“(That state run) really gave me a lot of confidence, and it really boosted my
“Usually, in the beginning of the season, I do it to get points or see how well I can do in it. But later, I more so focus on running events.” — Geneva’s Connor Boland, on his long jump performance April 2
experience, having bigger crowds and all those people yelling and screaming,” Boland said. “Mostly, the experience
helped a lot.
“My starts have been getting a lot better (in open 400), and I’m really excited
about that. I’ve been working on that and focusing on that a lot, getting off the blocks quicker and going around the bend faster.”
The team race at Red Raider was all Geneva, as it swept the boys, girls and combined team titles. The boys edged Jefferson, 83-77, and the girls won in a runaway with 126 points, well ahead of Edgewood (66).
“We did a great job,” Boland said. “For being cold out, the first real meet to do, everybody here was excited and did very well.”