The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Madison duo are on to state
Blue Streaks seniors Moretti, Martin qualify in shot put
YOUNGSTOWN » Maddie Moretti and Becca Martin proudly emphasize often that they do everything together, from throws to school to all points in between.
It seemed fitting, then, May 25 during Day 1 of the Division I Austintown-Fitch Regional, the Madison seniors coincidentally went back-to-back in the same preliminary shot put flight.
It also seemed fitting, since they do everything together after all, they can add one more special facet to that journey:
They will head to the state meet together as well.
Moretti took home top shot put honors at Fitch, with a best throw of 43 feet, 1 ¼ inches on her penultimate attempt, and Martin was third with a 39-3 ¾ on her last attempt in the finals.
The Blue Streaks’ duo being Columbus-bound marks the first time since 1993 (Cardinal’s Colette Stefansky and Heather Fisher) that two girls throwers from the same News-Herald coverage area school advanced to state in the same year in the same event.
In every way, from competition to podium, it was done the only way they know how: Together.
“It’s so amazing,” Martin said of Madison’s first state berths in girls shot put since Julie Gavorski in 2013. “Maddie is my best friend, and it’s so exciting to do that.”
Added Moretti: “It’s a surreal feeling. It’s good for our town. It’s good for us. It’s just a great experience.”
The shot put area at Fitch has indicators for feet in increments of 10. In warmups for the second flight, Moretti uncorked a heave well past the 40-foot marker, to around 42, yielding hope for what was to follow.
“Yeah, definitely,” Moretti said. “I just knew I had to hit my positions, let it send and I knew I would be in a good place.”
Martin took a slightly different course, stuck in the low-30s early until she got her 39-3 ¾.
“I wasn’t quite nervous, I would say,” Martin said. “I was a bit hesitant to try to send it on the first one. Obviously, my first one wasn’t great. But I gradually started moving up, and I was like, ‘I’m setting up almost perfectly. It’s setting up well.’
“I was trying to figure out what was missing. We figured out what was missing. I hit it on the last throw. I kind of just Hail Maryed it and hoped for the best with the new cue. Because we just threw it in, right before I went. I was like, ‘OK.’ So we did it, and when I turned around and saw where it landed, I was shocked. My jaw hit the floor. I was so excited. I was like, ‘There’s no way.’ But thankfully, it worked.”
Several standout area 4x8s have been working on tinkering their lineups and approaches throughout the spring to get a shot at state, and four will be making the trek to Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
Mentor’s girls 4×8 of Ada Sabo, Nora Kraska, Kylie Beucler and Savannah Dennison took first with a time of 9 minutes, 28.28 seconds, the reigning D-I state champion Cardinals’ 11th state berth all-time in the event.
Sabo made a confident move from fourth to second at the turn for her opening leg. Kraska hung in there and gave Beucler about a 15-meter lead with which to operate at the exchange, which the junior handled well. That led into Dennison on the anchor, who kicked it out to a 30-meter advantage on her first backstretch and dominated through the bell lap on home.
“I was really excited, going back-to-back with the win,” Dennison said. “That was something so incredible. Coming down to regional, not many teams get to experience that. And we have three different girls on our team — we didn’t have them last year. So it was great to get some new girls with this experience. Next year, we’re going to come back even stronger.”
In boys 4×8, Chardon’s quartet of Karl Dietz, Luke Danison, Matthew Sopchak and Caden Dawson took second in a hot final in 7:54.55, and Mentor’s Timmy Hordinski, Michael Petrovic, Josh Risko and Matthew Biddell was third in 7:55.12.
Dawson appeared to have a brief window at a regional crown on the homestretch, battling Louisville and embarking on a brave kick outside. Overall, though, it was a strong piece of business from the Hilltoppers for their second straight state berth.
“We all knew it was going to be a fast race — it was really rainy for (district),” Dawson said. “But I’ve got a great team. They came out here to compete, and that’s what I did, too. It was a fun night.
“I caught up to (Louisville), and (the anchor) glanced over at me. So the thought in my head was, either I’ve got him or he hasn’t even kicked yet. And now he sees me, and he’s just going to go. Sure enough, it was that one.”
The Cardinals encouraged as well, navigating some boxing early through Hordinski and Petrovic.
“When I was running, I was just focusing on top four pretty much,” Hordinski said. “Just stay with that pack, and give it to Michael in a good position. And then Michael did amazing — he passed Louisville at one point. Then Josh did really well. Matt was kind of scaring me, but he did good. Yeah, I was impressed with all of us.”
Other News-Herald coverage area qualifiers from Day 1 at Fitch were University’s Fanon Miller (fourth, discus) and Brian Kellon (fourth, long jump), Brush’s Michala Johnson (second, high jump) and Kenston’s girls 4×8 (fourth).