Area track, field athletes having season for the ages
- col-aaron-dorksen
- June 2, 2022
- 1128
A few thoughts from the week in sports …
It’s been a fantastic finish to the spring sports season for area teams and athletes.
Three local softball teams advanced to the state tournament at Akron Firestone Park.
Div. II Triway, Div. III Tuslaw and Div. IV Hillsdale have shown once again how good the softball is that’s played in this area.
The magic number in baseball also is three, with Div. III Waynedale and Div. IV Hiland and Hillsdale advancing to the regionals.
The College of Wooster baseball team made an outstanding post-season run, coming up one win short of advancing to the Div. III NCAA World Series.
Historically speaking, area track and field athletes are having a season for the ages.
Area boys have established times, jumps or throws that rank in Wayne County’s top-15 all-time in nine instances while girls have recorded a whopping 18 top-15 showings. In the process several long-standing school records have fallen.
The best news is local track athletes still have their biggest meet left — the State Track and Field Championships at Ohio State’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium June 3-4.
Retired former Chippewa teacher and track coach Alan Martin has a Facebook page that’s really worth checking out if you don’t already follow it: Wayne County Track and Field Top 15 or so Efforts.
“It started as my COVID pandemic project,” said Martin, a 1976 Smithville graduate and track standout who coached for one year at his alma mater and then taught and coached track for 32 years at Chippewa. “People couldn’t go anywhere, and I needed something to do. I had noticed that the all-time area track bests weren’t being printed anymore.”
Martin is a huge track and field fan, and a big reason for his interest in the county records is the Chippewa 4-by-800 relay team he coached in 1990. Their Wayne County best time of 7:57.90 still stands as the record.
“I looked at old newspaper records and then searched many more meet results to compile my lists,” Martin said. “It’s been fun, and many former athletes have been very appreciative.”
It was the perfect timing to update the lists because Wayne County athletes have taken it over in 2022.
“There’s never been a local track season like this,” Martin said.
Highlighting the best of the best are Norwayne’s Jaylee Wingate, Rittman’s Pyper Gibson and Orrville’s Ainsley Hamsher, who have all set all-time Wayne County track bests this spring.
Wingate has area records in the 800-meter run (2:11.88) and 1,600 (4:54.57) while Gibson set the record in the 3,200 (10:57.67). The duo are incredible rivals who have pushed each other to greatness, with Gibson second on the all-time 1,600 leaderboard (5:03.65) and Wingate second in the 3,200 (11:00.0).
Hamsher broke a county and school record shared by former state champs Allison Plybon and Alex Eby when she vaulted an area-best 12-9 at the Massillon Perry Regional.
Rittman’s Merrick Gibson is fifth in the 800 (2:18.66), and Pyper Gibson is eighth (2:19.69) while Waynedale’s Kylee Gray is fifth in the 3,200 (11:22.47). Smithville’s Abby Hartzler is 10th in the high jump (5-4 1/2), and Norwayne’s Alison Morlock is 10th in the shot put (40-3 1/2).
On the boys side, the throwers have had an incredible rivalry similar to Wingate vs. Gibson in girls distance events.
Norwayne’s Colby Morlock has the second best distance throw (192-5) and is third in the shot put (62-9).
Rittman’s Tyler Thompson is second in the shot put (63-4 3/4). Norwayne’s Dillon Morlock is fourth in the discus (185-6) and fourth in the shot put (61-4 3/4). Smithville legend Larry Kolic has the shot put record (64-9, 1981).
Also turning in incredible performances were Wooster’s Ashton Dunlap and Jonathan Varner in the 3,200. Dunlap ran a 9:23.21 at regionals to smash Don Kimpel’s 1975 school record (9:33.40) and move into third place on the all-time list while Varner has a 9:26.92 clocking that’s fourth.
Also of note from schools covered by the Wooster Weekly News, Triway’s Cameron Soss is 12th in the 100 (10.87), and the Titans’ Kalie Campbell is 13th in the long jump (17-3 ¾).
Best wishes to all these athletes at the state meet.
Diamond stars
Top-ranked Triway (28-1) played Heath (23-5) on June 2 at 10 a.m. in the state softball tournament.
On June 3 Hilldale (23-3) will match up against Van Wert Lincolnview (24-4) at 12:30 p.m. Tuslaw (20-5) will follow that afternoon against Casstown Miami East at 3 p.m.
The softball championship games will be played June 4.
The baseball regionals also started on June 2.
Three local baseball teams were in regional semifinal games, hoping to reach the regional finals the following night.
Waynedale matched up against Youngstown Ursuline at Massillon Washington High School at 5 p.m.
Both Hiland and Hillsdale advanced to the Sweet 16 in Div. IV baseball.
The Hawks played Mowrystown Whiteoak at Lancaster High School at 2 p.m. while the Falcons took on Warren John F. Kennedy at Gates Mills Gilmour Academy at 5 p.m.
The baseball state tournament will be played June 9-11 at Akron Canal Park.
Parting shots
Richard Graham, aka Dick Graham and Moonlight Graham, passed away May 10 at age 89. Graham was one of Wooster High School’s all-time great alums.
Graham owned farmland between Shelmar and Route 302 and was a heckuva nice guy. He quarterbacked the 1949 Wooster High football team that went 9-0-1 and scored a ton of points with Ron Calabria, Jack Palmer and Benny Massaro in the backfield, all Wooster High Hall of Famers. Calabria went on to back up Frank Gifford at USC.
Graham graduated from Wooster High School with the Class of 1950 and was class president. He also received the Blue and Gold Award.
I had the privilege to talk to Graham on many occasions, whether it be for a story or while he was holding court at the old Parlor Restaurant. He will be missed by many.
Aaron Dorksen can be emailed at aarondorksen24@gmail.com.