WGH wins first regional title
By DAVID BAUGH Tribune Chronicle correspondentAUSTINTOWN - "We want to show the state who Warren Harding is, but it starts in this region."
Those were the words of Warren G. Harding junior Marvin Logan following Wednesday's preliminary round of the Division I Austintown Regional track meet at Falcon Stadium.
After Friday's meet, that message was forwarded to the rest of Ohio as Harding scored 68.5 points to finish ahead of state powerhouse Cleveland Glenville, which finished with 60. In the process, the Raiders won the first regional title in school history.
Harding coach Charles Penny has always preached a team approach to his athletes. He knows that his team is capable of strong performances, so watching his team win five different events wasn't unexpected, even with the state's top dog in the same yard.
"I have nothing but the utmost respect for Cleveland Glenville," Penny said. "At the same time, our goal has never been to come here and beat them. We want to win a state title regardless of who we have to run against. Our kids have worked so hard to get to this point, and they have given me every reason to think that we can do some big things this season."
Harding's Mitchell Seawood got the winning started as he posted a time of 14.24 seconds in the 110 hurdles. Even with long road that he has traveled, watching his team get to this point makes everything all worth while.
"This has been a long journey for us," Seawood said. "Our coaches never doubted us, and we believed in each other. This is a great accomplishment for us, but we aren't done yet. We want to bring a big trophy back home from Columbus next week."
DeAver Williamson posted winning times of 10.9 and 21-1 in the 100 and 200, respectively, while anchoring the winning 400 and 800 relay teams (42.23 & 127.50, respectively). After being handed the baton in the 800 relay, he ran past runners from four other teams, beating Glenville by .07 of a second.
"We had a bad handoff early on, but I wasn't trying to let my team lose," Williamson said. "We've worked too hard to just give up when we make mistakes. We aren't satisfied with just placing. When you want to be the best, you do what you have to do to win. For us, there is one thing left. We want to finish the season right- with the state championship."
All of Trumbull County's accomplishments weren't made by Harding. In fact, Howland's Nicole Pachol added to her record collection as she ran a stadium best 41.86 in the 300 hurdles, beating her previous state high setting time of 43.28 in last week's district prelims. Her time of 14.63 also earned her a spot in next week's 110 hurdles as she placed third.
Pachol knows that it takes more than just being fast to perform at such a high level. It takes dedication beyond the track.
"All year, I've tried to eat, sleep, and exercise right," she said "I knew that if I deserved to be here, nothing was going to be handed to me. This season meant a lot to me. I wasn't here last year, but I believed that I could accomplish my goals if I worked hard enough. I can't even tell you how good I feel right now."
As good as yesterday's moments were for Pachol, she now has her sights set on even bigger heights.
"This is big for me, but I'm not ready to settle," she added. "I have to buckle down and get ready for Columbus. I want to win some state championships next week."
After some great performances in arguably the toughest region in the state, those goals are very possible for Pachol and the Harding boys.
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hope4wrn
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05-30-09 2:18 AM
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Best of luck to coach Penny and his team. Warren should be proud of your performance at the Penn Relays and winning the regionals. Do us proud down at State... Get at em' boys...
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jackson5
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05-30-09 1:12 AM
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Did Logan place in the 300 hurdles for the state meet?
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