Staff photo / Preston Byers Ursuline hurdler Xavier Starghill warms up during a track and field practice Monday at Hubbard High School.

HUBBARD — Three members of the Ursuline track and field team qualified for this week’s OHSAA state meet, and two come from the Starghill family.

Aside from thrower Connor Crilley, who earned a spot in the Division III boys shot put and discus events, the only other Irish athletes who will make the trip down to Columbus are hurdlers Xavier and Tyler Starghill.

Xavier, a senior, is a year older than his brother and will compete in both the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles, while Tyler will also be in the 110, having run a personal best of 14.29 at last week’s regional meet at Austintown Fitch.

“They did fantastic,” Ursuline head coach Alyssa Lynch said. “They had a great district run. Tyler, usually over the last [few] meets, give or take, has been slower than Xavier, but he has come into his own and really just blown it out of the ballpark.”

Tyler finished second in the 110 regional finals, 0.05 seconds faster than his older brother, who fell just shy of his own personal record he set at the previous week’s district meet.

Then, in the 300 regional finals, Xavier finished in second by running a 38.73. Tyler did not qualify for the finals, although he and Lynch said that was perfectly OK with the junior.

“It’s not a lot of pressure on me now,” Tyler said. “I can just run my race without thinking, ‘Oh, I gotta run the 3s next.'”

The brothers began working with hurdles coach Rick Whittaker three to four months ago, before the indoor state track meet, and Lynch said the progress is evident.

“Immediately, we saw huge differences in form, technique, overall attitude and just drive. He really works amazingly with them one-on-one, and has really turned a lot of things around with them this year,” Lynch said.

Xavier said that, in particular, he learned from Whittaker how not to “overwork” himself.

“I actually use technique instead of just being naturally fast for the hurdles,” Xavier said.

Whittaker said it did not take much for him and the Starghills to get acquainted and for the brothers to start showing progress. But he did admit that in order for them to get faster, he had to slow them down a bit.

“They bought into the process early,” Whittaker said. “They come to work every day prepared. They’re on time. They work all the way to the end of practice. They do all the little things.

“I have two rules: number-one rule is have fun; number-two rule is be an athlete. Other than that, we just got to work. They like to work. They push me. They show up. I have to slow them down. They want to do too much, where it’s like, ‘Slow down, focus on the process.’ They’re hardworking.”

During the postseason, Whittaker said he has prioritized quality over quantity when it comes to the Starghills’ reps. He also emphasized the importance of focus on the present, which coincides with his plan to continue working with the brothers on the first four hurdles.

“The majority of it’s mental. The physical stuff’s there,” Whittaker said. “I mean, their bodies know how to hurdle. They can roll out of bed and hurdle. It’s all about the mental aspect of the game now. It’s staying in the moment, not getting too excited. … We need to get out a little faster. They finish the race really, really well. Once they get to top speed, I don’t think there’s anybody in the state that can really run with them. It’s getting from that point to top speed. We need to work on that a little bit.”

Unlike his younger brother, Xavier has previous experience at the state meet: He competed with Ursuline’s 4×100-meter relay team last year, finishing in eighth.

But neither Tyler nor Xavier said they are concerned about nerves becoming a factor once they hit the track at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium for Friday’s Division III prelims or, if they qualify, Saturday’s finals.

“I know how state feels now, so I won’t have a lot of pressure on me,” Xavier said.

“It probably won’t be as nerve-wracking, said Tyler, who attended last year’s meet to support his brother. “Even with indoor state, it wasn’t as nerve-wracking because it didn’t really feel like state. It felt like a normal meet for us, so I’m gonna go in with that mentality and just run my race.”