Geneva girls team looking for another all-county meet title
May 5—The expectations heading into today's all-county meet at Lakeside High School are high for Geneva's girls team.
The Eagles won their 18th straight county title in 2019.
"From what I understand, the Geneva girls have been winning this year in and year out for a decade roughly, give or take," first-year girls coach Chip Sorber said. "The expectation is to continue that."
The Eagles girls team features just five seniors, but impressive showings from Gabbi Selman in the pole vault, Emmy Bryan's in the high jump and Renee Tetlow in the 800 and 1600 meter runs to help guide a young team. Bryan's finished in the top-2 in every meet so far this season.
"We started off week one, knowing we we're going to be young, but we also know we have some talented kids who are going to continue to develop and get better," Sorber said. "They're competitors. Our mantra's been don't blink. Don't let the moment be too big for you just go out and compete."
Selman's consistency in pole vault has helped Geneva in every meet so far this season.
"She's won at all our events this year with the exception of one," Sorber said. "She's at 10-6 [feet] now, and I would expect her to be 11-plus before we're all said and done here."
On the boys side, the Eagles' Charlie Taylor eclipses 50-feet in the shot put and enters as the favorite. Zack Reese and Alex Reese provide a solid tandem in the mid-distance and distance events that could put Geneva over the top as a team.
During the Lakeview Invitational on Saturday, Taylor was selected as the boys field MVP with 20 points scored.
Teammate Connor Boland earned the same honor in running events with a total of 22 points. William Hanchosky is also one to look for as he anchors the 4X200, 4X400 and 4X800 relays. The 4X800 and 4X200 school records were broken earlier this season.
The event didn't take place last year as Ohio spring sports were cancelled.
"They definitely have the drive to want to go and compete, especially the seniors, they missed out on a whole season," Eagles boys coach Emily Long said. "I'm sure every other team feels the same way too."
Other difference makers in the county include Jefferson's Luke Robinson in the 1600 and Taylor Skinner in the 400 and the 200.
The 1600 will likely come down to Robinson and Zack Reese. Skinner's regularly ran around 61 seconds in the 400 this season, placing high in a variety of invitationals.
For Edgewood, Lydia Randolph hopes to capture the county title in the 1600 and 3200 meter runs.
In 2019, she finished second in the 1600 at the county meet with a time of 5:35.23.
She also finished second in the 800 in 2019 with a time of 2:28.58.
If Randolph runs the 800, she would be in the mix for three county titles.
Grand Valley's Kat Clason, won the high jump at 4-10 in 2019, is slated to compete. In 2019, Geneva swept the competition.
Conneaut won't compete in the county meet today. The school's track and field squads have paused activities due to COVID-19.
