Euclid Relays, District Meet Ahead for Panther Track Team

With district and regional meets on the horizon, the Euclid Panthers’ boys and girls track teams are looking forward to several key “tune-up” events over the next few weeks. 

Following an April 28 home dual meet against arch-rival Mentor, the Panther athletes will be hosting their biggest home event of the season—the 58th annual Euclid Relays—on Friday May 7. The long-running and highly regarded track spectacle will feature seven boys teams and seven girls teams. Action will get under way with field events at 3:30 p.m., followed by the running events at 6 p.m.

Among the favorites in the boys’ division will be St. Ignatius, Mentor, and Solon. On the girls’ side, Magnificat and Collinwood appear to be among the top threats to challenge for the team trophy. 

Don’t be surprised if the Panthers make some noise themselves. Larry Nosse, head coach of the girls’ squad, has high hopes for his 4x800 relay team—and not just in the Euclid Relays, but possibly at this year’s state meet as well.

“It will take a time of 9:25 or better to get past the regional, “ Nosse says, “but I think they could make it to state.”

Anchoring the 4x800 quartet is Kayla Whitlow, a senior who competed in that event at state as a freshman three years ago. She was hampered by injuries the past two seasons, but is hopeful of returning to Columbus this year. Candidates to join her on the relay squad include sophomore Emily Sweet, junior Jennifer Brown, senior Shawna Johnson, and senior Kamari Jackson. 

Whitlow, who has a track scholarship to Akron University, is also a threat in the open 800 meters and the 1600 meters. At the recent Twinsburg Invitational meet, she won the 1600 in 5:15­­—but was clocked as fast as 5:04 in an indoor meet last year, prior to her suffering a foot injury.

Emily Sweet placed third in the 1600 at an invitational meet at Collinwood two weeks ago, hitting the finish line in 5:29. She also ran well in the 3200 meters and was awarded a trophy as one of the meet’s top distance performers after contributing 12 team points to the Panthers’ total.            

Other top performers on the girls’ squad include sophomore sprinter-hurdler Artia Gunn, sophomore shot-putter Erianna Hargrove, junior high jumper Erin Rambo, and her sister Taylor Rambo, a sophomore sprinter. Taylor has posted some solid times, including 12.7 seconds in the 100 meter dash and 25.5 seconds in the 200 meters. Gunn has run the 100 meters in 12.31 seconds, leading Coach Nosse to believe she could qualify for the state meet in that event. “She finished sixth in the regional last year,” the coach notes, but only the top four in each event advance to Columbus.

This year, the district track meet will be held May 21-23 at Mentor, and the regional meet will be May 28-30 at Austintown Fitch High.

The Panther boys are a relatively young team this year. “I have lots of sophomores and freshmen,” noted head coach Scott Gay. But his youngsters managed to defeat Maple Heights in a dual meet last week, 81-54.

Among the key performers on the boys’ squad are senior sprinter Kyle Johnson, sophomore dash specialist Bryan Clark, and sprinter Rashawn Carter. Johnson, a transfer from Villa Angela-St. Joseph, has been clocked at 11.2 in the 100-meter dash. Clark’s best times have been 51 seconds flat in the 400 meters and 23.5 in the 200 meters. Carter has run the 200 meters in 23.1. 

In the Maple Heights meet, Clark and Carter teamed with John Jackson and Anthony Little to win the 4x200 relay in 1:32.6. Carter also ran on the winning 4x100 relay team, along with Shamir Tomlinson, Tyree Johns and Allen Crawford.

Potential point-getters for the Panthers also include senior Anthony Porter (shotput, discus), Jamil Gill (800 meters), and Shane Byrne (shot, discus). Against Maple Heights, Porter set a personal record in the discus with a winning toss of 141 feet, 10 inches. 

Other winners for the boys in the Maple dual meet were: Anthony Little in the 100 hurdles (14.9) and 300 hurdles (42.7), Nick Bruno in the 1600 meters (5:12) and 3200 meters (11:23),  Bryan Clark in the 400 meters (51.0), the 4x800 relay team of Jamil Gill, Paul Style, Houston Boone, and Ivan Conrad (8:55), and the 4x400 relay (John Jackson, Rashawn Carter, Paul Styles, Bryan Clark) in 3:30.

Against Maple, winners for the girls’ team included Taylor Rambo in the high jump (4-9), Artia Gunn in the 100 hurdles (15.5), and Kayla Whitlow in the 800 meters (2:27).

The Euclid coaches were hoping for big things this year from hurdler Seth Morgan, a senior. Last year, he sped to a 14.9 clocking in the 100-meter hurdles. A knee injury suffered in a football playoff game last fall has kept him on the sidelines this spring.

As of last week, no one on either the boys or girls team had set a school record this year—but Kayla Whitlow came close. She turned in a 2:16.6 clocking in one 800 meter race, just 1.2 seconds off the school record for girls.

“I think she’ll probably break it sometime in the next month,” Coach Nosse predicted.