'Job is not finished': Marlington boys 3,200 relay runs state's fastest time at district
SALEM — This was a tone setter.
It also was a reminder that Marlington's boys 3,200-meter relay is the team to beat in Division II again.
The Dukes broke their own district-meet record Thursday night at Sebo Stadium. Luke Ryan, Michael Nicholls, Logan Citino and Colin Cernansky ran a 7:47.17 to shatter the old record of 7:58.04 Marlington set in 2022.
HIGH SCHOOL TRACK AND FIELD: 'Hyper-focused on the goal': Jackson boys 3,200 relay team hungry for more state success
Cernansky is the only holdover from the 2022 relay. This year he hopes to help lead the relay to a third straight state title.
"We went out here, smashed the meet record and smashed the school record," Cernansky said. "We still have two weeks left, regionals and state, and I think we have more in the tank. Obviously today was a really good race for us, but I still think we have room for improvement."
Marlington's 7:47.17 finish is the fastest boys 3,200 relay time in Division II this season. It wiped out the Dukes' season-best 8:07.89 set at last week's Eastern Buckeye Conference Championships.
It has not been an easy season for the relay team. A disqualification at the Stark County Championships prevented the Dukes from seeing how they matched up against the area's best Division I 3,200 relays. It also took everything Marlington had to hold off Minerva's foursome at the EBC meet.
"Honestly we were kind of lacking confidence at this point in the season," Cernansky said. "We really haven't run fast. We got DQd at county. We didn't run too fast at the conference meet.
"This was a huge confidence booster for us."
HIGH SCHOOL TRACK AND FIELD: Relax ... run fast. Amahrie Harsh works hard to stand out in sprints at Hoover High School
Cernansky, Ryan and Citino ran on last year's state title-winning relay. This is Nicholls' first run with them in the postseason.
In open races, Nicholls has competed mostly in the 1,600 and 3,200.
"All this is building experience," Nicholls said of running 800 legs on the relay. "I keep getting faster, so that's good."
Citino said Nicholls brings a lot to the table for the relay.
"He runs every 4-by-8 real consistent," Citino said. "He has real good closing speed. If he loses contact, he's really good at reeling in that contact and making a move the last 200 or 400."
Cernansky, Nicholls, Citino and Ryan won a Division II-III indoor state title in March. They would love to advance out of next week's regional and complete a state championship season sweep and an outdoor three-peat.
"We definitely exceeded our expectations today, but the job is not finished," Ryan said. "We have to keep going, keep advancing and defend that title again."
HIGH SCHOOL TRACK AND FIELD: In good company: Marlington's Cameron Evanich wins four events at EBC track and field meet
Marlington won all three boys events contested Thursday.
After back-to-back fouls, freshman Cameron Evanich cleared 21 feet, 5 inches to win the long jump. Diontae Lester won the discus with a throw of 157-3.
Reach Mike at mike.popovich@cantonrep.com
On X: @mpopovichREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Marlington boys 3,200 relay team sets another record at district meet
