'A real solid double': Marlington's Colin Cernansky completes distance sweep at regional
AUSTINTOWN — Even a runner as experienced and successful as Colin Cernansky knows there are no guarantees.
The Marlington senior was pressed in his second-ever postseason 3,200 meters Saturday. On his final lap ever at Fitch High School, he found the extra gear to make himself a Division II regional champion again.
Cernansky held off Woodridge's Sam Su down the stretch to win the 3,200 and complete another distance sweep. Earlier, he ran a school and meet-record 4:10.79 to win the 1,600.
HIGH SCHOOL TRACK AND FIELD: OHSAA high school track and field | Division II regional results Saturday
"I could feel them on me the whole race," Cernansky said of the 3,200. "I knew it was going to be a full race the last 400."
Cernansky won the 3,200 in 9:19.67. Su finished in 9:22.94.
"I like to trust my closing speed," Cernansky said. "That last 100, it paid off."
Cernansky will head to next week's state meet as a regional champion in the 1,600 and 3,200 and as a member of the Dukes' 3,200 relay. He will try to win his third straight title in the 1,600 and on the relay. He will run the 3,200 for the first time at state.
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Setting an all-time Stark County record in the 3,200 (8:58.96) at the Wayne Invitational was a driving force in Cernansky running both distance opens in the postseason. So far, so good. He also won the 1,600 and 3,200 at last week's district meet.
"I'm super confident with these two races today," Cernansky said. "It's a real solid double for me. I hope to improve on that next week. It's going to be pretty hard to improve on that, but I was really happy with the way I ran today."
Cernansky will have a familiar face running the 3,200 with him at state.
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Teammate Michael Nicholls finished fourth Saturday. He held off Bay's Connor Spellman by 24 one-hundredths of a second for the final automatic state berth.
Nicholls turned his head late in the race and saw how close Spellman was to him.
"I thought fifth would probably make it (as an at-large), but I didn't want to get fifth," Nicholls said. "I just wanted to make sure I closed it."
Nicholls wasn't sure if he was going to run. He said he has been having trouble sleeping lately. The night before, he slept just 45 minutes.
"I woke up feeling awful," Nicholls said. " ... I didn't think I'd be able to muster it out.
"I did a warm-up, and it was good. I felt alright and I was like 'I have nothing to lose. I might as well go for it.'"
Nichols finished in 9:30.59.
"I trust Mike when it comes to game time," Cernansky said. "He ended up running really well. He got the qualification.
"I know he can run faster. I know he has more in the tank, but I'm really happy with the way he performed."
Cernansky and Nicholls scored 15 points themselves in the 3,200. That helped the Dukes finish as regional runners-up behind Woodridge.
Earlier, freshman Cameron Evanich gave Marlington valuable points in the 200. He edged Woodridge's Jack Novak by one one-hundredths of a second for the fourth and final automatic state berth.
Marlington's Irelyn Johnson rallies on final lap of 3,200
Marlington freshman Irelyn Johnson was outside of automatic state qualification in the girls 3,200 when the gun lap sounded. Her initial thoughts weren't positive.
"I just kind of accepted that I wasn't going to hit state," Johnson said.
Johnson's thoughts changed when she suddenly found herself closing the gap. She made up two spots on the final lap and finished third to earn an automatic state berth.
"I started to gain some ground on people," Johnson said. "The I realized I might be able to do it."
Johnson's first state berth comes on the heels of a rough first season.
"I hurt my hamstring," Johnson said. "Then my hamstring went to issues with my hips. The past couple of weeks, I have not been doing workouts. Just easy running.
"This is really important to me."
Canton South high jumper Julius Kimbrough survives after delay
The first of two weather delays came at a good time for Julius Kimbrough.
Canton South's first-year high jumper was a miss away from possibly being knocked out of a state berth. Kimbrough was able to regroup, clear 6 feet, 2 inches on his final attempt after the delay and go on to finish fourth at 6-3.
Kimbrough becomes the second Wildcats first-year high jumper in as many seasons to advance to state. Xavier Williams won the state title last year.
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This article originally appeared on The Repository: Marlington's Colin Cernansky sweeps distance races at OHSAA regional
