'I was literally screaming': Mogadore caps district track title with thrilling 1,600 relay

CRESTON TWP. — Up six in the team standings entering the final event of the day, the Mogadore girls track and field team simply needed a fifth-place finish to clinch a district title.

The Wildcats weren't gunning for fifth.

Truth be told, their top-seeded 1,600 relay wasn't gunning for first, either.

Four Mogadore girls set their sights on the school record and ended up achieving something even greater, setting the meet record as well with a 3:58.14.

"I knew we were going to break it," Wildcats senior Katie Lane said. "I could feel it. I could just sense it because the adrenaline was crazy, but I didn't expect to see it under four. Like, that was something that, at the end, I was literally screaming."

Senior Brook McIntyre, junior Ari Tompkins and Lane all returned from last year's 1,600 relay. Julie Tompkins returned from an ACL injury last year to provide a big boost.

"She's our missing piece to this 4x4," McIntyre said. "We knew from the moment when Julie was a freshman and Ari was out [with an ACL], as soon as we all four were together, it would be the dream team for the 4x4, and I think just knowing that has helped so much. This 4x4 is finally back to life this year."

Capped by a historic performance by its 1,600 relay, Mogadore won Friday's Norwayne District title with 85 points, eight ahead of runner-up Smithville and 13.50 ahead of the host Bobcats, who won last year's championship.

Coming off an eighth-place district finish a year ago (100.5 points behind the first-place Bobcats), Wildcats coach Kim Kreiner wasn't necessarily thinking about bringing a trophy home Friday night.

"We don't really concentrate on winning the district, region championship," Kreiner said. "Once we hit this time of year, it's more where can we put the girls to make them successful, to get them to state, and everything else that happens is icing on the cake."

That said, a district championship makes for pretty good icing.

"It is, absolutely," Kreiner said with a smile.

Mogadore's sprinting strides show

If the Wildcats' 1,600 relay was the talk of the track, their 800 relay might have been even more impactful toward their ascent up the district standings.

A year ago, Mogadore's 1,600 relay didn't make the finals. The Wildcats finished a distant 10th, in 1:58.71.

This year, Mogadore set a meet record with its 1:44.95.

Wait, what?

Yes, after the Tompkins twins traded missed years because of ACL injuries, the two juniors were there to provide plenty of speed. Freshman Hayli Clester provided another boost, joining with longtime stalwart McIntyre to make history.

"To get on that 4x2 team was very competitive for this district meet," Kreiner said. "They knew they had to run fast and we had runoffs to figure out who was going to be where, so I think that helps out as well when you have a handful of girls that want to make a district team and relay and it pushes everybody."

Julie Tompkins also set a school record in the 400, placing second (58.03) behind Smithville senior Maddy Lengacher, who set a meet record with a 57.41.

"I came here today motivated to beat her or to be with her," Tompkins said. "And I was with her all the way until the end and she got me at the end, but I was very happy to get the 58 because I was working for it all season long."

Her twin, Ari Tompkins, added a third-place finish in 58.49.

And junior Amelia Morris made a massive jump in the 100 hurdles. After finishing 11th at last year's district meet (18.31), she shaved more than a second and a half off last year's time to earn the fourth and final qualifying spot (16.76) for next week's regional meet, which will be held back at Norwayne.

"I just got a little more confident this year and knew that my team needed me," Morris said. "So I work hard at practice and just focus on my form and get it done."

Mogadore's balance pays off

Those were just a few of the success stories for the Wildcats, who scored in 13 of 17 events.

In addition to its titles in the 800 and 1,600 relays, Mogadore finished second in the 3,200 relay. In addition to the Tompkins twins advancing in the 400 and Morris advancing in the 100 hurdles, the Wildcats also landed regional qualifiers in the 200, in which Julie Tompkins finished fourth, and the 800, in which Lane was third.

Still, the buzz after was all about that marvelous 3,200.

"I think that the most [that] was on my mind was the school record because we've been trying to beat it since the first meet, and we were stuck for a long time at the 4:06 [mark] and we finally got a 4:04 the other day and we knew we had a lot left," Julie Tompkins said. "So we were going for four flat today, but I think that we got the record by five or six seconds because all four of us talked beforehand and we were all hyped.

"We agreed that there's no room for nerves or room for being disappointed with our other races, that the only race that mattered was the 4x4 there in the end."

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Mogadore caps district track title with record-breaking 1,600 relay