Brecksville-Broadview Heights Girls Track and Field Team Takes Second in the Southwestern Conference Championship

WESTLAKE -- The 1600-meter relay is the last race of any track meet. Many call it a make it or break it race. Sometimes a botched exchange or sub par effort can mean the difference of a trophy or not.

That was the scenario the  girls faced Friday night during the Southwestern Conference track and field championships. 

"We had kind of figured it out, that the only way to pull out a second place was that our 4x400 (Ellen Prendergast, Julia D'Agostino, Tabitha Jacofsky and Veronica Thompson) had to win and Avon Lake could not score more than a point or two," Brecksville-Broadview Heights coach Tara Gruskiewicz said after the meet.

Both occurred.

Most athletes who run this race are tired, having run multiple races during the day, and Thompson was no different. Prior to the race she had already run three other events, which made what she did on her final leg of the relay even more impressive.

Handed the baton behind, she made up more than 15 yards, clocking a 56 second split, and with a lean at the finish not only handed Brecksville-Broadview Heights the 4x400 relay title, but also the second place finish overall. 

"After that 400 I was done, I don't even know how I am walking now, I am so exhausted," Thompson said. "I've run that time before, but it was at regionals, so to hit it here, I am really pumped. This was the first time I ever ran four events in conference, so this is awesome. It's really great."

She also anchored the 4x800 relay team (Prendergast, D'Agostino, Jasmine Waugaman, Thompson) to victory and ran season bests in both the 400, where she was second (57.3), and the 200-meters (26.73), where she took home fourth place.

Just how good were Thompson's efforts? Her open time in the 400-meter would have placed her in the top eight of the state at the 2010 OHSAA championships and her split in the top five.

"Veronica doesn't know how to take it easy," Gruskiewicz said. "Her performance definitely stands out, as it was a huge challenge and she took it on and did well with it." 

Brecksville-Broadview Heights' 1,600-meter relay assured the team second place, but it was a total team effort that enabled the Bees to get there, as they scored points in 14 of the 17 events.

Becky Famurewa was crowned champion in two events, the shot and discus. She bested her meet record in the shot with a toss of 43-3 and won the discus with a throw of 134-3.

Prendergast placed in three events, taking fourth in the 400-meter, and a first place medal as part of the 1600- and 800-meter relay teams. D'Agostino also placed in three events, taking home fifth in the 100-meters (12.93) and two firsts as lead-off leg of the 800- and 1600-meter relays.

The Bees also excelled in the 800-meter run, where three runners -- Stephanie Robb, Jacofsky and Jill Bajaksouzian -- all were in the top six. Robb was second with a 2:22.03, Jacofsky fourth with her 2:23.5 and Bajaksouzian sixth with her time of 2:27.23. Jacofsky was also third in the 1,600-meter run and anchored the winning 3,200-meter relay team (Megan Beaver, Bajaksouzian, Lauren Greenlee, Jacofsky).

"The last race was incredible, but I don't see where we could have picked up many more points," Gruskiewicz said. "They came ready to compete and performed well. I am very proud of them and happy with how they performed." 

The boys squad finished eighth as a team, but still got some nice performances from its athletes.

Leading the way for the Bees was distance runner Rob Scanlon. He ran a 9:34 to take home first in the 3,200-meter run. Austin Stephan was second in the 400-meters (51.4) while Logan Resparc was sixth in the high jump with a leap of 5-8.