ROCKY RIVER, Ohio (April 30, 2024) -- The season has reached the Senior Night-and-Bell portion of the schedule, and we catch up with the Runnin' Raiders in the third edition of the Pirate Track Report ...
On April 10, the Pirates battled their old foes, the Bay Rockets, in a War by the Shore around the oval at Bay Memorial Stadium. River swept the Great Lakes Conference dual meet, with boys clocking a tight 78.5-58.5 conquest and the girls winning 96-37. Senior Owen Kleckner won both hurdles events (110-meter, 300-meter) in earning two of the boys' nine victories against the Rockets. The River girls won 14 events.
Senior John Perry registered a toss of 44 feet, 9-1/2 inches, his career best, in the shot put. Fellow senior Abel Sereika logged his career best and a River top-10 (No. 6) in the discus (152-7).
Junior Grace Lavelle took the ninth spot on the all-time Pirate board in the 400-meter dash, crossing the wire in a blazing 59.86 seconds. Sophomore Eleanor Remias posted a nine-foot pole-vault measurement; that ranks seventh in RR history.
At the April 20, Rocky River competed in the Bill Krause Memorial held in Tiffin. The Pirates took third in the boys' competition, first in the girls', and first in the combined.
On the boys' side, River racked up big points in the 800-meter run (Grant Preto-first place, Henry Lange-second), the 1600-meter run (Ryan Stirm-1P, Caleb Bennett-4P), and 3200-meter run (Ruairi Zuercher-2P, Benjamin Buerhle-3P). Lange, Preto, and Zuercher were also in on a runner-up relay in the 4x800. The Pirates also took gold in the long jump (Owen Walsh) and bronze in the discus (Sereika).
In the girls' competition, Mary Sollars earned gold (100-meter hurdles), silver (200-meter dash), and bronze (100-meter dash). Ellie Harkins took first in the 300 hurdles and third in the 100 hurdles. Doris Kale plundered gold in the shot put, and Grace Lavelle did likewise in the 800. The River girls also clocked top-3 finishes in the 3200 (Brianna Chaves-2P), 1600 (Katie Stirm-3P), high jump (Katelyn Heavey-2P), and all three relays.
Four days later (April 24), the Runnin' Raiders obliterated North Olmsted in what figures as the least competitive meet thus far this spring. The boys outscored the Eagles 113-24 and the girls won 120-16.
On April 26, the Double-R competed at the Avon Reynolds Invitational. The Pirates continued their big April, placing second on the boys' side and third on the girls'.
In boys' events, River earned wins in the 4x800, long jump (Walsh), and 3200 (Zuercher). Buehrle helped the Double-R double up with points in the 3200; he took fifth. The Pirates also had solid tandem performances in the 800 (Lange-5P, Preto-7P) and discus (Sereika-5P, Alex Van Meter-6P).
Taking gold for the Rocky River girls were two relays (4x400, 4x800), Sollars in the 100 hurdles, and Lavelle in the 800. Jane Rathbun took fourth in that same 800, and the Pirates also doubled up in the 300 hurdles (Harkin-6P, Alesia Zotaj-8P).
Sollars also garnered points in the 100 (7P) and 200 (5P). Her performance in the 100 hurdles (15.26 seconds) set a new meet record. Lavelle's time in the 800 (2:16.95) had her more-than-2 seconds clear of the runner-up and also set a new Reynolds Invitational record.
The Pirates now tote unblemished records (each squad is 4-0) and a slew of top-3 invitational finishes into two big meets the week of April 29. On May 1, Rocky River will host Buckeye in a GLC test at home. That meet will mark Senior Night for the Pirates. A combined 38 seniors will be saluted in a post-meet ceremony. Then on May 3, RRHS will host the 48th Bell Invitational.
by Skip Snow
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