---- — As conspiracy theories go, Mark Slezak had one of the more interesting observations.

Nearing the conclusion of Saturday’s 13th annual City of Hermitage Track & Field Invitational — there were more schools represented (42), than degrees of drizzly air temperature (40) — Hickory High coach Slezak speculated the woeful weather was due to Leap Year.

Without that 29th day in February during calendar year 2012, he reasoned, Friday’s ideal 77-degree weather would have fallen, instead, on Saturday.

Despite the day-long dampness, athletes annexed numerous meet marks at Hickory High’s Hornet Stadium. During the indoor winter season, Hickory’s girls and boys teams tuned, — perhaps warmed up is more appropos — given how they dominated.

ä Among many Hickory highlights, hurdler Brandon Ward went for record-setting performances in the highs (14.86) and intermediates (39.64). In the former, he eclipsed former Hickory standout E.J. McLaurin’s decade-old record (15.19).

Ward’s teammate, Matt Bell, put the shot a new meet mark 59-5è, bettering his own throw almost a year ago to the day (56-3è).

ä Bell was not Hickory’s lone thrower to establish a new standard, as he was joined fellow shot-putter Jen Neider (46-5) and discus-thrower Taylor Woods (141-6). Woods wiped her sister Emily’s 2009 standard (135-3) from the record book, while Neider knocked out another Emily Woods’ notch (41-6 1/4, 2010).

ä Grove City’s Daniel Jaskowak celebrated his birthday by outkicking North East’s Ryan Smathers, 4:17.77 to 4:19.55, and he had to, as both surpassed the meet mark, set a year ago by Jaskowak’s mentor, Jake Kildoo (4:21.77).

They then duplicated that in the 800-meter run, as Jaskowak again outlasted Smathers, 1:56.99 to 1:57.13 (Kildoo, 1:59.63, 2011).

ä Hickory’s versatile Lauren Lubarski equalled the high-jump record (5-6, Reynolds’ Brittany Maun, 2004), also.

ä While Bell edged Wilmington’s John Yohman in the shot, Yohman yanked the disc 166-8 en route to his own meet mark by more than a foot (Sharon’s Demond Davis-White, 165-1, 2011).

ä Ward was not the only record-setting hurdler, as Grove City’s Eliza Lowe also set a standard in the highs (15.51) — one of her quartet of victories (intermediates, sprint- and mile relay legs), and her teammates Courtney Corbin (100-, 200-meter dashes, 4x1 relay leg) and Lauren Decker (400, both relays).

There were other multiple-event winners, including: Hickory’s Morgan Richards (1600- and 3200-meter runs, distance-relay leg); Grove City’s Lauren Decker (400-meter dash, sprint-relay leg), and West Middlesex’s Clay Allen (100, 200).

The Hornets and Lady Hornets, coached by Slezak and Barb Dzuricsko — who doubled as meet director and statistician — swept the team titles with 77 and 113 points, respectively.

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City of Hermitage Invitational

GIRLS

Team Standing and Key: Hickory (H) 113; Grove City (GC) 87; Meadville (Mv) 42è; North East (NE) 38è; Slippery Rock (SR) 35; Harbor Creek (HC) 32; Mercyhurst Prep (MP) 31; West Middlsex (WM) 30; Mercer (Mer) 28; Gen. McLane (GM) 26; Villa Maria (VM) 24; Wilmington (W) 23; Union City UC) 21; Sharon (Sh) 21; Lakeview Lv) 15; Fairview (Fv) 15; Franklin (Fr) 12; Hubbard (Hub) 11 Saegertown (Sae) 11; Clarion (Clar) 10; Kennedy Catholic (KC) 10; Reynolds (R) 8; Sharpsville (Sv) 6; Corry (Cor) 6; Strong Vincent (SV) 3; Fort LeBoeuf (FL) 2. 

Individual Results*

3200 relay — 1. Hickory (Morgan Richards, Mackenzie Gruber, Jackie White, Jenna Placzek) 10:04.49; 2. Mercyhurst Prep 10:09.19; 3. Slippery Rock 10:24.43; 4. Wilmington 10:29.72; 5. Gen. McLane 10:29.82; 6. Meadville 10:33.36; 7. West Middlesex 10:45.69; 8. Corry 10:57.60.

100 hurdles — 1. Eliza Lowe (GC) 15.51*; 2. Sophie Mazza (HC) 16.14; 3. Kristen Belko (H) 16.47; 4. Janette Berger (Mer) 16.75; 5. Sarah Parrish (NE) 16.78; 6. Megan McKinney (Mer) 16.91; 7. Madi Bell (H) 17.08; 8. Kristina Flak (GM) 17.10.

100 — 1. Courtney Corbin (GC) 13.01; 2. Eve Gardener (UC) 13.05; 3. Heather Sternby (MV) 13.13; 4. Shamieia Roberts (VM) 13.31; 5. Megan Stephenson (SR) 13.31; 6. Deanna Smith (SV) 13.43; 7. Marla Holland (Lv) 13.61; 8. Taylor Reed (Lv) 13.65.

1600 — 1. Richards 5:18.55; 2. Andrea Miller (Fv) 5:29.97; 3. Anna Cessar (SR) 5:35.51; 4. Morgan Price (GM) 5:36.30; 5. Olivia Green (SR) 5:36.98; 6. Kim Demjanenko (VM) 5:37.55; 7. Mary Jaskowak (GC) 5:38.94; 8. Dana Cerroni (Sv) 5:39.52.

400 — 1. Lauren Decker (GC) 1:01.65; 2. Christian Bennett (Hub) 1:02.07; 3. Brooke Caldwell (Sae) 1:03.81; 4. Grace Trucilla (VM) 1:03.96; 5. Allison Baldwin (W) 1:04.26; 6. Melissa Thomas (Hub) 1:04.87; 7. Rachel Watson (Lv) 1:05.47; 8. Tiffany Witt (Fr) 1:05.65.

400 relay — 1. Grove City (Lowe, Abby Casalnova, Decker, Jesse Treiber) 52.22; 2. Mercer 53.56; 3. North East 53.77; 4. Hickory 53.96; 5. Villa Maria 54.52; Harbor Creek 54.84; 7. Lakeview 54.86; 8. Farrell 55.40.

300 hurdles — 1. Lowe 47.44; 2. Berger 49.01; 3. Kelsey Murray (WM) 50.67; 4. Flak 50.75; 5. McKinney 51.27; 6. Leah Hansen (GM) 51.33; 7. Mercy Kroh (Clar) 51.51; 8. Michaela Ripley (SR) 51.75. 

800 — 1. Marina Wareham (KC) 2:19.48*; 2. Taylor Pletz (MP) 2:26.38; 3. Trucilla 2:27.75; 4. Miller 5. Sarah Kupniewski (MP) 2:29.11; 6. Sarah Mrozowski (NE) 2:30.13; 7. Brooke Caldwell (Sae) 2:31.81; 8. Casalnova 2:31.95.

200 — 1. Corbin 26.77; 2. Gardener 26.86; 3. Kylie Shafer (NE) 27.08; 4. Decker 27.34; 5. Sternby 27.95; 6. Amber Nerlich (Fr) 27.95; 7. Holland 28.03; 8. Stephenson 28.20.

3200 — 1. Richards 11:23.35; 2. Catherine Stark (MP) 11:53.71; 3. Jessica Bennett (SR) 12:00.24; 4. Cerroni 12;02.84; 5. Lindsay Knaby (GC) 12:06.06; 6. Danielle Stanko (Sae) 12:09.86; 7. Heather Ziegler (Mv) 12:15.38; 8. Samantha Owen (Cor) 12:16.39.

1600 relay — 1. Grove City (Casalnova, Decker, Lowe, Corbin)4;16.26; 2. North East 4:21.5; 3. West Middlesex 4:23.26; 4. Gen. McLane 4:30.91; 5. Reynolds 4:33.42; 6. Mercyhurst Prep 4:34.55; 7. Hickory 4:35.19; 8. Villa Maria 4:38.42.

Shot put — 1. Jen Neider (H) 46-5*; 2. Taylor Woods (H) 41-5 1/4; Rachel DeMaria (WM) 36-1; 4. Sabol Csatlos (Sh) 35-5 1/4; 5. Emily Campbell (SAR) 35-4; 6. Maria Greiner (HC) 37-7 3/4; 7. Marketta Jackson (Sh) 34-4 1/4; 8. Julie Falvo (W) 34-1 3/4.

Discus — 1. Woods 141-6*; 2. Lauren Lubarski (H) 139-2; 3. DeMaria 114-3; 4. Falvo 111-9; 5. Csatlos 106-4; 6. Brea Northcott (SR) 99-7; 7. Alexis Smith (Mv) 97-10; 8. Madi Turiczek (NE) 91-5.

Javelin — 1. Csatlos 119-2; 2. Chaykala Lindsey (Mv) 118-7; 3. Lurbarski 115-0; 4. Amber Bacon (UC) 113-0è; 5. Marie Nolan (Cor) 101-8; 6. Aspen Weber (GM) 99-5; 7. Abbey Rose (FL) 99-4; 8. DeMaria 98--9.

Long jump — 1. Paige Kassab (Mv) 16-3è; 2. Kristin Markiewicz (HC) 16-1è; 3. Mariah Burns (W) 15-11; 4. Allyssa McClure (H) 15-10; 5. Chloé Kendra (R) 15-3è; 6. Molly Stitt (WM) 15-2 1/4; 7. Elizabeth Hauk (Fv) 14-6; 8. Casi Green (Cran) 14-1è.

Triple jump — 1. Markiewicz 34-5è; 2 Laken Ganoe (Clar) 33-9; 3. Belko 32-11; 4. Courtney King (Lv) 32-4è; (tie) 5. Jordan Lynn (Mv) 32-0; Ali Petroff (NE) 32-0; 7. McKenzie Fagan (GC) 31-8è; 8. Watson 31-5è.

High jump — 1. Lubarski 5-6*; 2. Abby Jones (Fr) 5-4; 3. Alexandra Schriefer (NE) 5-2; 4. Corrin Regginello (H) 5-2; ; 5. Kassab 5-2; 6. Fagan 5-0; 7. Tessa Sikora (W) 4-10; 8. Sarah Parrish (NE) 4-10.

Pole vault — not contested.

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BOYS

Team Standing and Key: Hickory 77; Grove City 53; West Middlesex 51; Slippery Rock 45; Sharon 39; North East 38; George Junior Republic (GJR) 34; Cathedral Prep (Prep) 33; Wilmington 28; Warren 27; Clarion 27; Oil City 21; Titusville (T) 20; Mercyhurst Prep 19; Harbor Creek 17; Northwestern (Nw) 16; Reynolds 16; Strong Vincent 13; Lakeview 12; Franklin 12; Saegertown 10, Redbank Valley (RV) 10; Gen. McLane 9; Mercer 8; Fairview 7; Fort LeBoeuf 6; Cranberry 5; Central Tech (CT) 5; Farrell (F) 2; Girard (Gir) 2; Corry 1.

Individual Results*

3200 relay — 1. Slippery Rock (Ryan Thompson, Tyler Udy, Brock Sloan, Braden Sloan) 8:09.35; 2. Warren 8:17.80; 3. Titusville 8:26.23; 4. Mercyhurst Prep 8:28.79; 5. Grove City 8:41.75; 6. Hickory 8:44.18; 7. Harbor Creek 8:46.51; 8. Cathedral Prep 8:54.41.

110 hurdles — 1. Brandon Ward (H) 14.86*; 2. Jesse Ragon (OC) 15.65; 3. Jarred Davis (Mer) 15.81; 4. Davis Dimit (SR) 15.84; 5. Clayton Stoyer (R) 15.91; 6. Tyler Davis (NE) 16.33; 7. Tyrus Murphy (NE) 16.38; 8. Nathan Zigler (War) 16.39.

100 — 1. Clay Allen (WM) 11.13; 2. Bryce Straffin (Clar) 11.56; 3. Erik Record (GC) 11.57; 4. Damian Jones (GJR) 11.7; 5. Mark Strothers (RV) 11.73; 6. Tyler Bretz (HC) 11.74; 7. Austin Baranauskas (GJR) 11.78; 8. Sidney Hanna (GC) 11.8.

1600 — 1. Daniel Jaskowak (GC) 4:17.77*; 2. Ryan Smathers (NE) 4:19.55*; 3. Matt McWilliams (FL) 4:27.48; 4. Thompson 4:29.39; 5. Martin Zegarelli (CP) 4:32.17; 6. Josh Natalie (SV) 4:32.17; 7. Ethan Louis (Prep) 4:33.19; 8. Austin Pondel (Cor) 4:33.75.

400 — 1. Straffin 49.9; 2. Allen 50.77; 3. Brdn, Sloan 52.92; 4. Udy 52.98; 5. Adam Kalivoda (Prep) 53.88; 6. D. Jones 53.92; 7. Hunter Jones (Gir) 54.32; 8. Tyler Beck (Clar) 54.35.

400 relay — 1. George Junior Republic (Quran McNish, Damian Jones, Baranauskas, Marion Richardson) 45.58; 2. Harbor Creek 46.32; 3. Redbank Valley 46.38; 4. Lakeview 46.47; 5. Strong Vincent 46.83; 6. Mercyhurst Prep 46.97; 7. Titusville 47.01; 8. Gen. McLane 47.10.

300 hurdles — 1. Ward 39.64*; 2. Kyle Trinch (GC) 40.63; 3. Luke Wortman (War) 41.15; 4. Logan Mooney (Fr) 41.5; 5. Stoyer 42.11; 6. Greg Miaczynski (CT) 42.33; 7. Zigler 42.54; 8. Ryan Koser (Mer) 43.26.

800 — 1. Jaskowak 1:56.99; 2. Smathers 1:57.13; 3. Natalie 2:02.29; 4. Phil Martone (MP) 2:02.76; 5. Zegarelli 2:03.45; 6. Billy Kinsey (Lv) 2:03.49; 7. Kyle Halmi (Fv) 2:05.52; 8. Sean-Patrick Brady (MP) 2:07.

200 — 1. Allen 22.47; 2. Straffin 23.21; 3. Joey Neff (NE) 23.72; 4. Henry Kennedy (T) 23.74; 5. Dawone Stovall (Sh) 23.96; 6. McNish 24.06; 7. Lawence Hughes (F) 24.19; 8. Billy Triana (NE) 24.25.

3200 — 1. Nate Tallada (Sae) 9:42.13; 2. Louis 9:49.47; 3. Jason Anna (SR) 10:07.28; 4. Connor Gregory (Fv) 10:08.02; 5. Paul Cancilla (MP) 10:09.29; 6. John Lacy (Prep) 10:10.04; 7. Bobby Danielson (CT) 10:10.53; 8. Jared Hazen (T) 10:10.96.

1600 relay — 1. Warren (Jordan Willette, Caleb Hultman, Luke Wortman, Tanner Rosenberg) 3:27.80*; 2. Slippery Rock 3:29.43; 3. Titusville 3:33.45; 4. North East 3:33.95; 5. Lakeview 3:38.06; 6. West Middlesex 3;39.61; 7. Grove City 3:41.11; 8. Mercyhurst Prep 3:41.42.

Shot put — 1. Matt Bell (H) 59-5è*; 2. John Yohman (W) 55-0 3/4; 3. Luke Lewis (H) 54-1 1/4; 4. Lawrence Baumann (Prep) 52-4 3/4; 5. Zach Porterfield (Sh) 51-9 1/4; 6. Michael Moon (OC) 51-8 1/4; 7. Jared Hollidge (OC) 49-3 3/4; 8. Mitchell Schauble (HC) 48-5.

Discus — 1. Yohman 166-8*; 2. Bell 152-11; 3. Moon 144-2; 4. Trevor Harrison (WM) 137-7; 5. Lewis 134-6; 6. Porterfield 134-3; 7. Bryn Kauffman (W) 133-0; 8. Baumann 131-5.

Javelin — 1. Matt Voytik (H) 164-11; 2. Quin Thompson (GM) 155-7; 3. Adam Fiorentino (Fr) 153-6è; 4. Richardson 151-4; 5. Tyler Donati (W) 149-2è; 7. Moon 148-10; 8. Joe Hess (Mer) 140-4.

Long jump — 1. Jeremy Jancso (WM) 20-9è; 2. Johnathon Jacoway (Sh) 20-9; 3. Kyle McKeen (Nw) 19-9 1/4; 5. Brian Jones (GJR) 19-6è; 6. Bretz 19-6; 7. Baranauskas 19-5; 8. Wanya Austin-Smith (Sh) 19-2è.

Triple jump — 1. McKeen 44-5è*; 2. Jacoway 42-6è; 3. Mason DePeal (GC) 40-8; 4. Brian Heller (Cran) 40-6è; 5. Shane Beatty (H) 40-3; 6. Cory Woods (R) 39-8è; 7. Matt Marzano (H) 39-8è; 8. Logan Mooney (Fr) 39-7 3/4.

High jump — 1. John Mudrey (H) 6-2; 2. Jacoway 6-0; 3. DePeal 6-0; 4. Jancso 5-10; 5. Slavia Pontius (W) 5-10; 6. Darrell Stovall (Sh) 5-10; 7. Tyler Davis (NE) 5-10; 8. Malik Moffett (Prep) 5-10.

Pole vault — not contested.