The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Oberlin’s Hudsons shine in season debut
A new season has arrived, and so have the same old Hudson’s.
Midview’s Shipwreck Invitational on April 5 was the first meet for senior Evan and sophomore Olivia, and they didn’t disappoint. Evan won both of his events in the 200 and 400, while Olivia was also victorious in the 200 and 400, along with the Phoenix’s 4×400 relay team. Both earned the meet MVPs.
Coming off of a Division III state championship in the 400, Hudson came out strong in his signature event. After going undefeated a season ago, he’s 1-0 thus far with a time of 50.65 seconds. He ended his night with a winning 200 time of 22.51.
“Getting it opened up feels good, I’m ready for next week (the Lorain County meet),” Evan said. “I think it feels good getting back on the outdoor tracks and just getting the feel back for it.”
Not only was Olivia part of winning three events, but she broke the five-yearold meet record in the 200 with a time of 26.45 seconds despite the rough early April conditions. In the 4×200 in which the Phoenix placed second, the team of Hudson, Aubrey Abeyta, Alyssa Webb and Melody Cyrus also surpassed the former meet record.
Hudson, Abeyta and Cyrus all teamed up together again along with Phoebe Shuck to win the 4×400 at a time of 4:25.58. Oberlin took second with 101 points behind host Midview’s 122.
“It feels good, it feels accomplishing that I can switch from indoor to outdoor,” Olivia said. “It’s exciting, I’m feeling good about this season. I just want to run my best times and keep getting PRs.”
The Hudsons ran away with their respective events, but Midview ran away with its home meet. Both the boys and girls cruised to victories on their home track. The girls won by 21 points, and the boys picked up the victory with 140.33 points, well ahead of Buckeye’s 121 points in second.
The Middies girls won three events, including two relays led by senior Erica Baldoza in her first meet of the season and underclassmen teammates on the rise. Baldoza anchored the winning 4×200 team also consisting of Savannah Holcomb, Cora Vance, Cameron Hostacky to a meet-record time of 1:49.11. Baldoza, Holcomb and Vance were also a part of the 4×100 relay with Leah McKay that resulted in another win of 52.20 seconds.
Individually, Baldoza finished third in the 200 behind Hudson and teammate Vance. Ava Hamm was the lone individual winner for Midview in the long jump at 14-1/2.
“For me, these are new relay teams with all underclassmen,” Baldoza said. “They’re really coming up and putting it in the work and being there for the team. … I was a little nervous coming in. As my first meet, it wasn’t bad. The weather obviously could’ve been better, but I feel like I did alright personally for my first meet.”
The Midview boys won four events total led by Dylan Robinson. The high-caliber distance runner helped his team win the 4×800 in the meet’s first event along with his brother Jared, Zachary Janus and Lucas Edgell with a time of 8:37.80.
Dylan later went on to win the individual 800 at 2:06.55 and guided the Middies to a runner-up finish in the 4×400 relay. Makai Massey (shot put) and Aidan Covender (high jump) also provided individual wins for Midview in the field events.
“It’s pretty exciting, I’m proud of all these guys,” Dylan said. “I love track, it’s so fun.”
Vermilion’s girls finished fifth in the meet with 75 points, but 40 of them came from two wins each by seniors Meagan Rini and Camrin Lowder.
Rini took home both throwing events with big wins in the shot put and discus, while Lowder swept both hurdles. Rini
finished with a shot put toss of 34-11 1/2 and a discus throw of 111-3. Shot put wasn’t in doubt, and she won discus by over two feet.
Those won’t be Rini’s best throws of the season, but she’s just beginning to
scratch the surface of what she can do this season.
“It feels good, it was really slippery,” Rini said. “Still to get a solid mark on my first shot throw and a decent mark in discus is great. … I know there’s a lot more room left.”