The Boardman High School Lady Spartans, under the direction of Head Coach Rick Sypert, rallied from behind to win their 7th straight All American Conference track and field championship.
      Several Lady Spartans earned first team All American Conference honors to pace Boardman with top-spot finishes.
      Olivia Brady was a three event All-AAC performer, winning the 800, 1600 and 3200 races. Sarah Bero was All-AAC in the shot put and the discus. Gina DiNapoli was All-AAC in the 300 hurdles, and Boardman’s 4×400 relay of Mia Duble, Abbi Mihok, Jasmine Matthews and DiNapoli were All-AAC performers.
      Earning second place finishes at the championship were Boardman’s 4×800 relay of Abbi Mihok, Jaelyn Cicchillo, Moriah Doyle and Brady that posted a season best time; the 4×200 relay of Matthews, Mihok, Janessa Prisby and DiNapoli that posted a season best time; Gabby Vennetti in the 1600; Gina Mariani in the high jump; Lili Ison in the shot put and Gigi Angiuli in the long jump.
      Third place laurels for the Lady Spartans went to the 4×100 relay of Bryanna James, Angiuli, Xy’Asia Gilford and Matthews in a season best time; Ison in the discus; Lauryn Swantek in the 3200; Matthews in the 200 and Layla Jones in the high jump.
      Scoring 4th place points were Mia Duble in the 400, Vennetti in the 800 and a tie between Sam Lenhart and Kennedi Smith in the pole vault.
      Rounding out the scoring with 5th place points was Prisby in the 400 meter dash.
      “This was a special victory for the team. Several girls battled off injuries and heavy workloads to secure a championship.
      “We had a simple message ‘Compete with heart in your assignment, be the best teammate you can be and battle through the distractions.’ The girls did just that and when you have a team fully supporting each other, you can achieve so much more. This was the perfect way to end the regular season for this senior class,” Coach Sypert said.
     
      PICTURED: photo/Howard Reese
       BOARDMAN HIGH SCHOOL senior Sarah Bero won the shot put and discus events at the recent All American Conference track and field championships.