Jenna Oriani walked in the footsteps of recent Chardon girls track greats Rachel Banks and Stephanie Ferrante when she concluded her career June 5 and cemented her legacy as part of the Chardon Track and Field tradition.
Jenna Oriani walked in the footsteps of recent Chardon girls track greats Rachel Banks and Stephanie Ferrante when she concluded her career June 5 and cemented her legacy as part of the Chardon Track and Field tradition.
Oriani finished her senior season as a three-event All Ohioan. In 2019 she was an All Ohian in the 400 meters. Her four podium finishes are second in school history to Ferrante, who had seven between 2011 and 2014.
On Saturday, she started her day off with a sixth place finish in the 100 with a time of 12.42. The day before, she’s run a personal best of 11.99 in the prelims, finishing in the second place of her heat.
Of her performance on the weekend, Oriani said, “I felt great. I PR’d in the 100 (on Friday). Today, I was a little bit sore from yesterday. But I still felt good. I didn’t PR, but I’m still proud of how I did.”
She finished her day off with a pair of fourth place finishes, in the 400 with a 56.36. Her final career race was in the 200, in a star-studded field she ran in 25.25. She was also a member of the state qualifying 4×400 team, though the team failed to qualify for the finals, having run a time of 4:04.34 in prelims.
Oriani had a tremendous senior year. She was nearly unbeatable at times in the 100, 200 and 400. She won all three events that keyed a WRC title for the Hilltoppers, and her success at the Fitch Regional contributed to a regional runner-up.
“Jenna has been an impact runner from her first day as a freshman,” said Chardon girls track head coach Julie Cole. “She’s never been a rah-rah kind of leader, but if our other athletes paid any attention at all to her work ethic and attention to the details of her craft, they are better for it.
“She’s definitely leaving a legacy as far as what it takes to achieve at a high level and on the biggest stage. Her accomplishments and range from 100-800m put her in some very rare company.”
The end of her high school career, Oriani said, was bittersweet.
“I can’t believe I’m going to college,” she said. “I feel like I was a freshman yesterday. I’m sad, but I’m also excited for the future.”
One other podium finish on the weekend for the Hilltoppers was the Chardon girls 4×800 relay team of Andrea Mann, Rae Kawalec, Cantrelle William and Brianna Nieset. The team finished in eighth place with a time of 9:22.59, making the podium after a strong postseason run.
Tigers Have Successful State Trip
The Chagrin Falls Tigers had a successful weekend in Pickerington.
Senior Cameron O’Connor finished sixth in an extremely competitive 400 field with a time of 50.15. The boys 4×400 relay team of O’Connor, Michael Tropf, Andrew Neimeier and Zachary Lechman also finished sixth with a time of 3:26.04.
The girls were led by junior Rose Hoelzel, a distance staple for the Tigers who finished seventh in the 1600 (5:10.64) and 12th in the 3200 (11:43.55). Fellow junior Claire Coffey, finished 11th in the 800 with a time of 2:21.73. Senior Abigail Alberts found herself on the podium in the 300 hurdles after a sixth place finish with a time of 45.96.
The girls team had relay success, as well, with the 4×800 and 4×400 teams making the podium.
The 4×400 team of Morgan Kittle, Tallulah Haskett, Coffey and Alberts ran an impressive time of 4:03.83 to finish eighth, making the podium. A day earlier, the junior-laden 4×800 team of Hoelzel, Coffey, Claire Stinson and Azzurra Opperman ran to a fourth place finish in a blistering time of 9:30.76.
The Tigers qualified a total of 12 individuals in 10 events, including three relays. The girls team had the best overall team finish: 18th place with 11 points.
