Correspondent photo / Lowell Spencer. Lowellville’s Drew Modelski runs in an event during the Poland Invitational on Saturday in Poland.

POLAND — On a day that was more suited for a football game, 21 area schools participated in the 29th annual Poland Invitational Track and Field Classic on Saturday morning at Dave Pavlansky Field.

With temperatures hovering around 50 degrees and a 10-20 mph wind, many of the athletes admitted that the conditions played a big role in their performances.

However, those conditions did not stop Lowellville’s junior sprinter Drew Modelski from capturing both the 200-meter and 400-meter events just ahead of Rockets teammate Josh Pazel. Modelski won the 200 meters with a time of 21.74, with Pazel finishing second with a 22.68 mark. Mooney teammates De’Andre Riley and Joe Hamm finished third and fourth, respectively, with 23.30 and 23.78 finishing times.

“In the 200, typically, I’m looking to catch the person in front of me within 50 meters,” Modelski said of his race strategy. “Then after that, if I do catch them, I try to come off the bend hard and hold my form until the finish line.”

Modelski also comfortably won the 400-meter race with a mark of 49.23, with Pazel finishing with a time of 51.74. Brayden Mahone took third with a time of 53.03. Those times for Modelski and Pazel helped power the Rockets team to a fourth-place finish in the boys standings.

“In the first 200 meters, I go full out. I go hard,” Modelski said of the 400. “My arms are fast, my legs are fast. Breath and all. Then the next 50 after the 200, I just work on my form and try to keep my head on straight. My legs are moving, arms moving, and that’s where you feel the burn the most. And with the last 100, I give it everything that I have left.”

McDonald would take first place, with Mineral Ridge and Salem finishing second and third on the day.

On the girls’ side, Salem took top honors with McDonald and Mineral Ridge taking second and third place. The Quakers’ Maggie Hall set the pace for the day when she captured the 3200-meter run in the first event of the meet.

With the cold weather conditions, and ironically the speedster Modelski running late to the event, he skipped participating in the 100 meters to avoid a possible injury risk. For the same reason, several other athletes also skipped what they consider their secondary event due to the conditions.

“I have tried to work on the 100 more, but it is more of a warmup for the 200 and 400,” Modelski said. “I got here late, and I didn’t have enough time to warm up for the 100 today.

“Typically, I usually look a week out at how the weather looks for an event. I prepare mentally for it. If I know it’s going to be cold, then I know I’m probably not going to run my best. It’s going to happen in the course of the season.”

Last year, Modelski placed seventh in the 200-meter event at the OHSAA state meet. But he admitted that he needs to work on some simple things if he wants to improve as the year moves on.

“I need to get more sleep,” he said with a grin. “I don’t get that enough, and also my eating. My diet is not as good as it should be.”

If Modelski can improve those two simple things, it wouldn’t be a surprise to again find him standing on the podium this summer in Columbus at the state championship track meet.

MEET RESULTS

BOYS WINNERS: Team: McDonald 67 points; Shot put: Joseph Linkesh (Mathews), 56-3; Discus: Drew Zajack (McDonald). 165-2; Long jump: Lucas Adams (Salem), 19-10.25; High jump: Braydon Gilbert (Crestview), 6-0; 4×800 relay: McDonald, 8:26.36; 110 hurdles: Dante Gentile (Springfield), 15.75; 100: Josiah Hunter (Girard), 11.24; 4×200 relay: Cardinal Mooney, 1:33.55; 1600: Carson Klase (McDonald), 4:34.58; 4×100 relay: Warren JFK, 45.49; 400: Drew Modelski (Lowellville), 49.23; 300 hurdles: Nathan Cuckovich (Warren JFK), 40.85; 800: Andrew Donaldson (Maplewood), 2:05.44; 200: Drew Modelski (Lowellville), 21.74; 3200: Dominic Pappagallo (Mineral Ridge), 9:47.08; 4×400 relay: Lowellville, 3:35.74; Seated 100: Conner Hunt (Garfield), 15.01; Seated 400: Conner Hunt (Garfield), 1:00.08; Seated 800: Conner Hunt (Garfield), 2:10.91

GIRLS WINNERS: Team: Salem 105 points; Shot put: Cierra Shiley (McDonald), 38-7.50; Discus: Emma Bundy (McDonald), 132-0; Long jump: Alexis Pieton (Girard), 15-11.25; High jump: Peyton Colbert (Salem), 4-10; 4×800 relay: McDonald, 9:56.75; 100 hurdles: Ava Hulett (Mineral Ridge), 15.06; 100: Jessica Hansen (Girard), 12.72; 4×200 relay: Salem, 1:51.64; 1600: Naomi Sheesley (McDonald), 5:18.35; 4×100 relay: Salem, 52.27; 400: Abby Knickerbocker (Salem), 1:01.55; 300 hurdles: Ava Hulett (Mineral Ridge), 46.06; 800: Naomi Sheesley (McDonald), 2:25.93; 200: Talecia Huff (Cardinal Mooney), 27.09; 3200: Maggie Hall (Salem), 11:30.80; 4×400 relay: Mineral Ridge, 4:22.45.