Eastwood boys seek big finish after winning regional (06-04-14)

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Eastwood’s Devin Snowden
competes in the long jump. (Photo: J.D. Pooley/Sentinel-Tribune)

LUCKEY – Eastwood’s boys track and field team is aware it could win another state championship this
weekend.
But the Eagles aren’t dwelling on it.
Instead, they’re stressing performing to their potential during the Division II state meet at Ohio State
University’s Jesse Owens Stadium.
Eastwood’s Devin Snowden qualified for state in the 300 hurdles and the long jump, Tim Hoodlebrink
advanced in the 800, and the 3,200, 400 and 1,600 relays also qualified.
"If we go in with the same mind-set of great effort and compete against great competition, then
we’re going to have a good day," said Eagle head coach Brian Sabo, who is in his third season.
He was an assistant coach on Eastwood’s state championship teams in 2009 and 2010, and state runnerup
teams in 2003 and 2008.
"These guys say they’ve got more to give. That’s what amazes me, thinking we could see something
special," Sabo said. "Hopefully, we’ve got enough in the tank. We’re peaking well and we’ve
got another week left. Hopefully, we’ll still be fresh and run good times."
The other major contenders for the state championship are Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, which won
the Youngstown regional with 99 points; Dayton Dunbar, which won the Dayton regional with 101 points;
and Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, which was second at Youngstown with 59 points.
SVSM is the defending state champion and CVCA was the runnerup. Both return significant portions of their
teams from last season.
Last season’s state title was won with 49 points.
Eastwood won last weekend’s regional at Lexington High School with 61 points.
CVCA qualified nine individuals and two relays to state, while Dunbar five individuals and three relays,
and SVSM advanced four individuals and three relays.
Eastwood set three school records at the regional.
"Our mantra is we’ll let the points take care of themselves at the end," Sabo said. "If we
accomplish the goals these guys want, and we get eighth-place or 12th-place as a team, great. We’ll be
excited because of the effort we gave. If we perform well, we’ll be close. But we’re insanely proud of
these guys already.
"That’s been our thing all year. We know where we want to go, but we don’t have to do anything
different, maybe a little more effort and let the competition help us along, help us reach those times,
those goals."
Eastwood’s 1,600 and 3,200 relay teams both posted the fastest regional times of the 16 state qualifiers,
and the 400 team’s regional time was the second-fastest.
The 3,200 relay consists of Gabe Fredericks, Logan Baugher, Noah Smith and Tim Hoodlebrink.
The 400 relay consists of Grant Geiser, Snowden, Brennan Seifert and Jake Hoodlebrink.
The 1,600 relay consists of Tim Hoodlebrink, Seifert, Joe Salinas and Snowden.
Snowden and Tim Hoodlebrink rank third in their running events. The distances in the long jump at
Lexington were shortened because the athletes were jumping into the wind.
"We’re stressing doing what we’ve been doing all along and not changing anything," said
Snowden, a junior who was seventh in the 300 hurdles at state last year. "If we run our best,
that’s all we can ask. We push each other in practice and the competition pushes us to get better.
"We all want to win our events, but, first, we have to run well to give ourselves a chance,"
Snowden added. "The reason we always seem to peak at the end of the season is we go hard and put in
a lot of work early in the season, and then it pays off at the end."
Tim Hoodlebrink is one of the favorites to win the 800. The junior was fourth in the event last season
with a time of 1:55.09 and is the top returning finisher from that race. He won at Lexington in 1:59.11.

"Winning state has been on my mind all season," Tim Hoodlebrink said. "I just want to go
out hard and stay with the leaders, and then go hard on the second lap. Knowing I’ve been there before
will make it easier. I’ll know what to expect, the competition. I’ll be a lot more relaxed, not scared
like I was last year."

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