AVON LAKE, Ohio (April 1, 2023) -- Rocky River opened its season Saturday with members of the boys and girls teams competing in the Avon Lake Invitational. [
results]
On the boys' side, Rocky River scored 54 points to take sixth place. In the girls' competition, the Pirates tallied 53 points to take seventh. Athletes from 18 schools competed on the windblown first Saturday in April.
The 4x800-meter relay team of Grant Preto, Guillaume Carroll, Luke Dorenkott, and Majid Abuaun highlighted the performance by the River boys squad. That quartet set a new meet record, getting the baton across the finish line in 8:04.26. Preto (sixth in the 800-meter run), Carroll (second in the 1600), Dorenkott (fifth in the 1600), and Abuaun (fifth in the 800) also logged individual top-6 finishes on the day. Also earning top-6 finishes for the Rocky River boys were Demis Salivaris (fifth in the 110-meter hurdles), Alan Ritvo (fourth in the pole vault), Alex Van Meter (fifth in the discus), and the 4x400 relay (fifth--Preto, Isaac Linville, Ethan Hazra, Owen Walsh).
On the girls' side, Mary Sollars registered a standout performance in the 200-meter dash. In the finals, Sollars took third; in a preliminary heat, she crossed the wire in 25.97 seconds, the second-fastest time in program history. Brianna Chaves logged a runner-up finish in the 3200-meter run. Morgyn Cruz placed third in the long jump and fifth in the 100-meter dash. Other top-6 finishes were filed by Olivia Byall (fifth--100), Ellie Harkins (sixth--300), 4x100 (fourth--Magda Greco, Cruz, Harkins, Sollars), and 4x200 (sixth--Emma Maher, Cruz, Byall, Sollars).
Saturday's meet marked Rocky River's 2023 season opener after Wednesday's scheduled meet at Lakewood was canceled due to inclement weather.
by Skip Snow