Four wins has Northmont junior feeling better

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

Northmont’s Leila Hill usually doesn’t have a problem shaking a hurdles or long jump contender. But she was no match for a recent ankle sprain.

The junior rolled an ankle early in the track and field high school season and wasn’t quick to recover. That all changed spectacularly during Friday’s second day of the Fairmont Firebird Invitational.

“It felt really good because I was super down on myself,” said Hill, who won three individual events and ran on another winning relay. “I just felt like I really needed to step it up.”

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Kings placed fourth in the final event, the 4x400-meter relay, to secure the girls team title, beating runner-up Beavercreek 89.25-84.75. Troy (82.25) was third.

Springboro won the boys 4x400 relay (3:29.40) to overtake Beavercreek 99-92 and win the boys team championship. Fairmont (82) was third.

Most area teams will compete in conference meets next week.

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Hill swept the 100 (15.52) and 300 (46.26) hurdles, reset her school record by winning the long jump (17 feet, three inches) and ran on the first-place 4x200 relay (1:46.64).

That’s the kind of all-around ability that also has served her well for 13 years with the Margaret Leiber School of Dance in Brookville. But that, too, was affected by the troublesome ankle.

“I wasn’t hitting the times I should have been,” said Hill, an alternate on Northmont’s 4x200 relay last year that qualified for the Division I state meet. “Coming into this and hitting my times, I’m super pumped about next week.”

Fort Loramie’s Jarrett Meyer was stunned after recovering from a fall in the 300 hurdles. The Fairmont Firebird track and field invitational was Thursday and Friday at Kettering, May 4-5, 2018. MARC PENDLETON / STAFF

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• Springfield senior Quincy Scott was a triple individual winner at Fairmont. He was first in the long jump (22-10.50), 100 (10.93) and 200 (21.96).

Scott was second in the D-I state long jump as a junior and will be among the favorites to advance to state in all three of his specialties.

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• Notre Dame Academy (79) was first, Cincinnati St. Ursula (64) second and Detroit Renaissance (44) among girls after Friday’s first day of the Don Mitchell Roosevelt Memorial Invitational at Dayton’s Welcome Stadium.

Leading the boys after the first day was Cincinnati LaSalle (91), followed by Dunbar (62) and Columbus Eastmoor Academy (47).

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• The GWOC meet will be Wednesday and Friday at Troy’s Memorial Stadium. The Southwestern Buckeye League meet will be held at Northridge on Thursday and Saturday. The Central Buckeye Conference meet is Tuesday and Friday at Springfield Shawnee.

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