LOUDONVILLE – Larr-ah-sen-tay. Lahr-uh-ken-tay.
To the PA announcers in Loudonville’s press box Saturday, Highland sophomore Juliette Laracuente’s name was an unclearable hurdle.
They batted .999 on the day, successfully pronouncing hundreds of names from 14 schools in a six-hour span. But “Laracuente” proved impossible.
It was likely their first time reading it. Her freshman season was claimed by the pandemic, and her sophomore campaign just got underway.
But it won’t be their last.
Laracuente is well on her way to becoming a household name in the local track and field scene, having claimed three indoor state titles this winter, and she separated herself from the pack once again Saturday. The sophomore won the long jump and 100-meter hurdle competitions at the Cowen Redbird Invitational, single-handedly gathering 20 of her team’s 76 points, as Highland cruised to a third-place finish.
“I actually was very upset when everything closed and shut down (last spring), and especially with track because that’s really the only sport I’m doing …” Laracuente said Saturday. “It was kind of difficult. But obviously I’m here now and I’m just grateful to actually be able to run this year, and jump this year, outdoors.”
Laracuente has lofty goals for her sophomore outdoor season. After claiming indoor state titles in the high jump, long jump and triple jump this winter, she’s looking to bring gold back to Marengo once again in June.
Her jump of 16 feet, 3 inches Saturday beat second place by more than a foot, and would have placed ninth at the Div. II state meet two years ago. Her time of 15.73 seconds in the 100-meter hurdle race won by a quarter of a second, and would have claimed 12th at state in 2019.
And Laracuente isn’t even at full-strength. She’s currently battling severe shin splints, which limited her to two competitions Saturday, as opposed to her usual three or four (the sophomore also hopes to qualify in the high jump and 4×100-meter relay this season).
Ultimately, Laracuente wants to run and jump in college. A lifelong athlete (she won three state gymnastics titles in elementary school), she’s always found the process of training and competing at the highest level rewarding.
For now, though, Laracuente is simply trying to get healthy. She’s making a name for herself in the process.
“I’m really hoping to win state,” said Laracuente, pronounced Lair-uh-kwen-tay, for the record. “But again, anything can happen. I’m just working hard – I’ve been injured, so I’ve been in and out and in and out. I’m just trying to get back into the flow of things.”
Other local athletes shine
Laracuente wasn’t the only local athlete to bring home gold Saturday in Loudonville.
East Knox sophomore Nathan Streby won the 800-meter dash with a time of 2:01 (two seconds off the school record) and the mile with a time of 4:35 (one second off the school record). His 4×400-meter relay team, featuring Dillon Moreland, Samuel Whitney and Chase Darr, finished second with a time of 3:43.
Like Laracuente, Streby’s freshman season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After suffering a broken femur this fall, which shortened his sophomore cross country season, Streby says he’s finally getting back into the swing of things.
“It feels so great to finally get back to where I was,” Streby said.
Streby came into high school highly regarded. He won the state cross country championship as an eighth grader, and also placed second in the mile.
Now, after a year of unprecedented adversity, he’s ready to make his mark at the high school level. He knows patience will be key over the next three years.
“My goal is to run with the top dogs in our league this year, develop, get a little older, and definitely shoot for states,” Streby said. “I think we have a chance this year for the 4×800 and maybe my individuals; we’ll see how it goes. But I’m definitely chasing state records.”
Fredericktown senior Thomas Caputo, meanwhile, is hoping to bookend an already legendary high school career with another state title this spring.
Caputo won Knox County’s first cross country championship in the fall, and is now gunning for his first state track title. If Saturday’s performance is any indicator, he’s off to a promising start. Caputo won the two-mile race with a time of 9:41, 23 seconds faster than second-place Mason White of Cardington-Lincoln.
Caputo’s time would have finished fourth at the Div. III state meet two years ago. With the postseason still a month away, the senior said he’s pleased with his progress to-date.
“For right now, it’s where I want to be,” Caputo said. “But Coach (Bob) Geiger and I, he’s got a big plan. We’re training for the state meet.”
Caputo also ran in Fredericktown’s 4×800-meter relay team, which finished second on Saturday with a time of 8:26. But the senior believes his best shot to win state is in the two-mile. Doing so would give him a confidence boost heading into the offseason, Caputo said, when he’ll prepare to run at Div. I Youngstown State next fall.
“I feel like the track equivalent of a 5k is the two-mile, because it’s the longest distance. So I feel like that’s where I’ll kind of defend my title,” Caputo said. “And I feel like that’s gonna be big for me, if I can do that.”
The Highland boys took home a team trophy Saturday, as well as several individual gold medals.
Senior Landon Remmert won the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.88 seconds, and the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 42.50 seconds. Coach Chip Wendt believes the Ohio Northern commit still has room for improvement in both events.
“He’s disappointed. He had a pretty decent (day) – I mean, he tied his lifetime PR in the 300 hurdles today – but he had difficulties with hurdles 4 and 5,” Wendt said afterwards. “And he corrected it and then finished 6, 7 and 8 pretty good, so he did all right. His 110s were better.
“We’re trying to work with him (on) the later part of the race in his 110s, not the early part of the race. When that fatigue kicks in, we’re trying to make sure he keeps his same form.”
Senior Landyn Albanese claimed gold in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.30 seconds, and the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.75 seconds. He also placed first in the long jump competition with a mark of 19 feet, 6.25 inches.
Wendt said Albanese has shown marked improvement year-over-year, and Saturday’s performance was another step forward.
“Landyn Albanese has really spent a lot of time working on his start, in both the (100-meter dash) and the (200-meter dash), and he’s becoming more of a complete sprinter,” Wendt said. “He’s running a 400 now with zeal, instead of regret. And so his starts were what clearly, I think, separated him from the field today in the sprints.”
Other highlights from Saturday’s Cowen Redbird Invitational:
— The Fredericktown girls 4×800-meter relay team (consisting of Elsa Hoam, Sydney Wilson, Natalie VanMeter and Sadie Sanders) placed first with a time of 10:45.
— East Knox freshman Taylor Severt placed second in the mile with a time of 5:38.
— Highland senior Makenna Belcher placed second in the 400-meter dash with a time of 65 seconds.
— Fredericktown sophomore Elsa Hoam placed second in the two-mile race with a time of 11:48 (Severt placed third at 12:19).
— Fredericktown sophomore Sydney Wilson placed second in the pole vault competition with a mark of 8 feet, 6 inches.
— Highland sophomore Alexis Eusey placed second in the shot put competition with a throw of 30 feet, 10.5 inches.
— The Highland boys 4×200-meter relay team (consisting of Dane Nauman, Albanese, Alex McClellan and Gavin Hankins) placed second with a time of 1:36.
— Highland sophomore Joel Roberts placed third in the mile with a time of 4:42.
— The Highland boys 4×100-meter relay team (consisting of Owen Stillwell, Remmert, Mason Duncan and Hankins) placed third with a time of 46.82 seconds.
— Highland junior Mason Duncan placed third in the 100-meter dash with a time of 55.20 seconds.
— Highland junior Caden Holtrey placed third in the shot put competition with a mark of 43 feet, 9.5 inches.
— Fredericktown junior Joshua Rashley placed third in the discus throw competition with a mark of 118 feet, 5 inches.
Girls team results:
1. West Holmes (106.5 points)
2. Rittman (79)
3. Highland (76)
4. Chippewa (75)
5. Fredericktown (73)
6. Loudonville (59)
7. Lucas (50)
8. East Knox (38.5)
9. Northmor (29)
10. Fairless (27)
11. Cardington-Lincoln (17)
12. Mount Gilead (16)
13. Hillsdale (15)
Boys team results:
1. Highland (109 points)
2. West Holmes (103)
3. Fairless (87.5)
4. Fredericktown (44)
5. Mount Gilead (41.5)
6. Loudonville (41)
7. Rittman (40.5)
8. East Knox (38)
9. Cardington-Lincoln (29)
10. Chippewa (27)
11. Hillsdale (25)
12. Lucas (17)
13. Northmor (13.5)
14. St. Peter’s (7)
Click here for full meet results.
