Lauren Schattinger had one of her best indoor track and field seasons - winning the 60- and 200-meter state championships March 17 in Akron.
This April, she took a little hiatus during spring break and has managed to stay injury-free so far.
"I hope to stay that way throughout the season," said the Lakeview senior sprinter, who will compete for Miami (Ohio) next year.
Schattinger finished second to Columbus Eastmoor junior Aaliyah Barnes in the 100 and fourth to her in the 200 at last year's Division II outdoor state meet in Columbus.
She wants to progress throughout the season - all the way up to the state meet during the first weekend in June.
"This month my goal is to perfect my form and to continue to gain strength - both will help me greatly later in the season," Schattinger said.
Adding the 400 to her repertoire might be an option.
"At this point I'm not completely sure what I'm going to do about the 400," Schattinger said. "My plan is to use it to strengthen my 100 and 200 and see how it goes."
The Trumbull County Meet, held May 1 and 3 at Lakeview, will be one of the first big tests for the seasoned Lakeview senior.
"For me County is a big meet, but it is still early in the season," she said. "I don't really have set time goals for the County Meet. My ultimate goal is to run my fastest time the last meet of the season."
QUICKNESS: Warren G. Harding senior Alexis Simpson is one of the quickest area sprinters.
She has the 11th-best time in Ohio at 25.97 seconds in the 200-meter dash, set at the March 30 F.E. Cope Invitational at Reilly Stadium in Salem earlier this month.
Simpson ran the 22nd-fastest time in the 100 at the same meet (12.78). However, Austintown Fitch's Jenna Yacovone (12.63) and Theresa Scott (12.67) both have faster times in the 100.
Both ran them at the March 30 Twinsburg Invitational. Yacovone ranks 12th, while Scott is 18th.
On the boys side, Fitch sophomore Nathan Bowlen ran 10.74 at Twinsburg, while junior teammate Rob Venters ran 22.18 in the 200 there. Bowlen ranks fourth, while Venters is third.
OVER OBSTACLES: Girard sophomore Justine Palmer has the third fastest time in the state in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.74 run at the March 31 Newton Falls Tiger Invitational.
PACING THE REST: Fitch sophomore Carissa Jenkins, who placed in the top 10 at the Division I Cross Country Championships in November, has the 14th fastest time in the 1,600 (5:19.24), which she ran at the Twinsburg Invitational.
CIRCLING THE WAGONS: Newton Falls senior Shannon Montgomery has the seventh-best throw in the girls discus at 124 feet, 3 inches - a throw she made at the Tiger Invitational.
UP AND OVER: Fitch and Newton Falls seniors Jay Jakovina and Ryan Buchanan each have cleared 6-4 in the high jump this year. Jakovina set his height at Twinsburg, while Buchanan had his clearance at a recent tri-meet.
TOP OF THE HURDLING CLASS: Austintown Fitch senior Daniel Rivera has the best time in the state in the 300 hurdles at 39.37, set at Twinsburg. Sophomore teammate Sam Ortz has the third best in the 110 hurdles (14.58), set at Twinsburg. East senior Valentino Sewell ran 14.74, good enough for fifth in the state. Sewell ran that at the March 31 Ward Invitation in East Palestine.
FOUR OF A KIND: Warren G. Harding's girls 4x200 relay is ninth in the state with a time of 1:46.22 run at the Cope Invitational. The team of Aminah Wesley, Simpson, Emily Stevens and Alexandra Allen won the event that day.
RECORDS SET: On Thursday night, the Boardman boys track team set two meet/stadium records at The Lakeview Relays. First, the sprint medley team of sophomore Turel Thompson, senior Devin Campbell, senior Darel Green, and senior Dayne Hammond in a time of 1:36.61. They only set the meet and stadium record, but also broke their own school record set just last week. Also, the long jump relay team of senior Allen Starkey, freshman Josh Suarez, and Campbell broke the meet/stadium record with combined jumps of 56-10.