Lake Erie College may just put a picture of Samantha Smith in its track and field record book to save time.

The former Brunswick athlete has been unstoppable this winter as she has shattered program marks in the 400-, 600- and 800-meter runs.

Samantha Smith

At the Division II Team Challenge this past weekend, the 5-foot-4 junior set the school record in the 400 with a 1:01.38 finish.

The record-breaking run was good for 22nd place and came on the heels of back-to-back stellar weeks. Smith set the 600 mark in 1:39.75 at the Midwest Collegiate Open just days after clocking a school-best 2:22.91 in the 800 at the North Coast Indoor Track & Field Open a week prior.

Teammate Eric Klucar, a Highland graduate, also turned in a big performance Saturday at the D-II Team Challenge, clearing 15 feet, 6½ inches to take third in the pole vault.

Men’s basketball

The three Medina County players on Baldwin-Wallace’s roster scored in double figures as the Yellow Jackets crushed Muskingum 64-44. Kyle Payne (Brunswick) led the way with 14 points, while Tyler Ferrell (Brunswick), who had 15 in a win over Otterbein earlier in the week, chipped in 11. Kevin Krakowiak (Liverpool Township resident/Holy Name) added 10.

• Hiram guard Alan Sheppard (Wadsworth) handed out a game-high seven assists to go with 14 points, but the Terriers fell 81-74 to Denison.

• Tyler Peters (Medina) scored nine points for Wheaton College’s triumph over Elmhurst College.

Women’s basketball

Kelsey Durichko (Brunswick) is known for her ability to distribute, but the Hiram point guard led in a different way in a win over Oberlin. The senior poured in a career-high 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor in the 65-58 win. She also had four steals and three assists.

• Junior guard Jackie Cook (Hinckley Township resident/Regina) connected on a layup with 2.7 seconds remaining as Old Dominion edged Hofstra 81-79. Cook finished with 15 points.

• Senior Britt Busson (Wadsworth) scored 11 points to help Lake Erie rally from a 15-point deficit and secure the fourth winning season in school history with a 66-64 road win over Hillsdale College. The point guard was named to the Capital One Academic All-District IV first team earlier in the week.

• Georgetown College’s Dev King (Medina) ripped down 14 rebounds as the No. 18 Tigers defeated the University of Pikeville 66-51. King followed with seven points and seven boards in a win over University of Virginia College at Wise.

• Guard Taylor Woods (Wadsworth) had nine points and three assists off the bench as Ashland downed Tiffin 90-50 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play.

Wrestling

Freshman Nate Ball (Wadsworth) won the 157-pound title for Lake Erie at the John Suma Memorial Tournament. Ball advanced to the finals with a pair of wins before locking up his first collegiate title with a 12-1 major decision over Austin Chamberlain of the University of Indianapolis.

• Northern Illinois’ Caleb Busson (Wadsworth) hung tough against nationally ranked Lee Munster of Northwestern, but fell 4-1 in the 174-pound bout.

Swimming and diving

B-W junior Kelsey Richards (Wadsworth) helped the 200-yard medley relay team to first place (1:55.48) as the Yellow Jackets lost to John Carroll.

• On Cleveland State’s senior day, Josh Gonzalez (Brunswick) helped the Vikings beat University of Illinois Chicago with a second in the 3-meter dive (319.95) and a third in the 1-meter (253.50).

Indoor track and field

Shawn Cordes (Buckeye) and Cody Smith (Brunswick) had big days to help B-W win the Fighting Scot Invitational at the College of Wooster. Cordes, a sophomore, took first individually in the 200 (23.28), along with helping the Jackets’ 4×2 relay team to a school-record 1:31.54. Smith also posted an individual win as the freshman took gold in the long jump (6.27 meters), along with legging the 4×4 unit, which also included Daniel Sloat (Medina), to a win in 3:30.75.

• Senior Brittani Peltz (Wadsworth) helped Xavier’s distance medley relay break the school record by nearly 12 seconds (11:42.54) to take third at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational. Peltz placed 40th of 101 in the 400 dash (58.22) earlier in the day.

• Florida’s Taylor Burke (Medina) earned her third straight high jump title with a personal-best 5-11½ at the Virginia Tech Elite Meet.

• Villanova’s Alex Wasik (Medina) finished fourth out of 31 competitors in the pole vault, clearing 3.90 meters at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational.

• Kent State’s Brooke Hutchings (Highland) took seventh in the long jump (17-10¾) at the Penn State Sykes & Sabock Challenge Cup.

• Junior Stephanie Foster (Cloverleaf) won the pole vault (11-10½) as Walsh took part in the Jim Wuske Invitational at Mount Union. John Schwinfurth (Medina) helped the Cavaliers win the 4×2 (1:35.07) with a 23.2 split time in the lead leg.

• Sophomore Evan McKee (Medina) helped Ohio Northern’s 4×8 (8:23.68) pick up the win at the Joe Banks Invitational.

• Senior Sam Maynard (Medina) placed seventh for UNC Asheville in the 800 (1:59.54) at the Kent Taylor Invitational.

• Ohio Wesleyan freshman Steven Uhler (Brunswick) finished fourth in the long jump at the Ithaca College-hosted Bomber Invitational.

• Ashland got a pair of seconds from Jacob Sussman (Wadsworth) and Jennifer Foster (Cloverleaf) en route to winning the NCAA Division II Challenge in Geneva. Sussman competed in the mile (4:12.06), while Foster cleared 5-4¼ in the high jump. Foster was fourth in the pole vault, while teammate Anna Mion (Medina resident/St. Vincent-St. Mary) helped the distance relay (12:19.98) to second place.

Contact Dan Brown at sports@medina-gazette.com.

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