STC’s Sabrina Holtz brings home hardware after taking 6th place in the Shot Put at the State Track and Field Meet on Friday, May 19. News Herald Photo/Allison Graham

By Allison Graham

Sports Editor

“mailto:agraham@tamatoleodnews.com”>agraham@tamatoleodnews.com

The STC girls track team simply killed it at State this year. Day one was a good start for the Trojans with Stacey Slaven placing fourth in the high jump (for full results see the Toledo Chronicle from Wed. May 24).

Day two was even better.

STC’s Allison Yuska takes on the first hurdle in the 400 hurdles at the State Track and Field meet on Friday, May 19. Yuska came in 2nd with a time of 1:05.03. News Herald Photo/Allison Graham

The day began with STC senior Sabrina Holtz in the shot put. Those who have followed STC track in the past few years will know the Holtz name. Sabrina, who is the youngest, carried on the family tradition this year.

“My sister (Sam) was a thrower and made it to state, placed in shot put twice, so a lot of my family is here. It’s just really exciting to follow in my sister’s footsteps,” said Holtz.

Her sister Sam, who now throws for Wartburg, holds STC’s shot put record at 40′-9 1/2″.

“It was really scary being seeded fourth coming in, and I guess I didn’t think of myself being that good,” Holtz said. “Pretty much, I just wanted to come in and get a medal and make finals. Going into finals, I just wanted to enjoy it because I’m not throwing in college. I just wanted to enjoy my last throws and have a good time,” said Holtz.

But it was having family cheering her on in the background that pushed Holtz through. Holtz put forth her strongest throw right out of the gate at 37’05 1/4″. That throw got her into the finals and was good enough for a 6th place finish.

STC’s Shae Slaven completes the handoff to Lauren Yuska during the 4x100 Relay on Thursday, May 19 at the State Track and Field meet at Drake Stadium.

Following the competition, Holtz was greeted with plenty of hugs by her older sisters, mom, teammates and her grandma whom she ran into the stands to hug.

Moving to the track another senior Allison Yuska also had a story book finish to her high school career. Yuska took to track to run in the 400m hurdles.

Yuska was no stranger to the cold and wet conditions that challenged the competitors. She ran at the Drake Relays under even worse conditions, so she knew what to expect. She also had a very clear goal in mind. Yuska wanted to break 01:05.00 minute mark. A year ago, she finished with a 1:06.28 and earlier this season at Drake she ran a 1:06.38.

Running in the 400m just the day before, she knew not to get out too fast.

“In the box, I was thinking, ‘Woah, I’m running at state,'” Yuska said. “And then the gun goes off and I’m in the zone, running as hard as I can. Then I got to the curve and realized I was in a really good position. I thought, ‘I’ve got to go really hard because I can do this.”

And she did. As she crossed the finish line and turned to look at the board for her time she saw her goal was achieved.

Between gasps of air as she caught her breath Yuska exclaimed, “I’m so proud of myself!”

“Just being able to come here is such an honor”, Yuska said. “I have memories of hanging out with my teammates, pushing each other and when we stay overnight at the hotel we play ping pong and swim. That’s always fun. They’re always pushing me, and I’m pushing them.”

Yuska will be joining the Wartburg College Track and Field Team next year.

The final event of the meet for the Trojans was the Sprint Medley. The quartet of Shae Slaven, Ashton Graham, Lauren Yuska and Allison Yuska took 19th.