As we move closer to the State Track & Field Championships on June 3 and 4, athletes must perform at their highest levels with the most at stake for a chance to advance to Columbus.

Genoa has two athletes that both have a legitimate shot of not just qualifying for, but making some noise at the state meet this season.

Brad Szypka and Tiffany Wright, both Comet seniors, are close to finishing out magnificent athletic careers, but, before closing this chapter of their lives, they’d like to leave their mark by advancing to Columbus and further sustaining their legacy.

Brad Szypka	Tiffany Wright

Szypka, who has already earned a scholarship to compete next year at the University of Kentucky, recent set district and school records at the Division II District Meet in Oak Harbor last week. With a throw of 64 feet, 4 inches, Szypka broke the school record (60-6) and the meet record (63-5.75).

While at UK next year, he will compete in “throwing” events, with the outdoor hammer and the indoor weight throw being his specialties.

Szypka is also a standout in the discus, having finished sixth at the regional meet last year, missing out on a spot at the state meet by two places.

At the final Suburban Lakes League Conference Meet on May 14, he won both the discus and the shot put, doing so in convincing fashion.

It’s funny that Szypka would end up as such a great athlete in the shot put and the discus, considering that, in junior high, he competed in running events and was a pole vaulter.

“At the end of my eighth grade year, I was screwing around with some of my buddies and threw a shot put and our coach saw me.” he said. “He told me that I was going to be throwing shot put from then on.

“I come in as a freshman, the Vicars brothers (Derrick and Marcus) transferred in and I started training with them.”

In 2008, Derrick Vicars finished third in the state in both the shot put and the discus and Marcus Vicars was fourth in the shot put in both ’08 and ’09.

Szypka’s focus this year has been even more acute as he decided not to play football during his senior season, allowing him time to train year-round for the field events.

Over the winter, he competed in 11 indoor events, with his highlight coming when he finished first in the weight throw on March 19 at the OATCCC Ohio State Indoor Track & Field Championship at the University of Akron.

In short, Szypka has gotten to where he is today because he has continued to work hard, both on weightlifting and improving his technique, and he’s matured both physically and mentally, thus allowing him to realize his full potential.

As for Wright, she is easily one of the most accomplished athletes in Genoa sports history, not to mention one of the best athletes the area has seen in recent years.

She holds, either individually or as part of a team, five school records in track and field. She has the school’s fastest times in the 400, 800 and 1600 meter runs, and is part of the 4x400 and 4x800 relay teams that also hold the school’s records.

The most noteable of those is the one set by Wright and the 4x800 relay team of Angel Kuron, Nicole Kraemer and Alyssa Wolfe that finished 14th in 9:58.50 at the 2009 State Track & Field Meet in Columbus.

This season, her focus is primarily on performing well in the 800 and helping her 4x400 relay team finish out the season strong.

For Wright, there is added incentive in knowing that she just missed out on qualifying for state last year in the 800. At last year’s Regional Meet in Lexington, she finished in fifth place, running a time of 2:19.25, less than two seconds from finishing in the top-four, which would’ve been enough to qualify her for a spot in Columbus.

“That only makes me more ready for this year,” said Wright of her near-miss last season.

It won’t get any easier this season.

She competes in arguably the hardest regional in the state for the 800, so just getting to Columbus will be enough of a challenge.

The 4x400 relay team that Wright anchors has fared quite well this season and has an outside shot at placing at the regional meet.

“Our region is so hard. Last year, I ran a 2:19.2 at the regional meet and that got me fifth place. Hopefully, I’ll run a 2:17 or 2:18, which should get me out (of the regional).”

Wright, who has been the SLL Champion in the 800 for the past two seasons, attributed much of her success to the girls track and field head coach, Craig Snyder. A teacher at the elementary school level in the Genoa School System, Snyder also coaches the boys and girls cross country teams and has coached track and field for over 20 years.

Besides helping Wright to drastically improve as a runner, he has helped to change the culture within the girls program at Genoa.

“He’s an amazing coach,” said Wright. “He does a great job writing up the workouts and (also) runs with us.”

Much like Szypka, it’s a surprise that Wright is competing in the events today that she has had so

In junior high, Wright was actually a sprinter, but she began running distance events as she got into high school. Initially, the 400 was her prime event, but she was encouraged by Snyder to run the 800 with the hopes that it would help her build some stamina and endurance for the 400. Low and behold, a few years later, she’s got a chance to qualify for the state meet in the 800.

But her best sport may not even be track and field -- she’s a stellar athlete when it comes to soccer as well.

In fact, she is set to play soccer next fall at Mount Vernon Nazarene University in northeast Ohio. During her junior and senior seasons, Wright, a defender, was named First Team All-SLL and was Honorable Mention All-District as a freshman.

The final hurdle for both of them as they head towards state is the Regional Meet that takes place in Lexington on May 26 and 28.

Here’s hoping they both make it Columbus.

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