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A (county) record-setting nightMay 28, 2009 (Star Beacon - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- As Tracy (Coy) Clutter watched the action Wednesday afternoon on the track at Austintown Fitch High School, a flashback to a moment a center century earlier enveloped her. As she watched her daughter, Geneva freshman Veronica Clutter, finish her leg of the Eagles' 400-meter relay in the Division I regional preliminary heats, Tracy Clutter's thoughts drifted back ever so briefly to a day in late May 1984 when she and her sister, Jeanna (Coy) Webb helped establish a new Ashtabula County and school record of 50.43 in the district finals of the 400-meter relay with Cindy Collier and Deanna Fenner on the same track. For just like her mother 25 years before, Veronica Clutter anchored her relay of sophomore Stacy Mead, freshman Audra Puckrin and junior Nicole Smith to a new county and school record of 50.19. The only unfortunate thing about that time that was only good for 11th place and did not advance them to Friday's finals. "There definitely was a sense of deja vu about it," Tracy Clutter said by phone as she rode home from the meet with her husband, Ron. "I was proud of our team when we set the record, but it was so much more exciting to see my child do it." Jeanna Webb was not able to attend the meet, but the news of the momentous occasion was quickly shared in phone calls from her sister and niece. "You couldn't have written a better ending to all of this," she said. "I'm so thrilled that my niece was able to be a part of setting the new record. "We knew it was going to happen this year. Their team has such speed. It was just a matter of time and refining everything. My niece is an amazing young lady and the rest of the girls are such a great group." There was an extra bit of connection to the relay. "I had Nicole in my class in first grade," Webb, who still teaches first grade at Spencer Elementary School, said. It was the second county relay record of the spring for the Geneva girls. At last week's district meet at Fitch, Puckrin, Smith and Clutter teamed with leadoff runner Mary Ankrom, a senior, to set a new county record in the 800-meter relay record of 1:45.99 that broke another old Geneva school record. There was much rejoicing among the members of the team, too. "It's amazing," Veronica Clutter said by phone shortly after the meet. "We're all very proud of the time. It was great that my mom was there, too. "It's awesome that I was able to be a part of it as a freshman and that two of the legs of our relay was freshmen. And even though we didn't make the finals, we were only two- or three-10ths of a second from making it and that we have at least one more year together." Coach Bob McQuoid said establishing a new record had been one of the targets for this year's team. "I was so proud of the girls," he said. "That's been one of our goals this year. It's amazing that it's lasted 25 years. "It also shows how much track has progressed in that time. To know that it's still 11th-best in the region is eye-opening. But we've got lots of time to work on it." Tracy Clutter, who anchored the old standard bearer in her senior year, noted the differences between that team and this one. Ironically, her quartet was coached by Mary Ankrom's father Ken, who still does some coaching with the Geneva boys and girls teams. "That group of girls was into having good technique," she said. "We worked very hard on making great exchanges with Coach Ankrom. These girls have so much speed. "Nothing lasts forever (with records). I'm surprised our record lasted 25 years." That experience is a great memory for Jeanna Webb, too. Now, she's looking forward to her niece and her teammates creating even greater memories. "That was a great memory, back when I was a sophomore," she said. "That was such a great group of girls. This is such a great group of girls, too. With a junior, a sophomore and two freshmen, they're only going to get better." To see more of the Star Beacon or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.starbeacon.com/. Copyright (c) 2009, Star Beacon, Ashtabula, Ohio Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |