Repeat champs: Crestview, Ontario big winners at Pruner Invite

• Crestview boys win the invite for the fifth year in a row behind hurdles champ Cameron Shifflet
• St. Peter's Alysse Wade breaks 23-year-old record in the 100 hurdles
• Mansfield Christian's Carolina Trumpower sweeps the 800 and 1600

OLIVESBURG – It doesn't matter if he's Michael Phelps in the water as long as Ontario senior Ethan Pensante is himself on dry land.

Benefitting from the cross training the Warriors do in their school pool, the 2017 state medalist sprinter tied meet records in the 100 and 200 meter dashes and anchored the  winning 4x200 and 4x400, chasing down Crestview's 400 champ Christian Durbin in the shorter relay during Crestview's Forest Pruner Invitational on Friday.

Although Pensante had a hand in 40 points, it wasn't quite enough to end Crestview's now five-year reign in the invite as Tim Kuhn's Cougars won by a 138-132.5 margin.

It was quite a battle, with both teams scoring in 16 of the 18 events. Ontario had seven champions and Crestview six, including senior Cameron Shifflet, who swept the hurdles for the champs.

Although his boys fell just short, Ontario coach Mike Lyons saw his girls repeat behind quadruple winner Madeline Collins. She earned firsts in the same four events as Pensante, who tied the meet marks of 10.8 in the 100 and 22.3 in the 200, set by Crestview's Mason Minnich in 2011.

"My stretching was good today and I was focused on that, so maybe that's why my times were good," said Pensante, a member of last year's seventh-place 4x100 team at the state meet. "Last year I wasn't a 400 runner, but I'm doing that more to get my 200 faster."

Pensante was very happy with his times, given the havoc wreaked by the weather this spring. This was only Ontario's fourth meet. Four meets have been canceled and another rescheduled.

"I was very impressed with our field events, with not being able to practice them because of the weather," said Lyons, who got firsts from Bree Mullet (shot put), Tyler Howard (long jump) and Keandre Marlow (high jump). "We've been in the weight room and the pool, which is an advantage since we have a pool.

"When it's 30 degrees outside, instead of freezing, we hit the pool for 45 minutes to an hour and then bust their butts in the weight room. We had 75 kids in the pool on Monday. They understand we're running out of time.

"As we get into May, we'll get in the pool more for the legs to recover. We'll do little kicks, have fun and build team chemistry."

If not for Pensante and Co., it would have been Shifflet who won four events. A state qualifier in the 300 hurdles last spring, he won that race and the 110 highs and was part of Crestview's 4x2 and 4x4 teams that finished runner-up to Ontario.

Ross Kuhn and Noah Shriver also played a big part in Crestview's title by finishing one-two in the 800. They were also part of the victorious 4x800 with James Barber and Leo Ringler, while Lane Fry won the shot for the Cougars.

"My last hurdle in the 300s was a little off, but I felt fast today, other than the cold," Shifflet said. "This was only the second time I've run the highs this season, and it was my PR, so hopefully I'll get faster in that and the 300s.

"I feel like I'm right where I need to be."

No one ended up more surprised than St. Peter's Alysse Wade. Not that she won, but that she shattered a meet record without even putting her foot to the floorboard.

Winner of three gold medals in the 2017 state meet and indoor state meet record holder in the 60 hurdles, she won Friday's 100 hurdles in 15.2. The previous invite record of 15.7 was one of the oldest on the books, set in 1989 and then tied in 1995.

"That's hard to believe," said Wade, shocked when informed of her record. "I didn't know what my time was. I didn't even want to look. Wow, that's funny."

The 100 hurdles was the only individual race she ran Friday. She competed in two sprint relays instead of the 100 and 200 dashes, her other two specialties.

"It's been hard to get in a lot of good practice, but we're all working through the same thing," she said. "It's mostly mental. The key is trying to stay loose and making sure you're warmed up."

Among the distance standouts were Ontario's Grace Maurer and Mansfield Christian's Carolina Trumpower. Maurer won the 3200 and anchored the winning 4x800, preceded by Becca and Anna Gregg and Ameliia Carmack. Trumpower swept the 800 and 1600 after medaling in both races last week at the 86th Mehock Relays.

"I like the sun; there was more sun today than last week," Trumpower said. "I would have liked to be faster at Mehock, but it gave me a good base. I feel like I'm improving, which is a good thing."