Track or graduation: Choice for some seniors; grads must pick between two events

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by Miles Jung-Kilbreath

Reporter

Streetsboro -- Streetsboro valedictorian Katlin Twigger has made the hard decision to attend graduation instead of compete at the regional preliminary track meet May 29, according to her mother Petrina Twigger.

The regional track meet in Ravenna starts at 4 p.m., and the graduation ceremony at the Akron Civic Theater starts at 7 p.m. The track meet is set to last until all events are finished -- creating a potential conflict for seniors attending both events.

"We are at the mercy of the facility," Superintendent Tom Giovangnoli said at a May 8 School Board meeting.

Giovangnoli said for an athlete to compete in the regional track meet, they would have to first qualify at the Portage Trail Conference meet on May 15 and 17 and the district preliminaries on May 22 and 24, so there is a chance Katlin would not qualify for the May 29 regional meet.

"It is still an unfortunate situation," Giovangnoli said.

Twigger said her daughter, a member of a relay team, is "disappointed" that she cannot compete any of the track tournaments because she "doesn't have a choice" in missing the ceremony. She is one of the five valedictorians in the class of 2008 and the senior class president.

Petrina said she knows of at least one other senior struggling with the decision to miss graduation for the track meet.

District curriculum director Agatha Van Brocklin said it is a "problem" that the district ends its school year at the end of May, when many spring sports have their tournaments. She said the only option to avoid a conflict with sport tournaments would be to have graduation in mid-June, which would be a few weeks after the end of the students' school year.

School Board member Cynthia Pennock-Hanish said district officials would "do their best" to try to avoid a similar situation in the future.