CANTON — Their big brothers set a high bar. One of them even became a state champion in his final high school meet.
Siblings Elaine and Evan Laubacher hope their final track and field seasons at Perry High School will end in style. Both hope to earn berths at the OHSAA outdoor state meet for the first time. That also increases their hunger to follow in the footsteps of their brothers Luke and Garrett and make a name for themselves.
“I always go after records at Perry,” Elaine said after she won the high jump at the Stark County Indoor Track and Field Championships on Sunday, Feb. 15. “It’s always kind of a goal. Hopefully I will get it this year.”
In 2021, Elaine and Evan watched their brother Luke win a Division I state title in the long jump. His winning jump of 24 feet, 3.5 inches is still a Perry record.
If you think Evan doesn’t know that number, think again.
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“My motivation is just wanting to beat him,” Evan said. “That’s all I’ve been looking up to.”
Evan, who finished third at the indoor county meet, doesn’t have to look up too far. His career-best jump of 22-1.5 occurred last season.
“I have been looking (at the rankings),” Evan said. “It has always been my goal.”
Make no mistake. Evan also has a lot of respect for what Luke and Garrett accomplished before they went on to Youngstown State. His brothers were state qualifiers in the hurdles, an event Evan also runs.
“That was when I was just getting into track,” Evan said. “I was watching and just saying ‘Wow.'”
Evan won the 60-meter hurdles at the indoor county meet. He also was runner-up in the triple jump, an event that is not held during the outdoor season,
“I think my best events are jumps,” Evan said. “I almost made it to state last year. I’ve gotten a lot better at hurdles. It’s kind of hand in hand.”
Elaine already has qualified for the indoor state meet in the triple jump. The high jump, though, has been her go-to event for awhile.
“I started to high jump in fourth grade,” Elaine said. “I jumped 4-2. It wasn’t my greatest, but I really liked how I was jumping off the start. I was already tall, I liked to jump high and just took it from there. I wanted to keep trying. Then I figured I was pretty good at it and would want to go somewhere to school for that.”
Evan’s future college plans are still undecided. Youngstown State is looking at him. He is going on a visit to Mount Union next week. He is also looking at Ashland.
Elaine’s college plans have been finalized. She will be following Luke and Garrett’s path to Youngstown State.
“I think it’s pretty cool that I’m going to the same school,” she said. “I already know what to expect there. It’s going to be a cool experience for me.”
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The Canton Repository sports department can be contacted via email at sports@cantonrep.com.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Elaine, Evan Laubacher chasing Perry High School track and field records
Reporting by Mike Popovich, Canton Repository / The Repository
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