Champion girls capture first district cross country crown

The Flashes made school history by outlasting Girard 91-92 in the Division II race to gain the regional.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BAZETTA -- Champion High cross country coach Tom Neighbarger stood nervously at the podium Saturday, waiting to hear whether his Flashes qualified for the regional tournament.
He braced himself for the worst.
"Then they told me, 'Congratulations, you won by one point,' " Neighbarger said. "I thought they meant we qualified by one point."
Nope. The Champion girls team edged Girard 91-92 to win the school's first-ever district championship at the Division II race at the Trumbull County Fairgrounds.
"They ran an absolutely phenomenal race," Neighbarger said of his team. "It feels so good to get there [to regionals]. I'm still floating I think."
Wolfe leader: Junior Marlena Wolfe took fifth place with a time of 21:38.4 to lead the Flashes. Danielle Bafunno was 13th (22:04.9), followed by Jenna Rose (19th, 22:23.9), Michelle Bafunno (22nd, 22:33.3) and Brittany Williams (32nd, 23:15.8).
"I'm just overwhelmed," Wolfe said. "Our team has come a long way and we really pulled together toward the end of the year."
West Branch junior Lisa Davies won the race easily with a time of 19:52.3 -- 37 seconds ahead of Mooney junior Val Zajac (20:29.6).
"The wind was really bad and my arms hurt," said Davies, who took fourth in the state last year. "It's a mental thing. When no one is challenging you think about the pain and feel it a little more. But I feel real good right now. I'm ready for regionals."
Mooney third: Mooney finished third with 107 points, followed by Southeast (117) and West Branch (125). The top five teams qualified for Saturday's regional at Boardman High School. The top 15 individuals not on a qualifying team also advanced.
Zajac, last year's regional champ, ran her best time of the season Saturday. The junior, who placed fifth in the state last year, has spent the season recovering from a stress fracture in her femur.
"It was nice having someone to chase," Zajac said of Davies, "and her teammate Megan Cingcade pushed me the first half of the race. I'm real happy about [the finish]."
Southeast's Raina Keppler took third (21:07.9) and Cingcade finished fourth (21:08.1).
Division III: McDonald junior Jen Wenhold won the Div. III race by 32 seconds over teammate Nicole Booth to help the Blue Devils take first with 51 points. Pymatuning Valley (60), South Range (89), Maplewood (124) and Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary (143) rounded out the top five.
"I felt good, but the mud slowed me down," Wenhold said. "I think I would have had a better time if someone was pushing me."
Heavy rain slowed the course at last week's Sim Earich meet at the fairgrounds but the course was in better shape Saturday. Heavy winds and course erosion brought slower times and generally unfavorable reviews from Saturday's runners.
No seniors: McDonald, which has no seniors on the team, has qualified for state six of the last seven years. The Blue Devils lost sophomore Natalie Morello early in the season with a stress fracture but have rebounded from a disappointing 15th out of 45 teams at the Tiffin Invitational earlier this year.
"They have gotten progressively better each week," coach Diane Krumpak said. "It's been really hard this season, but the other girls have stepped it up."
Jessica Wenhold finished fifth for McDonald with a time of 21:02.7, followed by Erin Koppel (16th, 22:21) and Nicole Tondo (27th, 22:58.8).
Pymatuning Valley sophomore Kristin Bykowski took third with a time of 20:46.4 and South Range's Julie Nemergut was fourth (20:55.7).