Salem, Maplewood dominate; Rochelle Rupe first in Div. III

The top six schools and 24 individuals not on a qualifying team advanced.
BAZETTA -- Although it rained throughout Saturday's Division II and III district cross country runs, some of the area athletes ran their best times of the season at the Trumbull County Fair Grounds.
Both the Maplewood boys and girls won Division III team crowns, while Salem defended both Div. II titles.
In the girls Div. III run, Maplewood junior Rochelle Rupe took first place in 19 minutes, 40 seconds and Badger's Samantha Bonar (20:08) came in second.
"Awesome," said Bonar. "I cut my time 30 seconds off last week. It was my fastest time since I was a sophomore."
Rupe, who was fourth last year, said she had slowed down a little bit before the sectional run.
"I planned to stay with the pack the first mile, then if I felt good go out ahead," she said. "I did that. I really ran well today.
"All week the team hoped it would rain and be cool. It was challenging, but fun."
The Rockets placed four runners in the top 20 spots to win the team title with 58 points.
The top six schools and 24 individuals, not on a qualifying team advanced to Saturday's regional at Boardman.
Division II
Bridget Franek (17:50) and Cassandra Schenck (18:52) of Crestwood repeated their 2004 performance as they finished 1-2 in the girls Division II run.
Salem, which defended its team title by scoring 37 points, had four of its runners in the top eight spots.
Alexis Thorne (19:56), Liz Shivers (19:57). Deirdre Clary (10:08) and Lauren Shivers (20:19) placed third, fourth, fifth and eighth respectively.
"We just wanted to come out and run smart and work as a team" said Salem coach Mary Wilson. "Because of the conditions, we wanted to be safe, use our strength, move up at the right time and [we] got the job done."
"It would be fun for both of our teams to go to state and win," Clary, a senior, said. "We would go down in history."
Boys
Andy Arnio (16:17) ran away from the field in the Div. III boys run, helping Maplewood to the team laurels with 44 points.
"It was a little muddy, but we like these conditions," said Rockets senior Justin Pykare. "At its worst, it was fun and we made the best out of it."
Salem's boys, who are the defending state champs in Div. II, took the first step in returning to the state meet, compiling 44 points for the district title.
Aiman Scullion (16:45) repeated as individual champ for the Quakers. Teammate Paul Shivers (16:50) was second, Patrick Gorby (17:03) was third and Mike Overholser (18:07) was 13th.
"Everyone here had to run in the same conditions and nobody had an advantage," said Overholser.
Crestwood was a distance second with 98 points.
"We've been plagued with injuries this season, but didn't think anyone would really challenge us today," said Scullion.