GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY Salem, McDonald earn Columbus trip
The Quakers have been following the lead of their boys team.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOARDMAN -- Before Saturday's race, as she does before every race, Salem freshman Alexis Thorne said a prayer, asking God to protect her and help her run her best.
Pretty inspirational.
Also before Saturday's race, the McDonald High girls cross country wrote down their team goals on a card, gathered in a circle and spit on the card.
Pretty funny.
"It motivates them, I guess," McDonald coach Michael Richards said.
Guess what? Both ways worked.
Led by Thorne's ninth-place finish, the Quakers, who entered the meet ranked second in the state (behind Kettering Alter), edged Chagrin Falls for the Division II team title at Saturday's regional meet at Boardman High School.
"Our No. 1 goal was to make it to state," Salem girls coach Mary Wilson said. "Obviously, if we could collect the title along the way, that's nice too."
Historically, Salem's girls team has lived in the shadow of the boys team, although that's changed somewhat this season. The girls have learned from the boys' success -- Salem's boys team won a state title last season -- and from their mistakes. The girls have also benefited from being able to train and travel with them, running in North Carolina earlier this season.
"The boys team has sort of led the way," Wilson said. "Now we've been able to join in some of their successes."
Not happy
They've also added some of the boys' competitiveness. Before hearing the team results, several Salem girls were noticeably disappointed -- even to the point of tears -- that they hadn't run career-best races.
"Their main concern was that they let the team down," Wilson said. "But they did what they needed to do."
Thorne, meanwhile, couldn't have been happier.
"I felt great; I probably ran the best I have all season," she said. "Usually it takes about a mile and a half before I know whether I'll have a second wind and it'll be a good day.
"Today, it was."
The Blue Devils, meanwhile, have advanced to Columbus every year since 1999, finishing fourth in Div. III on Saturday to earn the final qualifying spot. The top four teams and individuals in the top 16 not on a qualifying team advanced.
"We didn't have anybody in the top 30 and probably every other team does," Richards said. "We just run great as a team."
In Div. I, Boardman freshman Lauren Agnew -- the Suburban League individual champion -- finished 15th. She was the only area girl to qualify for the state meet in the big-school division.
scalzo@vindy.com