SUBURBAN CROSS COUNTRY Boardman's Agnew makes league title seem effortless

Maplewood junior Andy Arnio had the day's best time.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CANFIELD -- Boardman High's Lauren Agnew doesn't seem big enough to withstand a summer breeze and doesn't look old enough to drive a scooter. She probably cuts her weight in half when she takes off her shoes and probably hasn't been running long enough to know that freshmen aren't supposed to beat 244 other girls in a meet as big as the Suburban League championship.
Which is why it was so amazing when the pint-sized Spartan came gliding up the final hill at the Canfield Fairgrounds, barely breaking a sweat, barely suppressing a grin and not-so-barely beating some of the area's best cross country runners.
Was she trying to win?
"If I could," she said with a shrug. "I do what I can."
In other words, yes.
"She's wild, isn't she?" said Boardman coach Linda Frease. "She does it so effortlessly.
"If I could clone five more of her, I'd have a winning team every week."
Mooney team champ
Even without five of her, the Spartans are pretty good. Boardman finished second to Cardinal Mooney, which won its first Suburban League title. Mooney had five girls in the top 33, led by Lauren Finnerty (seventh) and Christina Oles (11th).
"We were pretty much in top form today," said Cardinals coach Adrian Mangino. "This team has a lot of young girls, but they've got a lot of energy and we've got a great senior in Andrea Firth.
"We've still got a lot of work to do, but I like where we are."
Jackson-Milton's Samantha Hamilton finished second overall, nearly 20 seconds behind Agnew, who won the Suburban League middle school title last year. Columbiana's Stephanie Case was third, followed by Ursuline's Tiffani Miller and Maplewood's Ro Rupe.
"I have my own pace and I just try to stay with people," Agnew said. "Then at the end, I do what I can."
The crazy thing was, Agnew's performance was only the second-best performance Tuesday. Maplewood junior Andy Arnio -- last June's Division III state champion in the 3200-meters -- cruised to a 25-second win over Mooney senior Colin Durina in the boys race.
Handicap
To top it off, he was running with a lingering cold and without his pace-setting teammate, standout junior Andy Morgan.
"I was nervous that I was going to fall off and die," Arnio said. "It's a lot easier when I can run with [Morgan]."
But he relied on his talent and a pretty simple race strategy.
"When I feel really good, I just go," he said. "Then, when I feel like I have a big enough lead, I relax."
Boardman coach Dave Pavlansky didn't have the luxury of relaxing. One of his top runners, Rick Lape, has missed the last three weeks with a foot injury and Pavlansky knew his team would need to run its best if they wanted to successfully defend their title.
"You're always afraid," Pavlansky said. "On any given day, someone can run really well and beat you."
Getting a boost
Jake Lape (third) and Matt Moore (sixth) ran well (as always), but the Spartans got a big boost from Adam Haushalter (16th) and Dom Corso (17th), who both finished in front of Maplewood's replacement No. 2, Chaz Rice (18th). Add in a 28th-place finish from A.J. Frank and the Spartans had enough to cruise to a 31-point victory over Canfield.
"This is a real nice boost for our guys," said Pavlansky. "When you win this meet, you know you're beating some quality teams. It's something special."
scalzo@vindy.com