Both McDonald teams make it to the state

The boys placed second and the girls third in the
Division III regional meet.

By JOE SCALZO

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

BOARDMAN — The screaming was over, the hugging wasn’t, and McDonald girls cross country coach Michael Richards was in the middle of it all, wearing a wonderful shade of shock on his face.

“I don’t even know what to say to you guys,” said Richards, whose team advanced to the state cross country meet for the ninth straight year. “For me, this one is the best so far.

“Two weeks, I would have told you we had a next-to-nothing chance.”

A few feet away, Blue Devils boys coach Chris Rupe shook his head and smiled.

“It has been the most miserable season until now,” Rupe said, referring the Blue Devil girls. “How about that?”

Earlier in the day, Rupe met with his older brother, Ted, to talk about Saturday’s regional meet at Boardman High. In the back of their minds sat the streaks. McDonald’s boys and girls had made it to Columbus every year since 1999 — the longest combo streak in Ohio.

Maplewood’s boys, meanwhile, had made it every year since 1990 — also the longest streak of its kind.

“We knew it was going to be tough to keep that going,” Chris Rupe said.

Led by a strong finish from senior T.J. Holland, the Blue Devil boys placed second in Division III, which wasn’t that surprising considering they were the second-ranked team in the state.

But Maplewood, which lost its top four runners from last season to graduation, somehow .... managed ... to ... slip ... past ... East ... Canton, grabbing the fourth and final qualifying spot by one (one!) point.

“I’m a bit speechless, to be honest with you,” Rockets coach Ted Rupe said. “That’s way too close. Our guys were throwing up afterward, laying all over the place. ... They went all out.

“That’s what you have to do here.”

McDonald senior Holland placed ninth overall to lead the Blue Devils, who finished 50 points behind defending state champs St. Thomas Aquinas, 98-48. Garfield Heights Trinity was third with 125 points, Maplewood had 130, East Canton 131 and New London 138.

“They ran great, we ran good,” said Chris Rupe, when asked about Aquinas. “I think the guys were a little disappointed they were that far behind.

“We might still be the second-best team in the state. We’ll find that out next week.”

In Division I, Boardman senior Matt Moore finished 13th overall, becoming the third athlete in his family to run at a state meet.

The previous two did it in track. His older brother, Luke, qualified in the 800-meter run while at Struthers in 2002 and his older sister, Jessica, also made it in the 800 while at Boardman in 2004 and 2005.

“I was real nervous [before the race] — I’m always nervous,” Moore said. “I knew I needed to run a good race to make it out.”

After three years of splitting time between soccer and cross country, Moore dedicated himself to running full-time this fall. To get ready, Moore — who was, not surprisingly, already a terrific 800 runner — trained with local marathoner Dave Frease in the summer, running 10-15 miles on Sundays to build an endurance base to go with his speed.

He kept getting better and used his ability, combined with his home fan advantage and knowledge of the course, to move on.

“When he sets a goal, it’s hard to keep him from it,” said his coach Dave Pavlansky. “He ran well today.”

On the girls side, Warren JFK senior Audrey Maheu entered Saturday’s race as arguably the most prepared runner in Div. III considering she’d already run the course several dozen times this week.

“I ran it in my head a few times a day,” she said.

All week, Maheu pointed to one time on Saturday: 11:30 a.m. Considering the race started at 11:05, you can tell what she was thinking about.

“I couldn’t wait for the race to be done,” said Maheu, who won the race with a time of 19:40.30, almost four seconds better than the next girl. “There was so much pressure because I knew it was possible to win.

“You have to be mentally strong in this race.”

Maheu, who set a state record en route to the 800 title at last June’s state meet, ran the last part of the race on fear. Her nearest competitor, Gilmour sophomore Rebekka Simko, also has good speed and Maheu’s biggest fear was getting out-kicked at the finish.

“When I hit the final turn, I looked at the finish line and gave everything I had,” she said. “I knew if I fell across the finish line, someone would pick me up and tear the tag off me.”

In Div. II, Salem — the two-time defending state champs — placed third despite having one of its top runners disqualified. The Quakers entered the race ranked fifth in the state. The top four teams and individuals in the top 16 not on a qualifying team advanced.

scalzo@vindy.com