Boardman boys claim eighth straight county title

At a soggy Copeland Oaks Course in Sebring Sept. 28, Boardman freshmen Mark Hadley and Alan Burns raced to sixth and seventh-place finishes, outpacing more than 110 competitors, to lead the Spartans to their eighth consecutive Mahoning County Championship.

Boardman outscored Federal League rival Austintown Fitch 64-77. Cardinal Mooney was third with 89 points, South Range earned fourth place with 114 and Canfield was fifth with 119.

“This is a good solid win for our team,” said Spartan head coach John R. Phillips. “We knew that Mooney was going to come after us, but coach Rich Kempe had his Fitch Falcons run well and we had a true battle.”

The Spartans placed six runners in the top 30, with Hadley and Burns running times of 17:41 and 17:42 respectively. Senior Alex Scott placed 14th in 18:40 and freshman Justin Maroni earned 18th with a time of 18:50.

Sophomore Sam Sheronovich captured 21st in a time of 18:56 and sophomore Pete Stafford was in 29th place with a time of 19:15.

“I was very impressed with the effort that Justin Maroni gave. He was a key to our claiming another championship,” Phillips said. “Our freshmen runners stepped up big time. This class is already doing great things for our team and could be special by the time they are seniors.”