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McDonald boys capture sixth crown in cross country
Since it was written on shirts and signs for the McDonald cross country team, the number six was definitely etched in the minds of Patrick Kunkel, Kyle Joynes, Bobby Johnson, Allan Coviello and Tyler Smith.
They wanted to be the sixth Blue Devils team to bring home the Division III state title to McDonald.
With 74 points — they did at Saturday’s state meet in Hebron. It was just for that group of five boys, though.
“I just think a lot of guys in the history of McDonald cross country can take pride in this,” coach Chris Rupe said. “Seeing the excitement from the guys was really meaningful for me as the leader of the group. It’s a pleasure how much these guys have grown and developed as young men and athletes.”
The Devils also won championships in 1982, 1983, 1999, 2001 and 2004. At a new location, the National Trail Raceway, for 2011, Rupe says that the fresh course “wasn’t a story” for his team. It was focus that leads this chapter in their legendary history.
“We weren’t stretching the truth when we said ‘guys, we can do this,’ Rupe said. “It’s been a realistic goal for us and the focus of the season, we just stayed the course.”
Kunkel and Joynes paced McDonald and finished 14th and 17th, respectively.
Also from the Mahoning Valley, Poland girls were sixth overall in Div. II with 22 points. The South Range boys tandem of Ryan Roush and Tim Nichols finished third and 11th, respectively, in Div. III. Roush had a 15:30 and Nichols had a 16:05. Drake Lohnes of West Branch finished the Div. II race in 16 minutes, 38 seconds for 22nd place.
The McDonald girls took 13th place as a team in Div. III, while Maplewood was seventh. A host of individual qualifiers did well. Fitch’s Carissa Jenkins was 11th in the Div. I girls race. A sophomore, she ran in 18:28.
Ashley Lydic of Columbiana was 80th with a 20:40, South Range’s Monica Patrick and Emily Rast had a 19:57 and 20:16, respectively in Div. III.
Catlyn Walker of Struthers was 109 thin the Div. II race; she finished in 20 minutes, 51 seconds. Her coach, Scott Stoner says she was a little disappointed, but used the meet as a gauge to perform better next season.
“She said she was ready to get back out and run tomorrow,” Stoner said. “She’s not about taking days off, she’s determined.
Kunkel, a junior, completed the race in 16 minutes, 11 seconds, while Joynes, a senior, crossed the finish line in 16 minutes, 19 seconds.
But, it’s not about individual achievement. After all, the Devils a team champions and that’s exactly what they’ve strived to be, all season.
“That’s the mentality that’s really benefitted us as a program,” Rupe said. “Seeing a teammate doing well doesn’t make a guy feel like he’s doing bad, himself. It’s a real band of brothers and these guys have taken that to heart. The reason why they’re so good is because they’re pushing one another.”
Brian Kelzer and Patrick McCarthy also participated for McDonald, but did not figure into the scoring.