Boys cross country starts league meets

The Boardman boys cross country team placed seven of the top 15 runners at the first Suburban League Meet held at East Palestine City Park.

Sophomore Mark Hadley took first at an impressive time of 15:57, while fellow sophomore Alan Burns was second overall with a time of 16:35. Not only were those times personal bests, but placed both runners in the top 25 all-time performances in school history.

“Those guys were flying,” said Spartan head coach John Phillips. “In fact, our entire team was blazing.”

Junior Sam Sheronovich was right behind Hadley and Burns, taking third in a personal-best time of 16:53. He was followed by sophomore Justin Maroni who also set a new best time in 16:56, which was good enough for fourth place out of 115 runners.

Rounding out the top finishers for Boardman were junior Pete Stafford, who finished 10th overall in a time of 18:09, senior Jacob Whitford (18:17, 12th), junior Ryan Key (18:26, 13th) and freshman Juan Santiago (18:29, 15th).

Also setting a new personal best was senior Mike Moxley. His time of 18:31 was a 1:20 drop from his first race at Salem. That effort earned Moxley this week’s ‘Runner of the Week Award.’

“Mike Moxley has made a quick transition from being a sprinter/hurdler on our track team to being a cross country runner,” said Phillips. “It is a difficult transition for a lot of people, but Mike is such a hard worker and dedicated athlete that he has made that a smooth and successful process.”