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Poland girls are Div. II runners-up
Boardman
The Poland girls were runner-up in Div. II at the Boardman Invitational on Saturday, McDonald and South Range were third and fourth, respectively, in Div. III while Boardman placed 13th in Div. I.
In Div. III, United’s Allison Parks had the best finish among area schools with a third of 19:28.99.
In Div. II, Poland senior McKinsie Klim was fourth in 19:24.01.
“I really try not to get boxed in, so the first mile — whoever wants it — they go for it,” Klim said. “They just battle it out.”
Once Klim realized she wasn’t gaining more ground, she resigned herself to fourth.
“The other girls got me and I couldn’t go anymore,” said Klim, who eventually settled behind winner Bernadet Prichard (Villa Maria Academy, Erie, 18:52.05); Marissa Rossetti (St. Vincent-St. Mary, 19:09.25); and Amy Castle (St. Clairsville, 19:13.82).
“I would like to have been faster, but it was kind of humid,” said the Poland senior who was 25th at state in 2011.
Teammate Libby Rogenski was eighth in 19:48.04, which was five seconds behind her personal best.
“I had a stress fracture in my left shin and took three weeks off,” she said of a rehab period during which she wore a boot. “I got it off last Thursday, then finished second [to Klim] in 20:17 at Columbiana on Tuesday.”
Chardon’s Corinne Kule won Div. I girls.
“I started not too fast up the hill [perpendicular to Glenwood Avenue], but just tried to move up in the first 800 meters,” Kule said.
She hung with one of the leading packs until a little before a mile, where she broke away and ran with two Hudson girls for the final 11/2 miles.
Kule was 44th at state as a sophomore and 61st as a junior.