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CROSS COUNTRY NOTES
INDIANS ON THE RUN
A little less than a year ago, Girard’s Kade Swartz had the unfortunate occasion to think he had qualified for the Division II boys regional meet at Boardman when he hadn’t. A miscommunication seems to have been at the root.
“We were told at the district race [at the Trumbull County Fairgrounds] that he qualified to regional, so we took him and they didn’t have him on the list,” Girard coach Keith Brown said about Swartz, who was 20th at district in 2011 when only the top 16 advanced. He was highly disappointed,” Brown added. “He definitely has his goals set this year.”
Although the senior ran 18:54.20 for a 141st-place finish at the Boardman Invitational last Saturday, his best time so far this season is 18:43.
Among Division II girls, Girard freshman Domenique Hall was 22nd in a season-best 20:32.26.
Other top times for Brown’s Indians this season are by juniors Brogan Kenneally (19:58) and Chris Montagna (20:02) among boys and juniors Tina Boyles (22:07) and Taylor Harshbarger (22:09) among girls.
Also among the top runners are sophomore Courtney Williams, junior Jackie Butler (23:25) and freshman Jackie Kenreich. Williams achieved a 23:10.37 at the Boardman Invitational, while Kenreich’s 23:53.55 at Boardman on Saturday represented her first top 5 finish.
At Boardman, Boyles was 89th in 22:07.28 while Harshbarger was 93rd in 22:09.92.
Harshbarger qualified for the 2011 Boardman regional as an individual while her team missed by one place. Taylor finished 35th out of 128.
Girard’s 2011 boys team was sixth at district.
Other top returnees for Brown, an eighth-year head coach, are seniors Michael DiVincenzo and Sam Horne. Montagna didn’t run last year after having participated in junior high.
The top times so far for Horne and DiVincenzo are 20:04 and 20:07, respectively.
“We’re in pretty good shape but we have room for improvement and we’re making those improvements and looking for strong finishes,” Brown said.
Girard will be at the Niles Invitational in Stevens Park on Saturday and the Malone Invitational will draw teams from around Ohio. Area teams are attending because it is the site of the district.
SUBURBAN SHOWDOWN
During Tuesday’s Suburban League championships at the Canfield Fairgounds, where 45 schools competed, Boardman, Canfield and McDonald were 1-2-3 in the boys division while Poland, South Range and Boardman were the first, second and third among girls.
Top individuals were Boardman’s Mark Hadley (16:29.67), South Range’s Tim Nichols (16:45.25), Howland’s Ryan Sullivan (16:54.48) and Liberty’s Jonathon Richmond (17:11.72).
Canfield senior Emma Lunne was best in 19:29.48, followed by United’s Allison Parks (19:36.76) and Poland’s McKinsie Klim (19:40.16).
Top Canfield boys are Rollin Bresson, Alec Kennedy, Tyler Kennedy and Chase Kern.
Springfield Local coach Kim Rutkowski’s team comprises seven boys and five girls. The top three boys are Chris Stefan, Bryan Mersol and Tyler Cronie with times of 22:10, 22:11 and 23:00, respectively. The top three girls are Kristin Evans (24:29), Mary Ritter (26:34) and Julia Miglets (27:29)s. They will be competing in the district meet on Oct. 20 at the Trumbull County Fairgrounds.
For Jackson-Milton coach Taylor Sowers, top runners are: Olivia Wolfe (23:20), Becca Jones (24:17), Greta Frost (25:32) and Kali Sebastian (26:40) among girls and among boys: Devin Seka (18:54), Caleb Spalding (18:30) and Jarrod Kegley (20:08).