Howland cross country team reaching new heights

McDonald girls, Tiger boys win

By DAN HINER

sports @vindy.com

NILES

Saturday’s high school cross country meet at Stevens Park in Niles wasn’t the largest gathering of schools, but after wins by McDonald and Howland, both schools believe they’ve set the groundwork for successful 2015 seasons.

Howland took control of the boys’ race from the start. At one point, five Tigers led the pack, but Howland’s Ethan Neff was the first runner to cross the finish line with a time of 17:08.

“We came out to play today. I went, pretty much, all out,” Neff said. “The course runs a little slow, but I felt I did pretty good. There are not too many teams here, but it’s still a meet that we take seriously. We won it six times in the past six years — we just try to throw it all out there.”

McDonald has ruled the Trumbull County cross country tracks over the years, but after Howland’s performance in the boy’s race, Howland head coach Danny Libert says the program is beginning to reach the point where the Tigers could be able to compete for the top spot at the Trumbull County meet.

“I just think that’s breeding. McDonald and Maplewood has had that forever. Their older kids pass it on to the younger [kids],” Libert said. “They’re expected to do well; they’re expected to work hard in practice. We’re just getting to the same mentality they have. If you’re going to run for us, you’re going to work hard and you are going to run well.

“I don’t want to say we’re McDonald yet, but we’re competitive with them. They’ve got a lot of history. I like that it’s harder to win our county than it is to win the state. That’s the sad thing, to win the county you have to play to perennial powers every year.”

Libert said the boys team will continue to improve as the season progresses. He said injuries have already impacted the team and some of the team’s top runners have been unable to compete so far this season.

“We did real well. We’re missing our number one kid. He tried to run today, but he couldn’t make it through the race. They’re growing, they’re getting better and that’s the thing, I’m seeing progress out of the kids,” Libert said.

Neff said the team improved as a result of the race and past success on this course could give the team momentum heading into the rest of the season.

“Every race we always strive to get better. This race, we definitely got better — it was about the same as our PR for the year. It just builds us up for the rest of the year,” Neff said.

The McDonald girls team had a comfortable lead throughout the race, finishing with the top three runners. Malina Mitchell finished in first place with a time of 20:01. McDonald hasn’t run the course in several years, but Mitchell thinks the team ran well.

“I think it just helps to have everyone step up,” Mitchell said. “After seeing the course, I think people have a better idea of what times they can shoot for, and maybe some individuals they can hang with. I think it’s an overall good thing that we came today.”