The sun may have been shining, but the course was filled with mud, after a week of rainstorms at Kenston’s 10th annual Frank Gibas Invitational on Aug. 26 in Bainbridge Township.
The sun may have been shining, but the course was filled with mud, after a week of rainstorms at Kenston’s 10th annual Frank Gibas Invitational on Aug. 26 in Bainbridge Township.
That did not stop the Chardon Hilltoppers from repeating as team champions in the boys’ race, scoring 58 points with a 2-7-10-15-24 finish and fending off the host Bombers, who scored 94 points with an 8-16-19-20-31 finish.
“We ran pretty well,” Chardon Head Coach Mark Shafer said. “It is just tough conditions in the first race of the year. Some people responded pretty well, and some people have a lot to improve upon. It was a good day overall, but it was certainly far from perfect.”
Senior Thomas Nelson propelled the Hilltoppers, finishing as the runner-up in 16:22.90, followed by junior Jacob Nieset, who took seventh with a time of 16:43.30. Senior Makoto Gumpf came in 10th place at 17:06.70, senior Matthew Sopchak snagged 15th place in 17:22.80, and senior Karl Dietz finished in 24th with a time of 17:45.80.
Nelson stayed at the front of the pack throughout the race, trailing Massillon Perry senior Connor Reed, but closed the gap in the final stretch when he triggered his closing kick. Still, he acknowledged he waited a bit too long to make his move, finishing only 0.9 seconds behind the Panthers’ senior.
“I knew he would be here, and I knew he would be coming in with the fastest time, so I just tried to stick with him,” Nelson said. “He was a good runner, and he just chugged it out, and I just followed suit.”
The Chardon boys graduated only one senior from last year’s Division I state-qualifying team, the first team to do so since 2013, and will try to build off a historic season.
“Last year we were young and were learning how to run with the fast guys,” Nelson said. “This year we know we can stick with them all of the way, and that is just a maturity kind of thing. We have taken our training to the next step and taken a lot of things more seriously than when we were younger, and I think it is paying off well.”
The Bombers were led by senior Kyle McMahon, who took eighth place with a time of 16:47.70, followed by senior Sean Tobin, who clinched 16th place at 17.22.90. Senior Martin Weber finished in 19th place by clocking 17:35.90, senior Christian Lioudis captured 20th place at 17:42.20, and freshman Matthew Collins came in 31st with a time of 17:54.60.
Meanwhile, the Hilltopper girls delivered a strong debut, taking fourth as a team, scoring 123 points with an 11-25-28-29-30 finish. They were followed by Kenston’s girls, who took fifth with a team score of 150 points, recording a 3-4-34-54-55 finish.
The Bombers were fueled by senior Emerson Greene, who snagged third place with a time of 19:58.50, and junior Brianna McIvor, who finished in fourth place at 20.02.50.
Stow-Munroe Falls senior Jayla Atkinson dictated the pace, staying in first place throughout the race, but Greene remained within striking distance.
Despite falling to fourth in the second half of the race, Greene kicked in the final stretch to move into third place, finishing strong in her final race on her home course.
“On this course, there are hills,” Greene said. “So keeping that in mind, that we have a chunk of the race left, and still making sure we are doing the best we can to keep our pace, (we can do well).”
Coming off the heels of finishing as Division II state runners-up at last year’s state meet, the Bomber girls are also prepared to deal with the target on their backs.
“We are ready for the challenge,” McIvor said. “We are not all individuals, but we are one team, and we are going to push each other to the best of our abilities so we can get the best result.”
The Chagrin Falls girls took sixth place as a team with a 7-13-40-41-52 finish, propelled by senior Mila Gresh, who snagged seventh place at 20:18.70, while the Tiger boys came in 10th place as a team, scoring 312 points with a 56-58-61-67-70 finish.
Teams will race again this upcoming weekend at the Mentor Cardinal Invitational in Garfield Park.
