A Number of Badgers Shine in Early Bird
A rich tradition has been built for the runners at Berkshire High School.
A rich tradition has been built for the runners at Berkshire High School.
Teams under fifth-year head coach David Kindall have been able to provide much success for the school.
Men’s cross country consists of a 12-man roster, including five varsity runners from a season ago. On the women’s side, six of seven runners are returners. Four of Kindall’s runners are seniors, two are sophomores, and one is a freshman.
Standout senior Madison Romask will once again lead the pack. Romask finished fourth overall, with a time of 19:43.6, at the annual Early Bird Invitational.
Junior Jackson Hare led the way for the Badgers on the men’s side with an official time of 17:46, finishing 30th overall. Behind Hare were seniors Caleb Klem and Ethan Bennington, finishing 18:10 and 18:12.
Kindall said his team came out aggressively and wanted to be successful from the start.
“I liked how well both sides ran as a whole,” he said. “They got out and were aggressive and didn’t settle into a pace.”
“Hearing everyone yelling at us to catch up to that next person really pushed us to go far, and we did really well, and I’m proud of all of us,” Bennington said.
Hare, who started running a season ago, quickly impressed his coach.
“Jackson (Hare) improved a ton since last season and put in a lot of time this past year in the summer and winter, and really developed into a front runner,” Kindall said. “The men’s team has done a great job this off season, not only training, but doing the little things to help them recover and get into running shape.”
Hare also felt good about his results.
“I’m really happy with what happened and I’m really excited,” he said. “It’s my junior year, and I ran a really big PR. There’s a lot of possibility for the future.
“Running track helped a lot, it proves to have helped a lot. When I started the season, I was hoping to get low 19s, and I very clearly reached that goal. Now, I want to get low 17s and I want to get my team up there with me.”
With success from Romask and Hare, the Badgers will look for strong performances from both programs.
“I was very excited to watch the girls team race coming into the day,” Kindall said. “They have really focused on pack running this year and moving as a group. It is something we will have to work on, with some of our runners that do not have a lot of experience.”
The women’s team was crowned Chagrin Valley Conference champions back in 2016. They also placed 2ndat Districts and 6that State.
Asked what he is looking for from his teams this season, Kindall spoke about working together.
“I have put an emphasis on competing with each other during the week and together at meets,” he said. “The men are looking to win a CVC title again for the third straight year, and getting to the regional meet. The women are looking at a CVC run of their own and making it to states as a team. In order for this run to happen, both teams have to stay healthy, where size could play a factor for the teams.
Added Klem, “A CVC three-peat would be nice, but we want to improve our pack, spread it out a little bit.”
Some crucial meets could be key for the Badgers to capture a few victories, such as Tiffin, Boardman and Legends.
“Boardman and Legends are where we compete at for the post season,” Kindall said. “The boys continue to improve year after year the last four seasons.”
With Hare and Romask, the Badgers could have a chance to sweep the CVC and make a strong finish in the post season. If you’re Coach Kindall, you’re excited to see what this strong core may accomplish.
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