Geauga County runners were well represented at the OHSAA Cross Country State Championships on Nov. 1 at Fortress Obetz, in Obetz, Ohio.
XC photos click here.
Geauga County runners were well represented at the OHSAA Cross Country State Championships on Nov. 1 at Fortress Obetz, in Obetz, Ohio.
Leading the way for Geauga County Runners was the West Geauga Wolverines’ Ian Res.
Res finished on the podium and first team All-Ohio with a 6th place finish in the Division II Boys 5K race.
Also, finishing as First Team All-Ohio was Chagrin Falls Tigers junior Kelan Byrne who placed 19th in the Division III Boys 5K race.
Five Geauga County runners earned Second Team All-Ohio honors.
Tigers sophomore Gabby Byrne earned Second Team All-Ohio with a 30th place finish in the Girls Div. III 5K race.
Also, the Tigers James Marcin earned Second Team All-Ohio as he finished 32nd in the Boys Div. III 5K race.
In addition, the Kenston Bombers’ Collin Matthews finished 44th in the Boys Div. II 5K race, earning second team All-Ohio Honors.
Earning second team All-Ohio Honors in the Girls Div. II 5K race were the Chardon Hilltoppers’ Briella Hewitt and the NDCL Lions’ Zoey Myers.
As the top Geauga County runner at the State Championships, Res said that he was proud to represent the Wolverines.
“I’m really proud to get down here, it’s been a dream of mine since middle school,” Res said.
Res said that the morning of the race, he was a bit nervous. However, some friends came down to cheer him on and he was able to spend time with them before the race.
Res felt that spending time with friends was beneficial as it helped him get in the right mindset.
Strategically, at the start of the state championship race, Res wanted to make sure that he started quickly as he said that he believed he had been starting his races too slowly throughout the season.
With a very good start, Res was surprised at the two mile marker as the time he was anticipating was a bit slow.
However, unfazed, Res knew that the third mile would be crucial. He just had to keep giving maximal effort until the end of the race.
During the final stretch, Res recalled that he wasn’t thinking too much except for reminding himself not to look back to see where other runners might be.
Res finished the state championship race strong as he placed sixth with a time of 15:37.06.
“I was very proud, I left it all out there,” said Res. “Couldn’t really be happier with my effort. I am very happy with (my performance).”
Res’s teammate senior Jacob Williams finished 89th with a time of 16:47.35.
In addition to Res reaching the podium, three Tigers runners achieved All-Ohio Honors.
Kelan Byrne finished 19th in the Div. III Boys 5K with a time of 15:53.31 and James Marcin placed 32nd with a time of 16:16.12.
Byrne said that he had been looking forward to running at the State Championships since the summer.
At the start of the state championship race, Byrne was a little further back than where he was hoping to be. Thus, he focused on passing a lot of runners as the race continued.
As Byrne was going by a lot of runners during the second mile, he heard his coaches telling him what place he was in.
“I was right on the cusp of that All-Ohio, and I really wanted that top 20,” said Byrne.
As the race continued to the end, Byrne said he was focused on passing as many runners as he could.
During the final stretch, Byrne said the race felt like a movie scene.
“The final stretch was just like something out of a movie,” said Byrne. “It was beautiful, I was looking down, the sun was shining, I saw the big banner and I just knew it was time to kick it in and just finish off my season exactly where I wanted to be, All-Ohio.”
Also, finishing All-Ohio for the Tigers was Gabby Byrne.
Gabby Byrne finished 30th in the Girls Div. III 5K race with a time of 19:03.65.
Overall, the Tigers Girls Team finished in 19th place. The top runners for the Tigers were Gabby Byrne (19:03.65), Lindsay Fisher (19:52.57), Mackenzie Verderber (21:04.68), Claire Hoelzel (21:48.31), Darcy Osborn (23:14.70), Clara Zabik (23:31.79) and Sophia Link (26:13.70).
The Tigers Boys finished tenth in the state and were led by Kelan Byrne (15:53.31), James Marcin (16:16.12), Zach Huey (16:53.84), TJ Mitchell (17:13.03), PJ Mitchell (17:19.11), Alec Gresh (17:23.86) and Michael Hanley (17:28.32).
Also, the Kenston Bombers Boys Cross Country Team competed in the Boys Div. II 5K state championship race. The Bombers had a great post season as they won the WRC Title, the District Title and the Regional Title.
At the state championships, the Bombers Boys Team finished 14th. The Bombers were led by Matthew Collins (16:25.03), Samuel Lanning (16:48.57), Huck Rundo (16:53.92), Ronnie Fratoe (17:02.74), Tyler Cingcade (17:37.70), Henry Miles (17:57.49) and Jack Zaranec (18:38.29).
The Chardon Hilltoppers Girls Cross Country Team finished in 18th place in the Div. II Girls 5K race.
Leading the way for the Hilltoppers were Briella Hewitt (19:18.16), Mira Palombo (19:35.59), Madisyn Frost (19:43.94), Beatrice Snyder (21:07.93), Alexis Gady (21:12.68), Rosemary Sweet (21:48.24) and Lee Kawalec (21:54.63).
The NDCL Lions’ Zoey Myers finished 30th in the Div. II Girls 5K with a time of 19:08.03.
Cardinal Huskies runner Sam Gdovichin finished in 67th place in the Div. IV 5K race with a time of 16:56.43.
