Regional cross country: Seven from area headed to state

BOARDMAN — Elyria Catholic's Matt Krese had to really step on it Saturday thanks to someone stepping on him during the Division III regional cross country meet. Well, his shoe, anyway. Krese, a senior and two-time state qualifier, nearly missed out on a return trip to state after someone stepped on his heel near the 800-meter mark, causing his right shoe to come almost completely off. "I lost nearly 30 seconds," said Krese, who dropped back to almost 50th place when it happened but fought his way back to earn the 16th and final qualifying spot in a time of 17:52.5. "It took me several tries to try to get it on. The whole race I just had to keep working my way back into it. After I stopped I knew I had to work my way back into it. I'm just at a loss of words. I've never had anything like that happen in a race before except for cramps. Competition today wasn't as good as last year but that doesn't mean to take it easy. You still have to run your best." All in all, it was a banner day for Lorain County runners with five boys and two girls advancing to next Saturday's state meet at Fortress Obetz. Juniors Madeleine Finton of Columbia and Stephen Faltay of Keystone led the way with top-10 performances, Finton taking seventh in the Division III girls race in 20:56.8 and Faltay finishing eighth in the Division II boys race in 17:18.0. Finton didn't have an easy time earning her third straight trip to state. "That was probably one of the most painful runs of my career," she said. "There was a lot of tightness in my back and my stomach. The first two miles were very, very tricky. I started to feel a bit better the last three quarters of a mile. I told myself that I needed to get moving and something extra came out. I knew, if anything, to do it for the team." Faltay earn his second straight trip to state. "I actually surprised myself," he said. "I thought I might fade some but it didn't happen. It was so hard last year just to stay in the top 20. Last year I was as high as 14th at one point in the regional race and another point fell back as far as 30th. Today went much better even though I had a slight cramp in my right side the last mile. I'm just grateful that I was able to stick with it the entire way and get our team a good number. There was no messing around." Open Door sophomore Michael Couture joined Krese in Division III with an 11th-place finish in 17:41.7. "I fell back to about 14th or 15th at two miles but picked it up and felt very good at the end," Couture said. "It's all because of my teammates and coaches. I had a lot of people on the course here telling me throughout the race where my position was throughout the way." In Division I, Amherst freshmen Ty Perez (17:11.0) and Luke Bowlsby (17:29.3) qualified to state, placing 15th and 32nd, respectively, out of 32 qualifiers. "I gave it everything I had," said Perez, who to hang out near the med tent afterward due to exhaustion. "I came out here and did it. I wasn't afraid for this to happen to me like it did. I just went out and ran my absolute hardest. I wanted to finish higher, but I really didn't know the competition. Times didn't matter. I was just going to run the hardest that I frickin' could. That's what I did. I'm happy." It's the first time two Amherst boys have advanced to state in the same season since Zak Wilburn and Tim Hagland in 2004. "The course was pretty rough, but I'm happy," Bowlsby said. "The start was really difficult. I probably was back in 60 to 70th place after the start, but I thought I did a pretty good job coming back. The goal was to get top 32 and I'm happy I did that." Midview junior Audrey Sanzone finished 22nd of 32 individual qualifiers with a time of 20:28.3 to become the first Middies girl to make state since 1989. "I was able to hold my spot well," she said. "I was told by my coaches that they thought I had what it takes. I knew that I could do it. It was all about the mental ability and strength." Sanzone was able to stay in good position the entire way and was never really in danger of not qualifying. "I tried to make sure entering the last half mile to be strong and to not let too many people pass me," Sanzone said. "I was kicking as hard as I could. I was so happy and tired at the same time. I felt well-rested coming into the race. I was in bed by 9 p.m. and got to sleep in a little bit with our later race time (4 p.m.). A state qualifier last year, Brookside sophomore Madison Palmer barely missed a Division II berth (top 24) with a 25th-place time of 20:57.8. She missed returning to state by three seconds. "It was a great race for her today," Brookside coach Kevin Landis said. "She was only 25th last week at LCCC and was able to beat 11 of the 24 girls that beat her at districts." Palmer was in 26th place at the halfway point and 23rd at 2.5 miles with two girls right behind. The Columbia girls were a long shot to make it as a team in Division III, but their chances took a big hit when sophomore Kelsey Pettegrew dropped out at two miles after slipping and falling while going around a corner. Hershberger 37th at Tiffin regional Vermilion senior Alex Hershberger finished 37th out of 87 runners at the Tiffin Division II regional at Hedges Boyer Park with a time of 17:37.1. Only the top 12 individuals advance to state. Contact Paul Heyse at 329-7145 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. BOYS Division I Top 8 teams, top 32 individuals qualify to state meet, Nov. 7 TOP TEAMS: 1. Hudson, 116; 2. St. Ignatius, 148; 3. Kenston, 155; 4. Mentor, 192; 5. Hoover, 216; 6. Louisville, 223; 7. Medina, 231; 8. Solon, 253; 9. Massillon Jackson, 265; 10. GlenOak, 286; 11. Stow, 290; 12. Amherst, 292; 13. Medina Highland, 312; 14. Walsh Jesuit, 339; 15. University School, 369; 23. Avon Lake, 509. Out of 24 schools. WINNER: 1. Nathan Moore (Uniontown Lake), 16:26.2 LOCAL STATE QUALIFIERS: 15. Ty Perez (Amherst), 17:11.0; 32. Luke Bowlsby (Amherst), 17:29.3 OTHER LOCAL RUNNERS: 72. Jett Wieber (Avon), 17:55.6; 81. Cael Walker (Amherst), 83. Jacob Raesler (Amherst), 18:017; 95. Matt Henry (Avon Lake), 18:08.4; 116. Adam Dixon (Avon Lake), 18:21.4; 117. Domonick Houdeshell (Avon Lake), 18:21.4; 131. Nick Schulz (Avon Lake), 18:39.8; 141. Caleb Cabrera (Amherst), 18:45.9; 159. Matt Kuban (Avon Lake), 19:04.8; 160. Mike Wolski (Avon Lake), 19:08.6; 170. Jordan Matuzak (Avon Lake), 19:17.7; 189: Isaac Davis (Amherst), 19:59.3; 190. Sebastian Pecora (Amherst), 20:06.5 Division II Top 6 teams, top 24 individuals qualify to state meet, Nov. 7 TOP TEAMS: 1. Bay 77; 2. Woodridge 84; 3. Marlington 114; 4. Tallmadge, 156; 5. NDCL, 169; 6. Fairview, 231; 7. West Geauga 245; 8. Lake Catholic, 270; 9. Keystone, 271; 10. Cloverleaf, 273; 11. Tuslaw, 280; 12. Ashtabula Edgewood, 301. Out of 19 teams. WINNER: Noah Graham (Marlington), 16:42.0 LOCAL STATE QUALIFIER: 8. Stephen Faltay (Keystone) 17:18.0 OTHER LOCAL RUNNERS: 54. AJ Stroud (Keystone), 18:28.6; 68. Christian Cornwell (Firelands), 18:46.4; 73. Tyler Beglin (Keystone) 18:50.2; 90. Dawson Maiden (Keystone), 19:09.3; 93. John Wargo (Keystone), 19:12.5; 144. Tanner Beglin (Keystone), 20:51.8 Division III Top 4 teams, top 16 individuals qualify to state meet, Nov. 7 TOP TEAMS: 1. East Canton 57; 2. Canton Central Catholic 91; 3. Maplewood 115; 4. South Range, 119; 5. McDonald, 146; 6. Dalton, 173: 7. Elyria Catholic, 174; 8. Badger, 210; 9. Mapleton 248; 10. Mineral Ridge 260; 11. Black River, 262; 12. United 265; 13. Manchester, 278 LOCAL STATE QUALIFIERS: 11. Michael Couture (Open Door), 17:41.7; 16. Matt Krese Elyria Catholic, 17:52.5 OTHER LOCAL RUNNERS: 35. Sam Sikorski (Columbia) 18:30.6; 36 Wyatt Royster (Black River), 18:33.4; 38. Colin Garrity (Elyria Catholic) 18:35.2; 43. Matt Boehm (Elyria Catholic), 18:45.6; 46. Jared Bradford (Black River), 18:55.5 ; 53. Kevin Thiele (Elyria Catholic), 19:01.5; 66. Ethan Zientarski (Elyria Catholic), 19:29.6; 70. Dillion Royster (Black River), 19:37.1; 71. Thomas Moore (Elyria Catholic), 19:41.8; 78. Nicholas Kestecki (Black River), 20:02.5; 88. Nick Newman (Black River), 20:46.0; 89. Evan Ladvina (Black River), 20:52.6; 91. Christian Orgel (Black River), 20:55.6; 94. Alex Trautwine (Elyria Catholic), 2125.2 GIRLS Division I Top 8 teams, top 32 individuals qualify to state meet, Nov. 7 TOP TEAMS: 1. Hudson, 143; 2. Kenston, 145; 3. Shaker, 149; 4. Westlake, 180; 5. Mentor, 186; 6. St. Joseph Academy, 210; 7. Green, 239; 8. Wadsworth, 246; 9. Stow, 252; 10. Massillon Jackson, 261; 11. Medina, 288; 12. Boardman, 289; 13. Olmsted Falls, 334; 14. Rocky River, 359; 15. Brunswick, 372; 16. Chardon, 374; 17. Howland, 390; 18. Bay, 410; 19. Avon, 444; 20. Brecksville, 461; 21. Aurora, 470; 22. Medina Highland, 488; 23. Canfield, 495; 24. Uniontown Lake, 519 OTHER LOCAL RUNNERS: 44. Maddie Harrington (Avon), 21:01.8; 47. Marisa Del Valle (Amherst), 21:02.9; 52. Maggie Jantz (Avon Lake), 21:07.0; 89. Meadow Smith (Avon), 21:40.9; 102. Liz White (Avon), 21:57.7; 130. Aurora Wilson (Amherst), 22:30.7; 133. Chloe Harpsong (Avon), 22:38.; 134. Sarah Pomfrey (Avon), 22:39.7; 150. Jane Roach (Avon), 22:52.9; 159. Anna Argabright (Avon), 23:15.2 Division II Top 6 teams, top 24 individuals qualify to state meet, Nov. 7 TOP TEAMS: 1. Woodridge 99; 2. St. Vincent-St. Mary, 104; 3. Cloverleaf, 143; 4 Hathaway Brown, 146; 5. Revere, 159; 6. Hawken, 172; 7. Poland Seminary, 176; 8. Chagrin Falls, 179. Out of 20 teams WINNER: Elisa Gilson (Hawken), 19:11.4 LOCAL FINISHERS: 25. Madison Palmer (Brookside), 20:57.8; 75. Jessica Gower (Brookside), 22:38.5. Division III Top 4 teams, top 16 individuals qualify to state meet, Nov. 7 TOP TEAMS: 1. Gilmour Academy, 47; 2. Maplewood 83; 3. Mineral Ridge, 106; 4. Smithville, 172; 5. Dalton, 169; 6. Rootstown, 181; 7. McDonald, 188; 8. South Range, 193; 9. Mogadore, 212; 10. Waynesdale, 220; 11. Columbia, 259; 12. East Canton, 269; 13. East Palestine, 290; 14. Kirtland, 293 WINNER: Kaylee Richardson (Gilmour), 19:33.6 LOCAL STATE QUALIFIER: Madeleine Finton, Columbia 2056.8 OTHER LOCAL RUNNERS: 32. Riley Egli (Columbia), 22:37.3; 75. Una Launcher Baumann (Oberlin), 24:23.2; 78. Rachel Washburn (Columbia), 2428.5; 90. Logan Fess (Columbia), 2513.1; 95. Hannah Bodo (Columbia), 25:41.7; 107. Piper Webber (Columbia), 27:23.1