H.S. Cross Country: Avon girls, Amherst boys prevail at SWC meet

ELYRIA — Things were a bit crazy at times, but the Avon girls and Amherst boys persevered and took home titles Saturday at the 56th annual boys and 45th annual girls Southwestern Conference Cross Country meet. The Avon girls, ranked fifth in the state, won their third SWC title in four years, outdistancing Amherst 40-51. It was the Eagles' fifth invite win of the season. The Amherst boys won their second SWC title in three years, as their depth helped them hold off Midview 52-72. It wasn't an easy task for the Eagles. The Avon girls had six of their top eight runners battling cold and flu symptoms all week. Junior Maddie Harrington, a 2021 Division I state qualifier and the team's No. 2 runner, was held out of the lineup by coach Justin Carroll as her symptoms were especially rough the last couple of days. Freshman Kaitlyn Reese led the Avon girls, finishing second overall in 19:51.23 to four-time winner Katie Clute of Olmsted Falls. Clute won in a conference-record 18:16.80, breaking the mark of 18:28.5 set in 1983 by Olmsted Falls' Michelle Kalikin. Clute is the first SWC athlete to win four cross country titles. "It was good," said Reese, the 2021 Division III state middle school cross country champ competing for Open Door. "A lot of us were still dealing with sickness. I had to stay home from school on Wednesday. We had (Friday) off from school, too. That helped our recovery. "I think we're super ready (for districts next week). We've prepared ourselves since June 13. We're trying to make history here. We're very excited. Everybody is all in. We're going to have a great postseason." The Avon girls last qualified to state in 1988, when they finished fourth in Division III. Last year they missed advancing to state by just six points. "I knew Harrington's status coming into today was at best 50-50," said Carroll. "Others stepped up. Anna (Argabright), Sarah Pomfrey and Savannah (Reed) all ran great. We preach about adversity. I've told them every week since June we want the most difficult path. "Today is postseason stop No. 1. We can't settle, even if we're not feeling our best. Amherst got out there. They wanted it. If we want to beat teams like Westlake, we have to rise up. We're not in a boot or on crutches. It's temporary adversity." Typically Avon's No. 5 or 6 runner, Argabright came through in a huge way as the Eagles' No. 2, finishing fifth in 20:18.49. Argabright was 24th last year in 22:57.65. "I was on top of it today," she said. "It came as a bit of a surprise. I didn't expect to do so well. A lot of us weren't feeling the best, but we pushed through it. It didn't affect me as much. Today was a good first step toward our postseason push." Sophomore Anika Singh (ninth, 20:34.68), freshman Maddie Gettings (11th, 20:55.99) and junior Pomfrey (13th, 21:09.68) rounded out Avon's top five. Amherst junior Ty Perez became only the 12th SWC boy to win two conference titles since 1966. Perez clocked 16:32.37, holding off classmate Luke Bowlsby (16:50.50), the 2021 SWC winner. Perez won the 2020 title as freshman in 16:21.9. "It was a good race. I'm so proud of my teammates," said Perez. "They worked so hard all year. I'm so proud of this team." The team win offered sweet vindication for the Amherst boys. The Comets came up just short in their title defense last year when they lost on a No. 6 runner tiebreaker to Avon Lake. "Not being able to win it last year made me more hungry for this year," said Perez, who was second to Bowlsby last year. "My legs were feeling very tired in this one, but I knew the hill would hit the top contenders pretty hard. The goal here was to come in and win for myself and win for the team. We accomplished both those goals. It's awesome." Bowlsby overcame midseason foot problems to take second. Perez and Bowlsby were Division I state qualifiers as freshmen. "This was my first good race of the year," said Bowlsby. "It just felt very good to come back. I've had foot problems all year. I think I've tried four different pairs of spikes. I think I finally found ones that worked." Junior Henry Isaacs (14th, 18:03.68), sophomore Ben Susi (17th, 18:13.81) and freshman Asa Nicely (18th, 18:16.87) rounded out Amherst's top five. "Throughout the season our pack has evolved," Amherst boys coach Rob Glatz said. "At the beginning of the season our pack was spread out. I couldn't be more proud of this team effort." Contact Paul Heyse at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Boys1. Amherst, 52; 2. Midview, 72; 3. Avon, 73; 4. Avon Lake, 74; 5. Berea-Midpark, 136; 6. Elyria, 143; 7. North Ridgeville, 147; 8. Olmsted Falls, 209 Individual results 1. Ty Perez (Amherst), 16:32.37; 2. Luke Bowlsby (Amherst), 16:50.50; 3. Liam Noss (Avon Lake), 17:03.89; 4. Jared Robinson (Midview), 17:14.35; 5. Lucas Edgell (Midview), 17:21.85; 6. Bradan Schnabel (Avon Lake), 17:27.34; 7. Zachary Janus (Midview), 17:33.90; 8. Franco Gallo (Avon), 17:35.79; 9. Samuel Weiler (Avon), 17:42.74; 10. Colin Plunkett (Avon Lake), 17:43.74; 11. Dylan Doran (Berea-Midpark), 17:46.02; 12. Gustavo Imbacuan (North Ridgeville), 17:49.74; 13. Dylan Robinson (Midview), 17:56.58; 14. Henry Isaacs (Amherst), 18:03.68; 15. Sam Arnold (Avon), 18:08.35; 16. Chase Jackson (Elyria), 18:12.94; 17. Ben Susi (Amherst), 18:31.81; 18. Asa Nicely (Amherst), 18:16.87; 19. Josh Pomfrey (Avon), 18:20.48; 20. Michael Taylor (Elyria), 18:24.33; 21. Jacob Michalak (Amherst), 18:26.37; 22. Logan Bittle (Avon), 18:27.29; 23. Jackson Gift (North Ridgeville), 18:27.48; 24. Matthew Walker (Amherst), 18:38.09; 25. Owen Sears (Avon Lake), 18:42.82 Girls1. Avon, 40; 2. Amherst, 51; 3. Olmsted Falls, 71; 4. Berea-Midpark, 82; 5. Avon Lake, 106; 6. North Ridgeville, 171; 7. Midview, 203; 8. Elyria, inc. Individual results 1. Katie Clute (Olmsted Falls), 18:16.80; 2. Kaitlyn Reese (Avon), 19:51.23; 3. Brooke Bechtel (Berea-Midpark), 20:02.79; 4. Aurora Wilson (Amherst), 20:13.73; 5. Anna Argabright (Avon), 20:18.49; 6. Katherine Low (Amherst), 20:20.15; 7. Samantha Goodnough (Olmsted Falls), 20:21.51; 8. Kylie Bennington (Avon Lake), 20:25.34; 9. Anika Singh (Avon), 20:34.68; 10. Catherine Turner (Amherst), 20:51.52; 11. Maddie Gettings (Avon), 20:55.99; 12. Maddie Betz (Avon Lake), 21:06.71; 13. Sarah Pomfrey (Avon), 21:09.68; 14. Sophia Pecora (Amherst), 21:14.36; 15. Savannah Reed (Avon), 21:28.67; 16. Aida Gesink (Berea-Midpark), 21:36.67; 17. Winter Carrell (Amherst), 21:45.81; 18. Rachel Dunlap (Olmsted Falls), 21:48.23; 19. Bailey Bechtel (Berea-Midpark), 21:57.21; 20. Aubrey Prada (Olmsted Falls), 22:06.76; 21. Alexis Verdell (Berea-Midpark), 22:11.22; 22. Ruby Mitchell (North Ridgeville), 22:20.31; 23. Eloise Gravel (Berea-Midpark), 22:21.79; 24. Carolina Reed (Avon), 22:26.64; 25. Kendall McCray (Olmsted Falls), 22:30.29.