Regional cross country: Avon girls win first title since 1988; Keystone boys qualify to state meet for first time

BOARDMAN — It was a banner day for Lorain County athletes at the Northeast regional cross country tournament Saturday at Boardman High School. The Avon girls won its first regional title since 1988, as the No. 4 state-ranked Eagles outdistanced No. 6 Perrysburg, 69-99, in the Division I girls race for Avon's fourth consecutive state berth. The Keystone boys earned its first ever state berth, as the No. 16-ranked Wildcats finished with 124 points to place behind top-ranked Woodridge (31) and No. 14-ranked Chagrin Falls (115). The Black River boys also shined, as the Pirates finished fourth out of five team qualifiers in Division IV, to capture its fourth state berth in five years. Senior Kaitlyn Reese led the Avon girls, finishing second in a field of 135 runners with a time of 17:50.1. Only Strongsville senior Hannah Jicha was quicker, and just barely, with a time of 17:49.6 as Jicha barely held off a last surge by Reese. "Honestly, this feels surreal," said Reese. "To finishing out my senior year with all my teammates, winning regionals for the first time since 1988 is so very special. It's a full-circle moment. I'm just so happy that we could all be here together." Junior Ava Melott (14th, 19:35.03), freshman Madison Colaizzi (15th, 19:36.23), senior Olivia Pajak (16th, 19:36.57) and sophomore Molly Suter (22nd, 19:45.64) rounded out the Avon girls' top five. "I think we definitely spoke it into existence," said Melott. "We said that we were going to win by 30 points and that's exactly what we did. We've put in the work and we've been working together. It's all starting to pay off." Seniors Julianna Stein (26th, 19:51.57) and Jessica Pendleton (29th, 20:00.68) also finished in the top 30 overall for Avon. "Having the girls all run together and packing it up is a major thing for us," said Reese. "That's what makes the difference," said Melott. "Just all of being packed up all together and staying consistent. That's what really makes a difference in the end." Avon girls coach Justin Carroll was pleased with the major step. "The 1988 season, the last time we came back circled back for us because we hadn't won regionals since then," said Carroll. "We talked about that and the way they packed up, the way they stepped up was huge. I just emphasized to them to get out fast, get out strong and just trust their fitness in each other. I couldn't be more proud and joyful seeing them step up and rise. They ran very well, very exceptional." A year ago, the Keystone boys failed to advance from districts. Sophomore Jamie Yuronich led the Wildcats, finishing ninth out of 231 runners with a time of 16:20.45. "I'm just so happy that we could finally get it done," said Yuronich, a 2024 Division II regional qualifier. "We've been looking to this since July when summer training started. It's a great group of guys. I'm very glad that I could be part of them and be with them. "We had a few small hardships along the way, but now we're on to state. We were able to get it done today. We just got to remember we earned this. We didn't get here for nothing." Sophomore Sam McConoughey (18th, 16:43.34), senior Eli McConoughey (20th, 16:48.95), senior Craig Stroud (26th, 16:53.71) and sophomore Brooks Thompson (54th, 17:48.82) rounded out the Wildcats' top five. "The main goal was to get out hard that first 200, because it's a massive field," said Sam McConoughey. "We knew that we needed to get in the top pack, that top 20, that top 28, not only to get a medal but to also compete. We were really bummed last year when we couldn't get here. We were not going to throw away this opportunity. We came here with everything to gain and nothing to lose. We were on a mission." Saturday was the fourth Keystone boys team to advance to regionals under 13-year coach Tom Habenicht, who also has advanced three girls teams to regionals. "It's just awesome," he said. "I can't think of a better word. This is the first boys group in school history to make it to state. They've been working so hard all year. Boardman has always been a tough course for us, but these guys rose up above and beyond today. I'm just so grateful for that and so excited. "They got out, they knew where they needed to be at and they competed. Jamie always leading us, but Sam, Eli and Craig can always see him. Brooks, Roy (Herbold) and James (Van De Weerd) can always see them. The fact that they can always see each other for the whole race makes a positive difference. This same varsity group as last year. We had no seniors in 2024. Ever since last districts, they all wanted to come back and take another crack at it and they did." Just like with Keystone, the Black River boys didn't make it out of districts either in 2024, after three straight state appearances from 2021-23. Black River finished with 176 points to finish behind Maplewood (82), Rittman (100) and McDonald (126) to take fourth out of the five team qualifiers. Junior Connor Rhein led the Pirates, placing seventh out of 174 runners with a time of 16:48.88. "Last week at districts I had breathing issues because of a cold. This week I had a slight case of food poisoning on Wednesday and rolled my ankle at practice yesterday, but I knew that I had to do it for my team," said Rhein, a 2024 Division III state individual qualifier. "I just kind of gutted it out. For the past three years, I've always been able to find a second gear going into the woods (with a half mile to go). I think I passed two or three people. I knew we needed to get the points." Seniors Noah Orgel (16th, 17:17.49), Lucas Olive (54th, 18:28.71), Kyle Vonderau (71st, 18:47.11) and Kolby Manges (72nd, 18:47.70) rounded out the Pirates' top five. "I'm extremely proud of them," said Black River coach Steve Rhein, Connor's dad. "It was a goal of theirs since the end of last year to get back to state. Connor and Noah ran great races. To have both of them medal is extremely exciting. That was a PR run for Noah. He told me he felt great today before the race and it showed. The team just gets better and better each week and had a great week of practice. Connor had a great kick at the finish. He did a great job picking spots to make his moves to stay in the lead pack." The Avon boys earned their first trip to state since 2010, and for the second time overall, as the Eagles finished ninth out of 10 team qualifiers in the Division II boys race. Jose Alvelo (22nd, 16:35.5), Nick Thompson (66th, 17:16.2) and Matt Lochbiler (69th, 17:17.7) led Avon in a field of 344 runners. "I was hoping for a top 10 finish (individually)," said Alvelo. "My start was just not there. It was rough. Whoever says that this sport is not a contact sport has never seen these races." Last year's Lorain County Division I Runner of the Year, Thompson battled through ankle issues this season. "I'm happy just to be competing," said Thompson, a 2024 Division I state qualifier. "My training has been mostly on the bike except for the last 2-3 weeks." Individually, senior Chris Gorny of Lake Ridge and junior Trevor Taylor of Open Door earned return tickets to state in Division IV. Gorny was fourth in 16:19.56, while Taylor was ninth in 16:55.60. "This whole crowd went out like a rocket," said Gorny. "I actually got very scared. I had to make it up. I wanted to sit between the second- and third-place guys throughout the race. I maintained perfectly through the first mile. The second mile before those two took off like a rocket, that caused me to push a mile early. That hurt, but it was doable. Overall, I was very happy how I maintained myself." "Connor (Rhein) was my mark throughout the race," said Taylor. "I was with him the entire time. I was seeded No. 15 coming in. I wanted to get that top 10 place. That's what I did. Without God I would be nowhere." Lorain County's only other individual state qualifier was Avon Lake junior Cassidy Valerino, who placed 33rd out of 332 runners in the Division II girls race. Valerino is believed to be the Shoregals' first state qualifier since Katie Link in 2009. Contact Paul Heyse at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. NORTHEAST REGIONAL AT BOARDMAN BOYSDIVISION ITop 6 teams, top 12 individuals from non-qualifying teams advance to state1, Perrysburg, 57; 2. Mentor, 58; 3. Massillon Jackson, 147; 4. St. Ignatius, 170; 5. Stow, 172; 6. Medina, 190; 7. Brunswick, 203; 8. Findlay, 232; 9. Solon, 236; 10. Glen Oak, 242; 11. St. Edward, 249; 12. Wadsworth, 313; 13. Elyria, 339; 14. Berea-Midpark, 349; 15. Strongsville, 360; 16. Normandy, 466; 17. North Royalton, 483; 18. Canton McKinley, 543; 19. Whitmer, 554; 20. Lorain, 607 Winner: Maxwell Friedrich (St. Ignatius), 15:40.90 Top local finishers: 37. Kaleb Freeman (Elyria), 17:04.71; 67. Robert Krasienko (Elyria), 17:37.46; 80. Seth McFarland (Elyria), 17:59.10; 104. Micah Eskridge (Lorain), 18:50.54; 115. Tyler Freeman (Elyria), 19:18.94; 117. Jaaron Kidd (Lorain), 19:22.34. Out of 149 runners. DIVISION IITop 10 teams, top 20 individuals from non-qualifying teams advance to state 1, Kenston, 174; 2. CVCA, 193; 3. Boardman, 230; 4. Hudson, 244; 5. North Canton Hoover, 251; 6. CF Northwest, 280; 7. Revere, 280; 8. University School, 334; 9. Avon, 343; 10. Buckeye, 350; 11. Salem, 370; 12. Massillon Perry, 372; 13. Cloverleaf, 400; 14. West Geauga, 431; 15. Tallmadge, 446; 16. Lakewood, 458; 17. Nordonia, 479; 18. Medina Highland, 491; 19. Howland, 504; 20. Canfield, 504; 21 Austintown Fitch, 523; 22. Chardon, 539; 23. Aurora, 542; 24. Copley, 555; 25. North Olmsted, 568; 26. Brecksville, 591; 27. Uniontown Lake, 624; 28. Twinsburg, 653; 29. Rocky River, 658; 30. Shaker Heights, 663; 31. Walsh Jesuit, 667; 32. Hoban, 753; 33. Westlake, 788; 34. Louisville, 835; 35. Akron SVSM, 898; 36. Madison, 911; 37. Hawken, 959; 38. Wooster, 962; 39. Rhodes, 1,063Winner: Donevan Noah (Tallmadge), 15:51.0Top local runners: 22. Jose Alvelo (Avon), 16:35.5; 46. Niko Koutouras (Avon Lake), 16:59.7; 66. Nick Thompson (Avon), 17:16.2; 69. Matt Lochbiler (Avon), 17:17.7; 73. Asa Nicely (Amherst), 17:19.0; 79. Craig Harvey (North Ridgeville), 17:23.1; 82. Luke Gunter (Avon Lake), 17:23.5; 92. Alex Schulz (Avon Lake), 17:29.7; 99. Jared Keressi (Avon), 17:33.2; 116. Owens Burns (Avon), 17:40.2. Out of 344 runners. DIVISION IIITop 7 teams, top 14 individuals from non-qualifying teams advance to state 1, Woodridge, 31; 2. Chagrin Falls, 115; 3. Keystone, 124; 4. Waynedale, 142; 5. Ashtabula Edgewood, 245; 6. Holy Name, 248; 7. Orange, 286; 8. Berkshire, 303; 9. Norton, 306; 10. Jefferson Area, 312; 11. Orrville, 324; 12. Norwayne, 337; 13. Triway, 337; 14. Beachwood, 354; 15. Canton South, 398; 16. Fairview, 399; 17. Garrettsville Garfield, 425; 18. Gilmour Academy, 444; 19. NDCL, 447; 20. Southeast, 474; 21. Crestwood, 497; 22. Elyria Catholic, 514; 23. West Branch, 524; 24. Poland Seminary, 534; 25. Hubbard, 574; 26. Ak. Manchester, 713 Winner: Owen Lacy (Orrville), 15:46.01Top local runners: 9. Jamie Yuronich (Keystone), 16:20.45; 18. Sam McConoughey (Keystone), 16:43.34; 20. Eli McConoughey (Keystone), 16:48.95; 26. Craig Stroud (Keystone), 16:53.71; 49. Luke Jones (Elyria Catholic), 17:44.37; 54. Brooks Thompson (Keystone), 17:48.82; 59. Dane Vanderpool (Firelands), 17:55.83; 86. Carter Woods (Firelands), 18:18.20; 81. Ian Pallardy (Elyria Catholic), 18:18.71; 91. Roy Herbold (Keystone), 18:23.81; 97. Nicholas Sword (Wellington), 18:31.67. Out of 231 runners. DIVISION IVTop 5 teams, top 10 individuals from non-qualifying teams advance to state1, Maplewood, 82; 2. Rittman, 100; 3. McDonald, 126; 4. Black River, 176; 5. Dalton, 185; 6. Lake Ridge Academy, 210; 7. Rootstown, 233; 8. Independence, 238; 9. Mapleton, 252; 10. Lowellville, 278; 11. Jackson Milton, 323; 13. Lake Center Christian, 328; 14. Ashtabula St. John, 383; 15. Badger, 394; 16. Mineral Ridge, 396; 17. Grand Valley, 401; 18. Richmond Heights, 410; 19. Columbiana, 436; 20. Kirtland, 464; 21. Andrews Osborne, 512 Winner: Luke Snyder (Rittman), 15:55.02 Individual state qualifiers: 4. Christian Gorny (Lake Ridge), 16:19.56; 9. Trevor Taylor (Open Door), 16:55.60Other top local runners: 7. Connor Rhein (Black River), 16:48.88; 16. Noah Orgel (Black River), 17:17.49; 26. Lars Wehrli (Lake Ridge), 17:48.48; 54. Lucas Olive (Black River), 18:28.71; 55. Brandon Bertoni (Oberlin), 18:28.71; 63. Tripp Taylor (Open Door), 18:39.03; 70. Zohair Khan (Lake Ridge), 18:45.10; 71. Kyle Vonderau (Black River), 18:47.11; 72. Kolby Manges (Black River), 18:47.70; 90. Peter Caldwell-Kepner (Oberlin), 19:03.56; 96. Logan Rhein (Black River), 19:11.62. Out of 174 runners.GIRLSDIVISION ITop 6 teams, top 12 individuals from non-qualifying teams advance to state1, Avon, 69; 2. Perrysburg, 99; 3. Massillon Jackson, 126; 4. Medina, 129; 5. Glen Oak, 135; 6. Stow, 173; 7. Solon, 195; 8. North Canton Hoover, 242; 9. Strongsville, 244; 10. Shaker Heights, 255; 11. Cleveland Heights, 304; 12. Findlay, 318; 13. Whitmer, 324; 14. Mentor, 387; 15. Berea-Midpark, 491; 16. Brunswick, 440; 17. Elyria, 491; 18. Normandy, 538; 19. Lorain, 588Winner: Hannah Jicha (Strongsville), 17:49.52Top local runners: 2. Kaitlyn Reese (Avon), 17:50.02; 14. Ava Melott (Avon), 19:35.03; 15. Madison Colaizzi (Avon), 19:36.23; 16. Olivia Pajak (Avon), 19:36.57; 22. Molly Suter (Avon), 19:45.64; 26. Julianna Stein (Avon), 19:51.57; 29. Jessica Pendleton (Avon), 20:00.68; 70. Tori Bell (Elyria), 21:40.36; 74. Sophie Fada (Elyria), 21:50.15; 113. Fasola Folakemi (Lorain), 24:24.99. Out of 135 runners DIVISION IITop 10 teams, top 20 individuals from non-qualifying teams advance to state 1, Hathaway Brown, 126; 2. Wadsworth, 142; 3. Aurora, 172; 4. Tallmadge, 187; 5. Hudson, 206; 6. Boardman, 223; 7. Rocky River, 296; 8. Medina Highland, 297; 9. Chardon, 309; 10. CVCA, 337; 11. Bay, 341; 12. Amherst, 376; 13. St. Joseph Academy, 391; 14. Revere, 413; 15. Westlake, 423; 16. Brecksville, 467; 17. Magnificat, 497; 18. Walsh Jesuit, 536; 19. Olmsted Falls, 546; 20. Green, 557; 21. Canfield, 592; 22. Austintown Fitch, 594; 23. Copley, 616; 24. Painesville Riverside, 636; 25. Louisville, 638; 26. Nordonia, 643; 27. North Royalton, 659; 28. Uniontown Lake, 682; 29. Twinsburg, 745; 30. Mayfield, 750; 31. NDCL, 784; 32. Wooster, 808; 33. Brush, 869; 34. Kenston, 964; 35. Massillon Perry, 976; 36. Firestone, 998; 37. Howland, 1,001; 38. Geneva, 1,049; 39. Madison, 1,053Winner: Anna Prusak (Hathaway Brown), 18:03.38Individual state qualifier: 33. Cassidy Valerino (Avon Lake), 19:37.67Other top local runners: 49. Lila Woskobunik (Amherst), 20:03.53; 60. Sam Falbo (Amherst), 20:18.05; 62. Kelsey Sheehan (Avon Lake), 20:18.05; 86. Lola Schaaf (Amherst), 20:42.11; 96. Nyah Jesko (Amherst), 20:53.08; 114. Molly Ockuly (Midview), 21:12.85; 127. Aubrey Brenot (Amherst), 21:29.39. Out of 332 runners. DIVISION IIITop 6 teams, top 12 individuals from non-qualifying teams advance to state1, Woodridge, 98; 2. Salem, 123; 3. Marlington, 148; 4. Akron SVSM, 152; 5. Norwayne, 197; 6. Chagrin Falls, 202; 7. Southeast, 273; 8. CF Northwest, 287; 9. Beaumont, 298; 10. Holy Name, 298; 11. Field, 303; 12. Garrettsville Garfield, 312; 13. Lakeview, 319; 14. Poland Seminary, 334; 15. Orange, 341; 16. Crestwood, 343; 17. Perry, 429; 18. Firelands, 442; 19. Fairview, 461; 20. Girard, 477; 21. Tuslaw, 495; 22. Berkshire, 529; 23. Laurel, 557; 24. Orrville, 711 Winner: Irelyn Johnson (Marlington), 18:29.09Top local runners: 37. Amme Wilson (Keystone), 20:53.03; 44. Dilynn Copley (Firelands), 21:09.17; 77. Natalie Smith (Firelands), 22:05.31; 96. Alena Bray (Elyria Catholic), 22:37.37; 130. Scarlett Vaughn (Firelands), 23:26.28; 140. Diem Vanderpool (Firelands), 23:44.96. Out of 212 runners. DIVISION IVTop 5 teams, top 10 individuals from non-qualifying teams advance to state1, Rittman, 81; 2. Maplewood, 139; 3. Kirtland, 148; 4. Ashtabula St. John, 172; 5. McDonald, 178; 6. Smithville, 273; 7. Dalton, 299; 8. Rootstown, 327; 9. Waynedale, 400; 10. Colunbiana, 410; 11. South Range, 429; 12. East Canton, 448; 13. Oberlin, 455; 14. Mineral Ridge, 489; 15. Lake Center Christian, 489; 16. N. Mid. Springfield, 495; 17. Badger, 495; 18. Grand Valley, 661Winner: Kaitlyn Carr (Smithville), 17:44.84Top local runners: 39. Lauren Vannatter (Wellington), 21:22.52; 59. Claire Hepner (Open Door), 22:08.54; 63. Aubrey Abeyta (Oberlin), 22:28.01; 76. Courage Bielawski (Oberlin), 23:00.71; 78. Olivia Hudson (Oberlin), 23:00.98; 80. Jade Mitchell (Black River), 23:02.02; 88. Emma Calkins (Lake Ridge), 23:20.31; 103. Rose Marie Boyer (Oberlin), 24:04.91. Out of 159 runners.