Cross Country: Black River boys come up short at home invitational

SULLIVAN TWP. — There were some very tough battles for the top spot Saturday at the 30th annual J.B. Firestone Invitational at Black River High School. The host Black River boys came up just a little bit short but still have plenty to feel good about. Lake Ridge Academy senior Christian Gorny became the first Royal runner to win the meet, as he was timed at 16:12.76 to beat Pirates junior Connor Rhein (16:36.24) in a field of 85 runners. Elyria took the team title for the first time since 2013 by edging Black River 50-55 in a field of eight. The Pirates were third last season after winning three straight between 2021-23. Gorny and Rhein battled tough up to about the halfway point before Gorny pulled away. It was course PR for both runners, as well as for Open Door junior Trevor Taylor, who placed fifth (17:21.42). Gorny (17:01.10), Rhein (17:21.0) and Taylor (18:01.91) were second, fifth and eighth, respectively, at the 2024 Firestone. All three were Division III state qualifiers. "I would grade it a C-level performance," Rhein said. "It's below what my expectations were. I know I'm a lot more fit than that based off of my workouts. I know this course. It's not hard. Just coming after the two-mile, my legs were just dead. It's a hilly course. I didn't have the strength to stay with (Gorny). I felt like I was sprinting. It's not a fast course, but it's not complicated. You want to beat these kids. Every workout I do I'm getting fitter. I had to take a short break for two days after the Painesville HOKA meet on Aug. 23, where I fell hard on my right knee." "It feels amazing," said Gorny, who chalked up his second career win. "Walking into it I knew it was going to be us three in the front and I knew we were going to have a little bit of a gap. I know the way Connor runs. He goes out very fast. The second and third miles aren't exactly his strong suit. That happened last year. "You only have one race. He was starting to struggle a little bit, and I wasn't going to make the same mistake that I made earlier in the season at the Avon Lake Earlybird. The second I made my move I was confident with my decision. I knew no matter what I could not let him get back out in front. I knew the second I overtook him I knew now it's mental. "I ran terrified the last stretch. I thought he was right on my tail. When I stopped hearing anyone cheer for him coming into this last stretch, I knew I was good." Black River seniors Noah Orgel (8th, 17:46.44) and Kyle Vonderau (10th, 18:04.36) also finished in the top 10. Freshman Ray Brakefield (18th, 18:56.32) and senior Kolby Manges (19th, 18:57.34) rounded out the top five. "It seemed like they ran tactical," said Black River coach Steve Rhein, Connor's father. "That was probably 40 seconds faster than Connor has ever run on this course. It was a very good race by all three (Rhein, Gorny and Taylor) of them. That was fast. To go 16:30 is fast here. The entire team ran very well. We were sitting very far back before Noah and Kyle came up and both finished in the top 10. That was very good racing for them to come back on our course and attack those hills. "When we were in the (starting) box. That's what I told them. This is our halfway point (in the season). We're three weeks from conference, four weeks from districts. I said now this is the time we have to work starting with this course. That's why we took the bye week last weekend to kind of split the season into two. Here's our build and now we have to start maintaining and do what we need to do back where we want to be at state. The boys see that we're in the top 25 in the state and we want to keep improving. They are goal-oriented. They are really together." Sophomore Jade Mitchell (12th, 22:44.33) and freshman Scarlett Olive (15th, 23:10.95) led the Black River girls to fifth. Contact Paul Heyse at sports@medina-gazette.com. Results BOYS Standings: 1. Elyria 50, 2. Black River 55, 3. Lake Ridge Academy 84, 4. Firelands 98, 5. Open Door Christian 106, 6. Wellington 151, 7. Brookside 171, 8. Benedictine 204. Black River (55) — 2. Connor Rhein 16:36.24, 8. Noah Orgel 17:46.44, 10. Kyle Vonderau 18:04.36, 18. Ray Brakefield 18:56.32, 19. Kolby Manges 18:57.34, 20. Lucas Olive 19:00.43, 21. Archer Combs 19:05.23. Girls Standings: 1. St. Joseph Academy 54, 2. Elyria 64, 3. Open Door Christian 89, 4. Firelands 92, 5. Black River 122, Wellington 126, 7. Lake Ridge Academy. 127. Black River (122) — 12. Jade Mitchell 22:44.33, 15. Scarlett Olive 23:10.95, 33. Ruby Johnston 24:41.87, 39. Ella McCann 25:22.58, 72. Ava Workinger 29:50.23.