Highland girls capture district cross country title

ELYRIA — In a bit of a stunner Saturday, the Highland girls cross country team won the Lorain Division II District. Ranked only 24th in the state coaches poll, Highland finished with 128 points to beat No. 17 CVCA (136), No. 8 Rocky River (137) and No. 25 St. Joseph Academy (160) at Lorain County Community College. The top 13 teams and 26 individuals from non-qualifying teams advanced to Saturday's Boardman Regional. The Hornets reached regionals for the first time since 2020. Their previous recent best was second at the 2017 Medina D-I District, losing to Medina on a 26-45 tiebreaker after the teams tied with 71 points. Junior Katie Schuler led Highland, as she finished second out of 144 runners with a time of 19:43.11. Only Copley freshman Kaylee Ingratta (19:25.11) was quicker. "I was seeded second, which I got so I'm happy about that," Schuler said. "It wasn't one of my better times. It is a tricky course. I've raced here twice before. This was my third time." The weather changed significantly after the D-IV races went off at 10 a.m. Temperatures went from the high 50s to 81 degrees by the time the D-II races went off at 1:30 and 2:15 p.m., respectively, and there was a fairly strong southerly breeze throughout. "I definitely felt the wind," Schuler said. "We didn't need a perfect race. We just needed to move on. I'm satisfied. "I don't think I could have gotten first place. I'm definitely happy with that. To be ready for next week, it will be important to get out fast so I don't get stuck in any corners. Boardman has a bunch of sharp turns. My freshman year there, I got stuck in the beginning and I never recovered." Freshman Olivia Keough (5th, 19:56.85), junior Celia Pylypiak (13th, 20:46.86), freshman Mary Cullen (37th, 22:01.40) and sophomore Madison Mayer (71st, 23:06.45) rounded out the Hornets' top five. "It's a very different course that we're use to racing on," Keough said. "It's very flat except for the one hill (Mount Washka). It's probably double the climb that we've done. That was definitely something to adjust to. I was seeded to get No. 8 and I was fifth, so I'm definitely very happy about that. I was in third place for most of the race. Two girls passed me which was a little disappointing, but at regionals my goal is to try and stay right with those two girls. "It was definitely hard not knowing exactly where the finish was. We didn't review where it was, so it was hard to know where to begin my kick. Everyone's just yelling different numbers. You're hearing 800 meters, then you hear 400 meters left. It took some adjusting, but I'm proud of what I did." Highland's performance was a dramatic uptick from the last few seasons. The Hornets finished 13th in 2024, 10th in 2023 and 11th in 2022, all in D-I. After three straight district titles from 2021-23, it stung a bit for the Black River boys not to advance in 2024. The Pirates atoned for that Saturday with a runner-up finish behind defending champion Rittman. A two-time state qualifier, junior Connor Rhein led Black River with a fifth-place 17:38.79 in a field of 92. "I'll call it a good race," Rhein said. "I'm just coming off a sickness, so I'm not 100%. I just couldn't breathe out there. I got sick the day after conference (Oct. 12). I'm hoping to feel much better by (Sunday) or (today). I'll be cutting back mileage this coming week. That should help, too. I've had no energy at practice this week." Noah Orgel (9th, 17:52.30), Kyle Vonderau (22nd, 18:42.52), Ray Brakefield (24th, 18:43.09) and Kolby Manges (27th, 18:45.80) rounded out the Black River top five. "The ultimate goal was to move on, which is what we did not get to do last year," coach Steve Rhein said. "Second was to take home a trophy because we've been taking home a lot of trophies this year. We've been in the top five at every invitational this year except the first one. These boys are ready to go. The ultimate goal is go back to Columbus. I'm very excited to take home this district runner-up." Buckeye (162), Cloverleaf (167) and Highland (216) finished fourth, fifth and eighth, respectively, out of 12 D-II qualifiers. No. 13-ranked Revere edged No. 4 CVCA 112-113, while unranked Avon (136) rounded out the top three. The Bucks advanced for the first time since 2015, while the Colts and Hornets repeated their regional-qualifying efforts. Junior Dimitry Pshonyak led Buckeye, as he finished ninth out of 141 runners with a 17:08.46. "All of us had a goal to move up as much as could," he said. "Even though we knew that we were going to go to regionals, we wanted to finish up as high as possible to help increase our chances of qualifying to state next weekend. That was our thinking going into this race. We knew that it was important to stick with the pack even on the hill and to not fall back." Brady Salazar, (16th, 17:44.24), Joseph Stahl (17th, 17:45.96), Nolan Rieth (42nd, 18:22.80) and Gavin Waibel (78th, 19:01.48) rounded out the Buckeye top five. "I knew that Dimitry was going to be close to the front and knew that Brady and Joe were going to be in the top 20," coach Renee Harden said. "Nolan (Rieth), my No. 4 runner was crushing it. Gavin (Waibel), my No. 5, was actually pushing into Nolan. At first, I thought that we were going to finish third, but we ended fourth. Anyway, it's very cool. I told them were ranked No. 5 (in the district) going into districts. I told them if we can finish top five or better, it gives us a better shot at regionals. The points were so close between fifth and eighth. I told them that we really can't be eighth and have a shot next week." Seniors Gavin Forbes (4th, 16:57.09) and Caleb Neville (5th, 17.04.94) led the Colts. Both are returning state qualifiers. "Beautiful course. Super flat. Everybody knows about the hill," Forbes said. "It was a fight, but it seems to get easier and easier every year. The heat is always a contender. For those straightaways, it's important to try and get behind a group, just pack up and make them break the wind for you. It's a great time of season. Everyone is fighting for another week. The plan was to stick with that top group and to finish as hard as you can and to try to score and get the lowest points possible to try and get the team out." A returning D-II All-Ohioan, Neville is on the rebound from hip surgery in May. The right torn labrum forced him to miss all of track season and part of the cross country season. Neville also had three right hip impingements in the right hip and some bone removal. "I missed basically all of track, all the summer and half the season of cross country," he said. "I'm lucky that I have such a good group of guys around me. Nothing can motivate you more than that. "Physical therapy got me back in shape. They told me that it would be four months. I was a little over zealous coming back. I came back for the Wooster Invite (Sept. 19), which was two weeks before I was supposed to. I really wanted to get back into it. You realize how much you miss when you've been gone for so long. Luckily, we're surrounded by such great competition this year. Division change is something definitely to get used to." Sophomore Andrew Welch (24th, 17:57.05) and freshman Logan Conrad (31st, 18:06.93) led the Highland boys. Contact Paul Heyse at sports@medina-gazette.com. Results BOYS BOYSDIVISION IIStandings (top 12 advance to Boardman Regional): 1. Revere 112. 2. CVCA 113. 3. Avon 136. 4. Buckeye 162. 5. Cloverleaf 167. 6. Lakewood 172. 7. Rocky River 195. 8. Highland 216. 9. North Olmsted 221. 10. Westlake 242. 11. Brecksville 268. 12. Copley 277. 13. Avon Lake 282. 14. Amherst 327. 15. Bay 334. 16. Olmsted Falls 341. 17. North Ridgeville 412. 18. Streetsboro 453. 19. Midview 570. Buckeye (162): 9. Dimitry Pshonyak 17:08.46. 16. Brady Salazar 17:44.24. 17. Joseph Stahl 17:45.96. 42. Nolan Rieth 18:22.80. 78. Gavin Waibel 19:01.48. 121. Nick Rieth 20:27.77. 127. Paul Abbott 20:50.42. Cloverleaf (167): 4. Gavin Forbes 16:57.09. 5. Caleb Neville 17:04.94. 20. Clay Gucker 17:52.96. 52. Noah Mion 18:30.28. 84. Matthew Jenkins 19:09.64. 89. Gavin Ferrone 19:13.58. 92. Mason Clapp 19:17.96. Highland (216): 24. Andrew Welch 17:57.05. 31. Logan Conrad 18:06.93. 32. Colton Klein 18:07.81. 44. Nate Boyce 18:23.39. 85. John Hildebrand 19:10.77. 94. Chase Oberhaus 19:25.09. 104. Jacob Oblander 19:37.00.DIVISION IVStandings (top 6 advance to Boardman Regional): 1. Rittman 63. 2. Black River 84. 3. Lake Ridge Academy 124. 4. Dalton 128. 5. Mapleton 141. 6. Independence 146. 7. Oberlin 150. 8. Smithville 168. 9. Kidron Central Christian 178. 10. Open Door Christian 191. 11. Cuyahoga Heights 324. Black River (84): 5. Connor Rhein 17:38.79. 9. Noah Orgel 17:52.30. 22. Kyle Vonderau 18:42.52. 24. Ray Brakefield 18:43.09. 27. Kolby Manges 18:45.80. 30. Lucas Olive 19:01.75. 43. Logan Rhein 19:37.52. GIRLSDIVISION IIStandings: (top 13 advance to Boardman Regional): 1. Highland 128. 2. CVCA 136. 3. Rocky River 137. 4. St. Joseph Academy 160. 5. Amherst 167. 6. Westlake 169. 7. Bay 176. 8. Brecksville 178. 9. Revere 189. 10. Olmsted Falls 206. 11. North Royalton 301. 12. Magnificat 313. 13. Copley 319. 14. Buckeye 386. 15. Avon Lake 395. 16. Cloverleaf 409. 17. Lakewood 417. 18. Streetsboro 427. 19. Midview 462. 20. Padua Franciscan 472. Highland (128): 2. Katie Schuler 19:43.61. 5. Olivia Keough 19:56.85. 13. Celia Pylypiak 20:46.86. 37. Mary Cullen 22:01.40. 71. Madison Mayer 23:06.45. 97. Jillian Pesek 24:12.52. 122. Julia Madison 25:51.24. Buckeye (386): 39. Hailey Kreeger 22:03.83, 58. Sophia Regiec 22:34.83. 80. Lily Regiec 23:26.39, 94. Shelby Skilskyj 23:54.80, 116, Kate Shearer 25:11.53, 131. Lila Hoover 26:49.34, 138. Aria Knight 28:16.54. Cloverleaf (409): 45. Leah Monhemius 22:08.38, 83. Samantha Porter 23:31.20. 88. Elise Mion 23:40.08. 91. Gwyneth Staiger 23:50.79, 102. Addison Fallow 24:24.78, 126. Carrigan Baltic 26:14.66, 129. Addison Reho 26:42.50. DIVISION IVStandings (top 5 teams advance to Boardman Regional): 1. Rittman 36. 2. Dalton 106. 3. Smithville 108. 4. Waynedale 125. 5. Oberlin 138. 6. Black River 152. 7. Independence 194. 8. Open Door Christian 195. 9. Loudonville 207. 10. Mapleton 247. 11. Wellington 247. 12. Lake Ridge Academy 247. 13. Kidron Central Christian 253. Black River (152): 19. Jade Mitchell 22:17.48, 33. Ella McCann 23:53.30, 34. Scarlett Olive 23:59.17, 35. Hailey Lambdin 23:59.63, 41. Ruby Johnston 24:19.88, 74. Ava Workinger 29:56.29, 81. Grace Bowen 33:42.32.