Regional cross country: Six county teams advance to state meet

BOARDMAN — Medina County cross country teams chalked up more strong performances Saturday at the Boardman Regional. The Wadsworth girls led with a second-place finish in Division II behind defending state runner-up Hathaway Brown, 126-142. Hathaway Brown is ranked No. 1 in the state coaches poll, while the Grizzlies are No. 4. The No. 24-ranked Highland girls also advanced, as they finished eighth out of 10 D-II team qualifiers with 297 points. Medina advanced both teams in D-I. The girls were fourth out of six qualifiers with 129 points, behind Avon (69), Perrysburg (99) and Massillon Jackson (126), while the boys edged Brunswick 190-203 for the sixth and final qualifying spot. The Black River boys earned their fourth state berth in five years by finishing fourth out of five D-IV qualifiers with 176 points. Maplewood (82), Rittman (100) and McDonald (126) took the top three. The Buckeye boys also snuck through in D-II, capturing the 10th and final qualifying berth with 350 points to reach state for the first time in school history. Maggie Gerschutz led the Wadsworth girls, as she finished third out of 332 runners with a time of 18:35.4. Ella Dolgowicz (11th, 19:09.50), Kyleigh Friedl (24th, 19:24.5), Natalie Buzard (31st, 19:33.4) and Cami Ross (76th, 20:34.5) rounded out the Grizzlies' top five. "Everybody that last half-mile is going to be pushing just as hard," Gerschutz said. "You just have to go out there and take care of business. "We've been here each of the last two years. We like this course. Just watching the other runners finish the course was very crowded. I know from prior experience you want to get out strong at the start so you don't have to use energy fighting through the clumps (race traffic). I feel like we gave it our all. As long as we did that we can't be upset." Katie Schuler led Highland, as she finished eighth with a 18:57.0. Olivia Keough (15th, 19:12.7), Celia Pylpiak (55th, 20:14.0), Mary Cullen (95th, 20:532.7) and Madison Mayer (143rd, 21:39.5) followed. "The temperature was perfect," Schuler said. "I had a good feeling that I was going to make it as an individual. I know that we were one of the teams coming in that were going to be one of the teams right on the edge of making it. As long as everyone gives it 100%, I'm sure that'll carry us. I'm very happy with my place and time." Alexis Warnement (5th, 18:53.8) led the Medina qualifying efforts. Addison Joffre (17th, 19:37.8), Alanya Yanmaz (27th, 19:58.1), Julia Black (38th), 20:21.2) and Julia Dietrich (42nd, 20:27.9) capped the scoring. Riley Dworznik (28th, 16:52.1) and Joey D'Aurelio (30th, 16:57.1) led the Medina boys. Peyton Davis (35th, 17:02.2), Logan Butsko (47th, 17:14.0) and Nate Fischer (50th, 17:16.0) rounded out the top five. "I think they competed very well," Medina boys coach Gus Dudek said. "They put themselves in a position to advance and they follow through to the finish line. That's all we can ask of them. "(The divisional split) definitely makes it easier for the runners to move on the course throughout the race. It's normally a lot more crowded, a lot more packed but everybody deals with the same conditions. One or another, I don't know if it's more of a benefit just to us or the whole field." Junior Connor Rhein led Black River, as he placed seventh out of 174 runners in D-IV with a 16:48.88. "Last week at districts, I had breathing issues because of cold. This week I had a slight case of food poisoning on Wednesday and rolled my ankle at practice (Friday), but I knew that I had to do for my team," said Rhein, a 2024 D-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," coach Steve Rhein said. "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." Brady Salazar (36th, 16:47.4) and Dimitry Pshonyak (37th, 16:47.9) led the Buckeye effort. Joseph Stahl (56th, 17:06.2), Gavin Waibel (123rd, 17:42.0) and Nolan Rieth (126th, 17:43.0) rounded out the top five. Cloverleaf senior Caleb Neville (11th, 16:20.8) in D-II earned a third straight trip to state as an individual despite missing all of track season and the first few meets of cross country because of hip surgery in May for a torn labrum and other related issues. "My finish was definitely better than it was earlier in the season," he said. "It's all for the team, though. That's all that really matters. It's all about placing well." Brunswick's Tommy Strippy (21st, 16:41.7) and Wadsworth's Ty Racin (32nd, 17:01.2) and Landon Lanham (33rd, 17:01.8) earned individual D-I berths. Brunswick's Nolan Reese (35th, 20:12.9) was an individual qualifier in the D-I girls. Contact Paul Heyse at sports@medina-gazette.com. Results BOYSDivisionStandings (top 6 advance to state meet): 1. 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. GlenOak 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. Medina (190) — 28. Riley Dworznik 16:52.1, 30. Joey D'Aurelio 16:57.1, 35. Peyton Davis 17:02.2, 47. Logan Butsko 17:14.0, 50. Nate Fischer 17:16.0, 68. Trent Schirmer 17:39.0, 72. Liam Meade 17:44.0. Brunswick (203) — 21. Tommy Strippy 16:41.7, 41. Corbin Klein 17:05.1, 42. Emmett Keller 17:07.2, 60. Ryan Hershbine 17:23.9, 62. Lleyton Klein 17:24.3, 82. Christian Brooks 17:59.7. Wadsworth (313) — 32. Ty Racin 17:01.2, 33. Landon Lanham 17:01.8, 78. Robert Beatty 17:54.7, 84. Eli Loveless 18:00.7, 89. Carter Myers 18:27.9, 103. Jacob Mount 18:49.6. DIVISION IIStandings (top 10 advance to state meet): 1. Kenston 174, 2. CVCA 193, 3. Boardman 230, 4. Hudson 244, 5. Hoover 251, 6. 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. 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. Archbishop Hoban 753, 33. Westlake 788, 34. Louisville 835, 35. St. Vincent-St. Mary 898, 36. Madison 911, 37. Hawken 959, 38. Wooster 962, 39. Rhodes 1,063. Buckeye (350) — 36. Brady Salazar 16:47.4, 37. Dimitry Pshonyak 16:47.9, 56. Joseph Stahl 17:06.2, 123. Gavin Waibel 17:42.0, 126. Nolan Rieth 17:43.0, 247. Nick Rieth 18:42.4, 259. Paul Abbott 18:51.1. Cloverleaf (400) — 11. Caleb Neville 16:20.8, 40. Gavin Forbes 16:53.8, 114. Noah Mion 17:38.9, 130. Clay Gucker 17:43.8, 143. Mason Clapp 17:48.27, 203. Gavin Ferrone 18:18.0, 233. Matthew Jenkins 18:32.9, Highland (491) — 74. Andrew Welch 17:20.7, 106. John Hildebrand 17:35.6, 107. Colton Klein 17:36.0, 112. Jacob Oblander 17:38.7, 146. Logan Conrad 17:50.3, 158. Nate Boyce 17:54.0, 261. Chase Oberhaus 18:52.2. DIVISION IVStandings: (top 5 advance to state meet): 1. 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. Black River (176) — 7. Connor Rhein 16:48.88, 16. Noah Orgel 17:17.49, 54. Lucas Olive 18:28.71, 71. Kyle Vonderau 18:47.11, 72. Kolby Manges 18:47.70, 81. Ray Brakefield 18:51.39, 96. Logan Rhein 19:11.62. GIRLSDIVISION IStandings: (top 6 advance to state meet): 1. Avon 69, 2. Perrysburg 99, 3. Massillon Jackson 126, 4. Medina 129, 5. GlenOak 135, 6. Stow 173, 7. Solon 195, 8. 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 588. Medina (129) — 5. Alexis Warnement 18:53.8, 17. Addison Joffre 19:37.8, 27. Alanya Yanmaz 19:58.1, 38. Julia Black 20:21.2, 42. Julia Dietrich 20:27.9, 50. Leah Bugner 20:40.6, 59. Ari Schwemley 21:14.5. Brunswick (440) — 35. Nolan Reese 20:12.9, 99. Lyla Snyder 23:13.83, 101. Ellie Kunush 23:30.4, 103. Emma Naugle 23:44.4, 104. Lyla Rodriguez-Gideon 23:46.7, 105. Anna Halfhill 23:50.8, 116. Isabel Fregeolle 24:39.5. DIVISION IIStandings (top 10 advance to state meet): 1. Hathaway Brown 126, 2. Wadsworth 142, 3. Aurora 172, 4. Tallmadge 187, 5. Hudson 206, 6. Boardman 223, 7. Rocky River 296, 8. 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. Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin 784, 32. Wooster 808, 33. Cloverleaf 852, 34. Brush 869, 35. Kenston 964, 36. Massillon Perry 976, 37. Firestone 998, 38. Howland 1,001, 39. Geneva 1,049, 40. Madison 1,053. Wadsworth (142) — 3. Maggie Gerschutz 18:35.4, 11. Ella Dolgowicz 19:09.5, 24. Kyleigh Friedl 19:24.5, 31. Natalie Buzard 19:33.4, 76. Cami Ross 20:34.9, 132. Emily Hanson 21:32.8, 163. Hadley Dietz 21:51.7. Highland (297) — 8. Katie Schuler 18:57.0, 15. Olivia Keough 19:12.7, 55. Celia Pylpiak 20:14.0, 95. Mary Cullen 20:52.7, 143. Madison Mayer 21:39.5, 201. Julia Madison 22:26.5, 250. Jillian Pesek 23:10.7. Cloverleaf (852) — 78. Leah Monhemius 20:36.0, 129. Elise Mion 21:30.1, 191. Gwyneth Staiger 22:18.0, 227. Samantha Porter 22:48.8, 315. Addison Fallow 25:40.8. Buckeye (NS) — 118. Hayleigh Kreeger 21:15.6, 194. Lily Regiec 22:19.6, 203. Shelby Skilskyj 22:27.8. DIVISION IVStandings (top 5 advance to state meet): 1. 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. Columbiana 410, 11. South Range 429, 12. East Canton 448, 13. Oberlin 455, 14. Mineral Ridge 489, 15. Lake Center Christian 489, 16. New Middletown Springfield 495, 17. Badger 495, 18. Grand Valley 661. Black River (NS) — 80. Jade Mitchell 23:02.02.