Cross country: Buckeye boys ready for first state appearance

The 2025 Buckeye boys cross country team already has left an indelible mark on the program. Now the Bucks are looking forward to enjoying the fruits of their labor at the Division II state meet today at Fortress Obetz. Senior Brady Salazar, juniors Dimitry Pshonyak, Gavin Waibel, Nolan Rieth and Paul Abbott and freshmen Joseph Stahl and Nick Rieth make up the first Buckeye team to reach state. After today, all seven of Medina County's public high schools will have sent a boys team to state. "It feels so good," Salazar said. "It's beyond my wildest imagination. If you would have told me at the beginning of the season that we would be sending a team to state for the first time in school history, I would have been starstruck. "It's definitely exciting to make it farther than any team in Buckeye history and be a part of this team." Salazar led the Bucks to the 10th and final qualifying spot out of the Boardman Regional when he placed 36th in 16:47.4. Buckeye is the only county boys team to qualify in D-II but will be joined by the Wadsworth girls, making their third straight appearance, and Highland girls, making their first appearance since 2017. Reigning Gazette MVP Caleb Neville of Cloverleaf was the only individual qualifier in D-II, and Black River is a state qualifier for the fourth time in five years in D-IV. Both Medina teams qualified in D-I. They will be joined by Brunswick's Reese Nolan as an individual girls qualifier and the Blue Devils' Tommy Strippy and Wadsworth's Ty Racin and Landon Lanham as boys qualifiers. Taking the final spot out of the Northeast Regional and entering the state meet ranked 24th out of the 24 teams in D-II, Buckeye is realistic about how high it can finish. The top two teams in each race earn a trophy and a spot on the podium. Salazar said the Bucks are hoping for a top-20 finish. Individually, the goals vary, with Salazar and No. 2 runner Pshonyak, who finished less than a second and one spot behind Salazar in 16:47.9, having a shot at finishing in the top 48 to reach second-team All-Ohio. Based on seeding times, 16:17 would be the target to earn All-Ohio, something that is within reach of both. The others are just looking to push themselves to have the best race they can. "We're staying on target right now," Stahl said. "We're doing what we've been doing and staying together. The team is staying consistent to what we did at regionals and districts. We did so well in those, so this week we're just focusing on continuing that success." Stahl, who Salazar called the best freshman in Buckeye history, finished 56th in 17:06.2 at regionals and is looking to finish high among the other freshmen. In addition to 10th at regionals, Buckeye was fourth at the Lorain County Community College District and second at the Cleveland West Conference Meet. While that trio led the Bucks, a team effort with Waibel and Nolan Rieth was needed to defeat Salem by 20 points for the final spot. Another one will be needed for Buckeye to finish in the top 20 at state. "We've got a great group of guys at Buckeye," Salazar said. "It's easy to focus on ... our top three runners, but I found that the difference between this year and other years is the gap between our first and fifth guy has significantly shrunk." The support it took to get Buckeye to the state meet goes beyond just seven runners. Coach Renee Harden, assistant Ron Clady, parents, friends and, most importantly, the encouragement and drive that the junior varsity of Cole Burtzlaff, John Galayda III, Ben Naso, Cooper Kay, Brant Anderson, Vincent Joy and Aiden Williamson gave in practices all played a role. "Everyone has been contributing to the team's success," Stahl said. "We help each other during practice, push each other throughout the year. In races, we have a person to run with. If we stay together in the race we can push each other every single race." For the Bucks, getting to the state meet is about much more than just how they do in the race. It's getting to experience competition at the highest level. "For me, personally, it's about seeing all those fast people you hear about, the big names in cross country from all the other teams," Stahl said. "We get to race against them as a team. That seems really fun." For Salazar, the team's lone senior, it's also about finishing his career in a memorable way. "I'm looking forward to running my last race," he said. "I'm looking forward to hanging out with the guys on the way down there and enjoying the last moments of my cross country career." Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com.