Cross country: Medina's Zach Sohar captures Golden Eagle Invitational

PLAIN TWP. — Medina senior Zach Sohar proved how much can change Saturday. Sohar won the Golden Eagle Invitational at GlenOak High School in an impressive time of 16:22.51, more than four seconds faster than second-place John Owens of Revere (16:26.97). Making the feat even more notable was Sohar finished 83rd in 21:13.17 at the same event last season. Sohar went from being the 16th Bees' junior varsity runner to leading the entire field in a year. Sohar credited his teammates for pushing him over the summer. "I'm feeling great, and it's been a team effort all summer long," he said. "Last year, I was third to last on our team in the JV race, so this is a huge improvement. I couldn't have done it without my teammates. "All summer, every day, 5 a.m., 9 p.m., whatever it takes, we got it done. It's just been great." Sohar's efforts led Medina (105) to third out of 20 teams, just behind runner-up Massillon Jackson (97). Olentangy Berlin (54) took the championship. Wadsworth (163) finished sixth behind junior Landon Lanham taking 14th in 16:56.85, while Medina Christian's Luke Kubacki (22:12.09) finished 164th in the open race. In the girls race, Medina (151) was fifth out of 14 teams behind seniors Leah Bugner (20:32.77) and Alanya Yanmaz (20:42.37), who took 15th and 17th, respectively. The Grizzlies girls opened the season at SPIRE Academy at the HOKA Night Showcase, while Medina Christian's Aubrey Steele (28:28.36) took 59th in the open race. Parkersburg (W. Va.) standout Morgan Metz won in a blazing 19:09.79 that was nearly 18 seconds faster than the rest of the field. Massillon Jackson (49) won the team title. But the day belonged to Sohar, who hopes his success Saturday is a sign of things to come. "Coming into this race, I didn't think I'd be able to win, but it's a good start," Sohar said. "We've got a good team, a lot of depth. I think it will translate well to the state meet." Medina sophomore Jackson Warfe (22nd, 17:11.57) and senior Logan Butsko (23rd, 17:11.71) finished back to back to support Sohar's efforts. Lanham battled through the hilly course and early-season heat adjustments to post his solid time. "I was feeling pretty good," he said. "It was a little hot and pretty hilly. I feel like I got out pretty well and picked off some people at the end. I was happy with that." Lanham was backed by freshman Gavin Brown's 20th-place 17:09.35. Much like they had throughout summer workouts, Bugner and Yanmaz relied on each other to keep up a competitive pace. "We've been friends since our freshman year. We were the only two freshmen on the team," Bugner said. "We started doing more races together this year, and that's been pretty helpful. I'm the kind of person that stresses a lot about races, and having the people I do workouts with me helps take a little bit of the pressure off." Bugner and Yanmaz had a similar race. "My strategy was to go out with Leah," Yanmaz said. "We always utilize pack running, make sure we get shorter steps pushing up hills and open up going down. It's really hilly." Sophomore Addison Joffre (21:31.52) was next to cross for Medina in 28th. Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Results BOYS Standings: 1. Olentangy Berlin 54, 2. Massillon Jackson 97, 3. Medina 105, 4. Parkersburg (W. Va.) 137, 5. Hudson 160, 6. Wadsworth 163, 7. Revere 207, 8. Minerva 238, 9. Cuyahoga Valley Christian 246, 10. Canton GlenOak 256, 11. Firestone 257, 12. Dover 336, 13. Austintown Fitch 351, 14. GlenOak 'B' 366, 15. St. Vincent-St. Mary 366, 16. Archbishop Hoban 419, 17. Ellet 552, 18. Manchester 565, 19. Roosevelt 579, 20. Euclid 628. Medina (105) — 1. Zach Sohar 16:22.51, 22. Jackson Warfe 17:11.57, 23. Logan Butsko 17:11.71, 30. Noah Palombo 17:24. 96, 31. Trent Schirmer 17:25.53, 39. Will Nichols 17:37.03, 44. Owen Gut 17:44.25. Wadsworth (163) — 14. Landon Lanham 16:56.85, 20. Gavin Brown 17:09.35, 42. Carter Myers 17:43.28, 43. Jude Cole 17:44.22, 48. Jacob Mount 17:53.68, 49. James Echols 17:54. 92, 61. Chase Otradovec 18:05.05. Open Medina Christian (ns) — 164. Luke Kubacki 22:12.09. GIRLS Standings: 1. Massillon Jackson 49, 2. Minerva 72, 3. Cuyahoga Valley Christian 104, 4. Canton GlenOak 121, 5. Medina 151, 6. Parkersburg (W. Va.), 170, 7. Louisville 173, 8. St. Vincent-St. Mary 201, 9. Springfield 279, 10. Firestone 281, 11. Dover 298, 12. GlenOak 'B' 309, 13. Archbishop Hoban 314, 14. Manchester 456. Medina (151) — 15. Leah Bugner 20:32.77, 17. Alanya Yanmaz 20:42.37, 28. Addison Joffre 21:31.52, 45. Ella James 22:20.83, 51. Zulay Rebollar 22:34.54, 58. Evie Meade 22:59.04, 62. Mariana Cunningham 23:09.43. Open Medina Christian (ns) — 59. Aubrey Steele 28:28.36.