Four area girls cross country teams advance to state as Crestwood, Berkshire and Kirtland shine at Boardman

BOARDMAN — Ten points separated two area teams in Division III. Just one point separated second and third place in Division IV.

And by the time Saturday’s final girls race ended at the OHSAA Northeast Regional Cross Country Championships, four Northeast Ohio programs had earned one more opportunity to compete together.

Mentor Girls Cross Country, Crestwood Girls Cross Country, Berkshire Girls Cross Country and Kirtland Girls Cross Country advanced to the Nov. 7 state championships at Fortress Obetz.

Another 12 area runners qualified individually, extending their seasons even though their teams did not advance.

The closest battle near the top unfolded in Division III, where Marlington and Crestwood each finished with 127 points. Marlington was awarded the regional championship, leaving Crestwood with the runner-up trophy, while Berkshire placed third with 137.

In Division IV, Kirtland scored 97 points, just one behind second-place Maplewood.

Mentor also produced a strong team performance, finishing fourth in Division I, and a dozen individual qualifiers ensured the area will have representation across all four divisions.

DIVISION I: Mentor earns state berth with fourth-place finish

Mentor turned a strong effort from the front of its lineup into a trip to state.

The Cardinals finished fourth with 125 points, comfortably inside the five-team qualifying cutoff.

Perrysburg captured the regional championship with 72 points, narrowly edging Massillon Jackson (74).

Stow-Munroe Falls placed third with 90 points, while Solon claimed the fifth qualifying position with 140.

Sophomore Carmella Curtis led Mentor with a third-place finish in 18:47.3.

Sophomore BriAnn Carroll joined her among the front finishers, placing 11th in 19:43.7.

Sophomore Alaina Gvora finished 27th in 20:20.5, freshman Delayna Sotock placed 40th in 21:04.1, and freshman Ava Dietrich completed the Cardinals’ scoring five in 44th with a time of 21:07.4.

Junior Riley Burns and freshman Megan Majewski also competed for Mentor.

The performance demonstrated the Cardinals’ balance, with Curtis providing an elite presence near the front and the rest of the scoring lineup keeping Mentor safely ahead of the qualifying cutoff.

Perrysburg junior Lexi Schultz won the individual championship in 18:07.7, followed by Cleveland Heights junior Kassadi Thompson in 18:18.9.

With three sophomores and two freshmen among its regional scorers, Mentor also enters the state championships with a young lineup gaining valuable experience on the sport’s biggest stage.

DIVISION II: Chardon, NDCL runners advance individually

Aurora controlled the Division II regional championship, scoring 111 points to finish 72 ahead of runner-up Avon (183).

St. Joseph Academy finished third with 206, followed by Westlake (211) and Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy (256).

The top nine teams advanced to state.

Aurora sophomore Audrey Miller won the individual title in 17:46.3, edging Bay’s Maya Gonzalez, who finished in 17:48.1.

Although no additional area team qualified from Division II, two runners earned individual state berths.

Notre Dame Cathedral Latin Girls Cross Country senior Zoey Myers finished 13th overall in 18:58.6.

Chardon Girls Cross Country senior Mira Palombo followed in 14th place with a time of 18:59.6.

The two runners crossed the finish line just one second apart.

Both also had strong district performances one week earlier, with Palombo finishing fourth and Myers fifth in the Division II race at Madison.

Kenston Girls Cross Country narrowly missed a state team berth, finishing 11th with 345 points.

North Canton Hoover secured the ninth and final qualifying position with 332 points, while Brecksville-Broadview Heights placed 10th with 344.

Just 13 points separated Kenston from advancing.

Senior Giuliana Walters led the Bombers, finishing 50th in 20:02.8, followed by freshman Isabella Walters in 62nd at 20:11.3.

Freshmen Finley Scharver, Thea Ness and Lila Fink completed Kenston’s scoring lineup.

The Bombers’ season ended one position outside the top 10 in a deep 37-team regional field.

DIVISION III: Crestwood, Berkshire deliver championship performances

The Division III girls race produced one of the closest team finishes of the afternoon.

Marlington and Crestwood each scored 127 points.

Marlington earned first place in the official standings, while Crestwood finished second.

Berkshire was only 10 points behind in third with 137.

Woodridge (155), Canal Fulton Northwest (169), Salem (173), St. Vincent-St. Mary (258) and Hathaway Brown (287) claimed the remaining five team qualifying positions.

Eight teams advanced to state, and two of the top three were from the OhioVarsity.com coverage area.

Crestwood relied on three outstanding finishes near the front.

Freshman Luci Maschek placed fourth overall in 18:46.1.

Senior Piper Seibold finished eighth in 19:11.2, and senior Madiegrace Gonczy followed in ninth at 19:16.2.

Senior Piper Freedline added a 25th-place finish in 20:08.2, while sophomore Abby Pfost completed the Red Devils’ scoring lineup in 88th with a time of 21:47.1.

The performance followed Crestwood’s district championship and positioned the Red Devils for another opportunity against Ohio’s best Division III programs.

Berkshire countered with one of the division’s strongest young lineups.

Freshman Claire Passow finished third overall in 18:45.0, crossing just 1.1 seconds ahead of Maschek.

Freshman June Dunlap placed 14th in 19:42.9, and junior Addison Passow followed in 16th at 19:44.9.

Junior Ashlyn Brzozowski finished 47th in 20:41.8, while freshman Hailey Mitchell completed the Badgers’ scoring five in 63rd with a time of 21:12.1.

With three freshmen among their top five, the Badgers matched Crestwood’s ability to compete near the front while building toward future seasons.

Marlington senior Irelyn Johnson captured the individual regional championship in 17:55.9, followed by Hathaway Brown junior Caroline Valentino in 18:10.8.

But Crestwood and Berkshire weren’t the only area programs celebrating.

Eight additional Division III runners secured individual trips to state.

Chagrin Falls Girls Cross Country junior Gabby Byrne placed sixth in 19:00.6.

Orange Girls Cross Country junior Marina Campbell finished seventh in 19:10.8, while Conneaut Girls Cross Country junior Vivianna Cellini crossed 12th in 19:34.4.

Lutheran West Girls Cross Country freshman Hannah Mueller placed 17th in 19:47.7.

Beachwood Girls Cross Country junior Meena Abdul-Basser finished 19th in 19:55.9, and Hawken Girls Cross Country sophomore Annalisia Honda followed in 23rd with a time of 20:07.4.

Geneva Girls Cross Country freshman Adriana Belconis finished 31st in 20:16.7, while Fairview Girls Cross Country junior Emily Dahler claimed an individual state berth with a 35th-place finish in 20:22.9.

For those runners, the opportunity to continue their seasons came without the benefit of advancing as complete teams.

Each had to earn an individual qualifying position in a deep field.

DIVISION IV: Kirtland finishes one point out of second

After winning conference and district championships, Kirtland entered the regional meet looking to keep its season alive.

The Hornets did more than qualify.

They placed third in Division IV with 97 points, just one behind runner-up Maplewood.

Rittman won the regional championship with 64 points, Maplewood scored 96, and Kirtland finished with 97.

McDonald placed fourth with 136, while Ashtabula St. John secured the fifth and final qualifying position with 156.

Junior Kylie Sayle led Kirtland with a third-place finish in 19:26.3.

Freshman Mila Delgado placed 19th in 20:12.6, while senior Danika Schaum finished 20th in 20:19.5.

Junior Abela Delgado added a 31st-place finish in 20:45.1, and sophomore Nadija Mrva completed Kirtland’s scoring lineup in 37th with a time of 20:52.1.

That tightly packed effort behind Sayle helped the Hornets secure their state berth.

Rootstown Girls Cross Country finished seventh in the team standings with 277 points, while Independence Girls Cross Country placed ninth with 294.

Although Independence missed a team state berth, sophomore Leah Creel earned an individual spot.

Creel finished 13th in 20:07.3, a considerable improvement from her district performance one week earlier.

Andrews Osborne Academy Girls Cross Country senior Muthoni Mutiso also advanced individually, placing seventh in 19:38.9.

McDonald junior Naomi Sheesley won the individual regional title in 18:20.6, followed by Ashtabula St. John senior Marlee Beacom in 19:11.7.

AREA GIRLS TEAMS ADVANCING TO STATE

AREA GIRLS INDIVIDUAL STATE QUALIFIERS

Additional individual qualifiers from schools that did not advance as teams.

The final challenge awaits

For Crestwood and Berkshire, the state meet offers another opportunity to measure themselves against one another and against the best Division III programs in Ohio.

For Mentor, a young lineup will have a chance to build on a strong Division I regional performance.

For Kirtland, the difference between second and third at Boardman was just one point. Another complete scoring effort could make an even greater difference at state.

And for 12 additional individual qualifiers, the journey continues even though their teammates’ seasons have ended.

Four area teams and 12 additional runners will compete at the OHSAA state championships on Saturday, Nov. 7.

The final race of the season awaits.

Cameron Palmer contributed to this story.

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