BURTON—Nine Kirtland runners ran their way to all-league honors on Saturday at the 2017 Chagrin Valley Conference Cross Country Meet at Kent State University’s Geauga County Campus.
Sophomore Lauren Snyder, freshman Julie Namciu and senior Sydney Snyder earned second team honors in the girls’ race and juniors Konnor Duncan and Jake Grdadolnik did the same in the boys’ event.
Lauren Snyder finished ninth in the Valley Division, one spot away from earning first team honors, with a time of 21:54.
“I am really happy with getting second team,” she said. “It has definitely boosted my confidence going into districts. I’ve had a rough couple weeks leading up to the CVC, but I’m working through it. We have a great team and I can’t wait to see what we do next week.”
Namciu finished 10th just one second behind Snyder.
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“I’m happy to be where I am right now as a freshman and excited for next week (at districts),” Namciu said. “I think it’s a great first step in my high school running career to be second team all-conference.”
Sydney Snyder finished 11th with a time of 21:58.
Duncan ran a time of 18:43 to finish 12th.
“I’m pretty happy about second team all-conference,” Duncan said. “I placed the same as I did last year.”
Grdadolnik finished 15th with a time of 18:50.
“I’m ecstatic to have met my goal of second team all-conference, but it wouldn’t have been possible without my teammate Konnor providing some friendly competition,” Grdadolnik said. “This week showed that our team is ready to compete and I believe that if we work just as hard next week at districts, we have an excellent shot of advancing to regionals as a team.”
Freshman Aimee Baldrey (23:56), junior Emily Crebs (24:17), senior Colton Zanko (19:13) and freshman Ian McGreal (20:17) all were named honorable mention thanks to their strong finishes at the meet.
Senior Holly Samf (24:32), juniors Ellie David (24:40) and Nick Briggs (20:26), sophomore Andrew Schneider (21:57) and freshman Jonny Jackson (21:26) also competed for the Hornets.
Kirtland’s girls finished third in the Valley Division while the boys were fourth.
The Hornets return to action on Saturday when they travel to Boardman High School for the Division III District Meet.
