Northwest Review 7

The region offered numerous opportunities for teams to race, although many failed to take advantage of it.   For those, who did avail themselves to the possibilities the results even took on national importance.   No race was of greater significance than the Richland Invitational.  Although held in the Tri-Cities area in the southeast corner of the state, every area of Washington seemed to be represented and the competition was first rate.   It was fitting, because this meet has long been a key event but this year’s edition provided fans with two great elite races. 

          It is worth noting that the course was altered so that runners negotiated the hills differently.  In some ways it was harder as far as the climbs, yet the downhill was changed from gradual to sharp making it difficult to compare in some ways.   Of course the competition in any race is a key and this year’s race offered much.   Last year Jordan McPhee had hoped to test herself against Katie Knight & only realized that would not happen at the mile mark, where she put her head down and ran unchallenged.   Jordan went on to claim the 4A title in Washington, as well as a berth at Foot Locker Nationals.    This year McPhee is yet to regain last season’s form, probably because she is a two-sport star but the season is still relatively young, but it was not a good day not to have your ‘A’ game, for the competition was national class.   North Central’s Katie Knight was on hand this year and the 3A State champion and record-holder had already claimed the prestigious Firman Invitational.   Also on hand was Alexa Efraimson of Camas, who was fresh off her second place finish at venerable Stanford.   That loss, for the record, was not to a Californian but to another Washington runner, which tells you about the quality of the state.   It did not take long for the race to become a three person race in spite of the fact that the supporting cast was quite strong.   To her credit McPhee did not concede a thing and, like she did in the Danner against Anna Maxwell, Jordan challenged the leader early, which can only help down the road, but the second half of the race became a two person duel before Knight asserted herself down the stretch and The result was a six second victory in 17:16.   Alexa Efraimson followed with a time, that was also well under McPhee ’s course record of 17:35, while Jordan raced home alone in 18:02.   Lindsey Bradley of Richland also crossed the line by herself with a fine mark of 18:17.  Kamiakin’s Megan Beauchene, who has already had a fine season, had an off day on the hills but still placed fifth with 18:41.  Camas runners Alissa Pudlitzke (18:41) and Maddie Woodson (18:54) garnered sixth & seventh respectively with Woodson edging Sierra Speiker, who shared the clocking with the latter runner.  Maggie Coleman of Hermiston followed in ninth in nineteen flat and Lauren Perry of Richland came in  three seconds later for tenth.  Makenna Endebrock of Mt. Spokane took eleventh with 19:10 & Camille Parsons followed with 19:15.   Michelle Fletcher of Kamiakin was 13th (19:26), while Rachel Lefstad & Rachel Covey rounded out the top fifteen.

      If there was still any doubt had moved to a new level this year, it answered it with a resounding victory in the Tri-Cities and in-so-doing reversed his decision with Joe Hardy from the earlier Firman Invite.  Wilmot and Seattle prep’s Hardy raced away from all challengers and proceeded to battle until late, when Wilmot went into over-drive during a long stretch drive.  The North Central star powered to victory in a time of 14:44 finishing three seconds ahead of his rival.   As with the young ladies’ race, Hardy ‘s time was also under the winning from time last year (Anthony Armstrong ran 14:52).  Summer Goodwin of Lewis & Clark was impressive with his third place effort of 15:11 and it is almost hard to believe he could run such a fine time, yet be out of the race for first.  John Dressel of Mt. Spokane edged Tanner Anderson of North Central with both runners being credited with 15:17.  Nathan Hale runner Andrew Foerder finished in 15:23, which was good for sixth and gave him a four second margin over Keith Williams of NC.    Alejandro Cisneros of Hermiston was Oregon’s first runner with a time of 15:35 and an 8th place finish & Nicholas Hauger of Shadle park (15:40) placed 9th.  Eduardo Juarez of Hermiston rounded out the top ten with a mark of 15:41, and Daniel Amann of Deer Park ran 15:46.  Keenan Piper of Seattle Prep finished 12th in 15:48 and Jose Macias of Hermiston followed in 15:49.  Both Logan Giese of Central Valley & Kyler Goins of L & C were given clocking of 15:49.

      https://wa.milesplit.com/articles/93733-richland-invitational

 

 

                                                                Hole-In-The-Wall

       Glacier Peak will compete in their WESCO meet on the same course as this event, so it only makes sense that they race here.  That, unfortunately, meant that Amy-Eloise Neale was not able to run at Richland and once again she romped to victory in a time of 17:10.  That time will wet fans’ appetites for a show-down with Knight once again in the3A State championship.   More often than not Neale’s GP team mate Katie Bianchini is left to race alone in second but this week she received a great battle from Sally Larson of Cedar Park Christian and in the end they were separated by only two tenths of a second with both being credited with 18:22.   Olivia Manci of Roosevelt placed fourth in 18:49 and Lila Rice of Redmond came in 5th with 18:50.  Reagan Colyer of North Kitsap came in 6th with 18:55 and Mikayla Pivec of Lynnwood was 8th in 19:07.  Hazel Carr of The Northwest School had an off-day placing 13th in 19:17.   Glacier Peak had no trouble in the team race with a low of 77 points to the 120 of Snohomish.

       With Patrick Gibson of Squalicum under the weather and being cautious at this still early point in the season Devon Grove of lake Washington stepped up to claim the victory in a fine 15:36.   Tom Bradley of Blaine took 2nd in 15:41, as he finished alone.   The battle for third, however, was hotly contested with four runners vying for position but Jack Griffing of Edmonds-Woodway led the way with 15:57.  Connor Jungkuntz of Ferndale was only a second behind in 4th, while Dillon Quintana of Mount Baker was another second back in fifth.   Sixth went to Jack Pearce of Mountlake Terrace with 16:01 and Keegan Symmes of Skyline earned 7th with 16:11, as he nipped Eddie Fontes of Blaine.  Redmond had 199 points to edge Snohomish, which had 201.

 

                                                                Sunfair Invitational

       The postponement by a week of this race reduced this meet’s usual quality and, of course, the fact that the meet is run in flights further reduced the competition, so fans did not get to witness the usual competition.   It is a shame because Poli Baltazar of Aberdeen could have been pushed to an even better time than the 15:22 which he ran.  Dwain Stucker of Meridian (Idaho) had a fine day as evidenced by his 15:40 clocking, while Drew Schreiber of Eisenhower gave the home crowd something to cheer with his 3rd place effort in 15:49.   Idaho schools claimed two of the top four positions, when Gabe Harm of Eagle ran 15:02 and Justin Irvine of West Valley – Yakima placed 5th in 16:08.  

      Lila Klopfenstein of Meridian had a surprisingly facile time with her victory in 18:20 and Josie Brown of Coeur d’Alene placed 2nd with 18:37.  Alexandra Siemens of Abbotsford,  B.C.   earned third with 18:45 and Megan Dupree of Eagle followed three seconds later.  Elise Tello of Eisenhower ran 18:52 and placed 5th, as the first finisher from the state.  Berenice Chavez of Umatilla had the honor of being the first Oregon finisher with her 8th place effort of 21:17.   I would note that there was a certain symmetry to the Richland race faring better this year, as long ago Sunfair switched their race date late in the summer and numerous teams dropped Richland and one other meet (would have to dig up my records for the other one) but it was the beginning of Sunfair ’s ascendancy.

                https://wa.milesplit.com/articles/93766-sunfair-invitational

 

                                                                Oxford Bend Invitational

        This meet has always been one of our favorites.  Drake Park is beautiful this time of the year and the Three Sisters always look majestic off in the distance.   Not to mention the competition is always solid and the event has long offered a chance to see many of our friends from Idaho.   The Summit guys left little doubt as to the team results, as Travis Neuman, Matthew Maton & Eric Aldritt left all challengers early and had their race, while Luke Hinz & James Bowlin were safely tucked in the top ten.  Neuman prevailed with a solid 15:16 and Maton & Aldritt followed in 2nd & 3rd with Maton edging his team by a second with 15:22.   Mountain View (Oregon) runners Dakota Thornton (16:32) & Sam King (16:44) garnered the next two spots & Cooper Roach of Valley Catholic took 6th in 16:48.  Luke Hinz was 7th in 16:53 & was pursued by Gabe Wylie of Mountain View, who ran 17:00.  Bowlin was 9th with 17:03 & Taylor Wethern of Damonte Ranch in Nevada placed tenth with 17:06.   Reuben Mulhern of Borah won the D2 race in 16:48 and Idaho claimed 2nd as Centennial’s Micah Drew ran 16:50.  Tillamook’s Aaron Josi came in third prior to Borah runners Sam Powell & Jimmy Lee.

       Defending Oregon 4A champion Alisha Luna scored with a time of 18:40 with Summit’s Piper McDonald taking 2nd in 18:53.  Jenna Mattox of Bend claimed 3rd with 19:02 and Union’s Katriel O’Reilly took 4th in 19:04.  Sage Hassell of Mountain View ran 19:23 for fifth, while Grace Grim of Hood River followed in 6th with the same time.     Sarah Christianson of Borah topped the other division with her time of 19:21 and Centennial (Idaho) claimed the next two places, when Emily Coleman & Jessica Horrocks placed 2nd & 3rd.  In an odd twist Mackenzie Carruthers ran 20:05, which was two seconds faster than last year, but she placed 7th in the division – three places lower. 

 

                                                                Mizuno Harrier Classic – Albany

  Washington runners have often scored here with Allison Clark, Priscilla Timmons & Kyle Boe being but three examples and Mark Tedder of Battle Ground continued the tradition with his runaway victory in 15:53.   There was a three-way duel for second with Nic McDaniel of McMinnville getting 2nd place in 16:27, as T J Wright of Sheldon & Camden Stemple of South Medford shared the mark.  Clay Stuhr of Dallas ran 16:41 for fifth.    Battle Ground won the team honors with 106 points besting Westview by 13.

     Maggie Schmaedick of Sheldon continued her strong senior campaign, which followed a period of injury & low-profile recovery, with a victory in 18:03.  MaryKate McGuire had another fine race placing 2nd in 18:17.  Third went to Gracie Todd of Sheldon, who ran 18:53.  Sarah Medved of Westview finished 4th in 19:06 and defending 3A Oregon champion Olivia Powell came in 5th with 19:08.  Sasha Gonzalez of Milwaukie earned 6th in 19:18.  The Corvallis gals, led by Malika Waschmann ’s 9th place finish, easily scored in the team race with a low of 62 points, while South Medford took 2nd on the sixth-runner tie-breaker  thanks to Tristan Husted. 

 

 

                                                                Aloha, Jesuit, Lincoln & Sunset Quad Meet

Sunset got 1 -2 finishes from Charlotte Corless & Nicole Griffiths but Jesuit got the team victory in the girls’ race.  Lincoln’s Tanner Smith topped the guys before Jesuit swept the next four places before adding a 7-8 finish to swamp its competition.

https://or.milesplit.com/articles/93620-jesuit-claims-quad-meet

                                                               

Star City Classic

Vivian Hawkinson of South Salem ran the two mile course at Bush Pasture park in 13:24, while Kenny Freeman of Roseburg led the guys with 10:51.

https://or.milesplit.com/articles/93583-star-city-classic

 

                                                                Paul Mariman Invitational

Siuslaw runner Matthew Campbell ran 15:53 & his team mates Mark Marbas & Mitchell Butler annexed the next two places.  It was a two-girl race in the female event with Sierra Brown of Hidden Valley defeating Katy Potter of Siuslaw by four seconds with 18:42.   The race was at Philomath High.

 

                                                                Narrows league Twilight

Wolfgang Beck (9:40) & Tristan Peloquin (9:51) went 1 – 2 for Gig Harbor at this meet in Lincoln HS in Tacoma but Bellarmine Prep did them one better as Daryl Phill (11:23) Hannah Derby (same) & Laura Staeheli (11:51) swept the top three places.  Prep left no doubt about the team race also taking 5th and 8th through 16th

 

                                                                                Idaho

                                                            Sandpoint Invitational

This Saturday race saw Sam Levora of the host school race to victory in 15:52 to easily win, while Rachel Ward of Timberlake ran twenty flat to score in the girls’ race.  Lake City won the boys’ race with 32 points and Sandpoint led the girls with 43. 

 

                                                          Conley Invitational

Presli Hutchinson of Highland won with 20:09 and was followed across the finish line by five team mates, as they swept the race.  Nathan Crane (17:23) topped Kaden Clay of HP by three seconds.

 

                                                                Lewiston invitational

Emily Hamlin of Boise was the only runner under nineteen minutes and her 18:52 clocking won by 14 seconds over Louisa Serpe of Timberline.  Paul Ryan of Logos ran 16:02 to best Thomas Rigby of Boise by seven seconds.

 

                                                                Chieftan Invitational

Chris Merlos of New Hope Christian won this race at the Valley of the Rogue State Park with a time of 17:22.    The Bandon girls secured the top four places, plus tenth to overwhelm their competition.

 

 

                                                                Around the Nation

                                                                            Ohio

                                                                Medina Invitational

 The course in Ohio is a pleasant surprise with some rolling terrain and it features even a brief interlude in a wooded area.   A deluge the night before left some areas with standing water but the course was not anywhere the condition this person assumed it would be.  The officials did drop a load of stones in one lower level area but, given the previous night, the conditions were not that bad.  Of course the condition of the course is something open to interpretation and one Open runner, who was a distant last place & only about half way through the course, almost pleadingly stated to an official:  “Are there any dry parts on this course?”    Of course only a minute or so later a varsity runner cheered on her team mates in the Open race by yelling:  “Use the hill – enjoy the mud.”    That said, be advised the times in the race were certainly effected but it is hard to say by how much.

      The girls’ varsity runners were the lucky ones, who raced first and thus found the best of the day’s conditions.   One girl raced away early and opened up a ten meter gap on the lead pack before a minute of running had been accomplished but Therese Haiss of Solon went out conservatively and trailed the leader, when she went through the mile in 5:50.   There is a moderate grade shortly before the harriers return to the open field near the start and is about 600 meters before the half-way point and it was here that Haiss made her move.   From that point onward Therese, who has goals, which include the Foot Locker Midwest Regional in Kenosha, inexorably increased her lead.  Although she conceded afterwards that she was a bit off the splits, she would have liked, she was happy with the results on a less than ideal day.  Haiss’ winning time was 18:57.  Madison Connelly of Rocky River was back in the pack early but moved up to earn second in 19:18.   Solon was strong up front with its harriers Geneva Sandridge (19:25) and Louiza Wise (19:53) garnered 3rd & 4th respectively and Magnificat ‘s Macey Walker took fifth.  Natalie Vidacs of North Royalton followed in 6th place with 20:04 and Howland’s Taylor Craigo took 7th with 20:12.   Carlee Rhodes placed 8th edging Medina’s Maria Scavuzzo, as both were credited with 20:20 and then Miranda DiBiasio of Berea , who had been near the front early, gamely held on for tenth in 20:24.   Chloe Bierut of Rocky River followed four seconds later to round out the top eleven.   Solon topped Magnificat 76 to 91 for the team title.

       Berea’s Dan Zupan held back in the early stages of what he referred to as a “swim meet” and went through the mile in 5:15, although one clocker had him at 5:05.  A second mile in 5:35 had him a bit over his intended goal of 10:30 but from there he moved out to take the lead.   John Riordan of Solon was still in contention, when they entered the open area with around 400 meters to go but Zupan used his track speed to salt away the triumph.   His winning time of 16:18 gave him five second margin over Riordan, who was just able to hold off Howland runner Ryan Sullivan.   Ross Henry of Kenston took 4th in 16:31 & Levin Blank of Solon earned 5th with 16:33.   Cole Vandenberg of Highland was alone in sixth in 16:38.  The St. Edward duo of Mike Navratil & Matt Koval placed 7th & 8th with Navratil nipping his team mate by a second with his time of 16:45.  Lou Stiles of Midpark (16:52) placed 9th and Tommy Menyes of Medina (16:53) finished tenth.  Medina won the team trophy with a low of 74 points and Howland edged St. Ed’s 110 to 114.   Our thanks to the race officials, who ran a well organized meet, which featured prompt results, that included bib numbers, in spite of the less than ideal conditions.  

 

 

 

                                                                                Legends Meet

Tyler Menear of Brunswick ran 16:39 to score the triumph with Jack Miller of St. Ignatius taking second in 16:47.  Ignatius left no doubt about the team race after taking positions two through five.   Akron St. Vincent –St. Mary’s dominated the girls’ race with a low of 22 points to Brunswick’s 41.  Rachel Iacafano (19:27) and Marissa Rossetti (19:28) went 1 -2 for SVSM.   The surprise of the meet, however, was Gilmour Academy’s victory in D3 despite missing a key runner.   They had a low of 52 points to Berkshire’s 72.  In their distant wake was defending State champion Liberty Center.    Brittany Atkinson of Liberty scored in the D3 race with 19:17.     

 

                                                                                New York

                                                                     Grout Memorial

Some might want to look at other meets in N Y first but this was the 74th running of this venerable event, which takes place in Central park in Schenectady.  This race deserves much better from the fad-inspired cross country community, which too often follows the money trail and one only needs to look at its honored list of winners, which includes Laura Cummings, Jillian Mastroianni, Dana Ostrander, Krissy Haacke, Caitlin McTague & Nicole Boykin.    The guys on the list include Mike Fitzula & Seton McAndrews.    It is an impressive list of notables, who all were Foot locker National qualifiers and in fact Hannah Davidson & Caitlin Lane, who did make it to nationals, were also ran runners here.   The course record of 15:06 set by Foot Locker qualifier Laura Cummings was not challenged but freshman Maryanna Lansing of Shaker became a two-time winner of the event with 15:22, which was the best time of the day.  Placing second in that D2 race was Gianna Frontera of Newburg, who ran 15:26 for the 2.75 mile course.    Emily Burns of Guilderland won D1 with 15:55 to edge Beatrice Boylan of Cornwall.  Dara Cuffe placed 4th in this division, which was won last fall by Lansing, when she was an 8th grade runner. 

      Philo Germano of Albany won the D1 race for guys with 13:30 and he improved his winning time in the division from last by over half a minute.  He was followed by Adam LaFemina of Bayport five seconds later.  Alex Schodal of Middletown was close behind in third with 13:36.  Steven Booker of Bethlehem led D2 with 13:56.  

 

                                                                                St. Anthony’s Invitational

This is another race, which has long been run and it offers the challenging course at Sunken Meadows.   The course is never easy but Bronxville had little trouble with its competition, as its top runners swept the first four places and its fifth came in sixth.  Leading the way was Mary Cain, who ran 18:45 and won by almost two full minutes.   Kathleen Naehr of Kings Park had the second fastest time of the day, when she ran 19:54 but only defeated Caroline Brown of Holy Trinity by a second.   Ryan Cooney of Massapequa was the swiftest of the guys with his Large School victory in 16:35.  Patrick Ginty of St. Anthony’s came in second with 16:55.  St. Anthony’s harriers had little problem in the team race, as they also had runners take 4th through 8th and their seventh runner came in 12th.   Anthony Galvan won the Small School race in 17:15.

 

 

 

                                                                                Mayor’s Cup

Yet another classic course was utilized this weekend, when VanCortlandt Park hosted this event.  Dan Galford of Monsignor Farrell was a repeat winner in 12:50 for the 2 ½ mile course.  Jack Stevenson placed 2nd with 12:59.   Farrell, missing an important member, was upset by Collegiate for the team title.  Denise Branch of Benjamin had the best time of all the girls with her mark of 15:32.  Amanda DeLaCruz of Staten Island had the consolation of knowing that her second place clocking of 15:41 established a new school record.  Anne Laure White of Brooklyn Tech earned third with 15:45.

 

                                                                                California

                                                                           Clovis Invitational

Buchanan’s Hagen Reedy waltzed away with the title in 16:59:  a major improvement over what she ran last year here at famed Woodward Park.  Marissa Williams of Palisades Charter garnered 2nd in 17:15, as she too left her challengers well behind her.   Jena Piani of Amador Valley led a squad of runners, who crossed the line in a row, when she ran 17:40.   Mikayla Sodersten, a Clovis freshman, placed 4th in 17:41 edging Addi Zerrenner of Dos Pueblos, while Fiona O’Keefe was close behind with 17:42.    Bryan Fernandez of Dos Pueblos ran 15:09 to best Myles Smith of St. John Bosco by ten seconds.  Third went to Miguel Bautista of Long Beach Poly (15:20) & Juan Gonzalez of El Toro took 4th in 15:22.  It was only three seconds back to 5th place finisher Trent Brendel of Granite Bay. 

 

                                                                Central Park Run – Huntington Beach

Yuma’s Bernie Montoya had no difficulty in his invasion of the state winning handily in 14:39.  Garrett Corcoran of Villa Park placed second with 15:14.  Saugus runners A J Yarnall & Rodrigo Ornelas secured the next two places.   Sydney Badger of Centennial was the fastest of the girls with 17:14 for three miles.  Samantha Ortega was nearby with 17:19 and Katie Gorczyca of Saugus was 3rd with 17:51.   Kimberly Coscia of South Torrance won the other division by over a minute with 17:41.

 

                                                                Carlsbad vs. La Costa Canyon

As dual meets go this one was quite interesting with the boys race coming down to the wire between Steve Fahy and Christian Freeman.   Freeman from Carlsbad got the nod with both being timed in 15:03.  Fahy, who has had a fine season had to settle for being the only LCC runner in the top five, as Scott Snow (15:11) led a swarm of four Carlsbad runners across the finish line.  Jeff Schaefer of Carlsbad finished fourth in 15:18, which is a very strong effort in a dual meet yet finish so ‘low.’   It was an entirely different matter in the girls’ race, where Emma Abrahamson of LCC ran 18:32 and her team mates Kelly Lawson & Rebekah Bosler followed only a second later.  Emily Oetting (18:37) & Brianna Miller (18:39) of Carlsbad took the next two places before Sarah Abrahamson (18:46) & Alex Fromme (18:55)of LCC closed out the scoring.

 

                                                                                Michigan

   Portage Invitational

Julia Bos won again with 17:19.  The Foot Locker finalist won almost half a minute, as Kenzie Weiler was 2nd in 17:47.   Jeff Bajema had a bit more of a battle but had an eight second margin over Sean Pengely with his time of 15:15 for 5K.

                                                                Oakland County Championships

Erin Finn, who placed 2nd at Foot Locker last fall, topped the field with 18:18.  Elena Miller (18:30) & Brooke Kovacic (18:39) earned 2nd & 3rd.  Brian Kettle led the guys with 15:46.  Nathan Burnand & Cody Snavely copped the next two places with times of 15:53 & 15:58.

 

                                                                Wayne County Championships

Hannah Meier had a solid race running 17:45 and Kelsie Schwartz, her team mate, was 2nd in 17:53.   Max Rogowski ran 17:09 for the guys.

 

                                                                Hudson Booster invitational

Abel Flores ran 16:02 to earn the victory & Quintin Reiser was 2nd in 16:13.  Ashley Sorge crossed the line first with 18:23.

 

                                                                Heritage Invite

Nate Cruz 916:16) & Jordan Storer (18:25) were the boys & girls winners.

 

                                                                                Virginia

                                                                Octoberfest Invitational

Sean McGorty, another Foot Locker alumnus, remained undefeated with a romp by fifty seconds in a time of 15:10.   Nick Link edged Noah Combs for second with both being credited with 16:00.  Jennifer Flack ran 18:22 for the gals.

 

                                                                                Minnesota

                                                                Alexandria Lions Meet of Champions

Wayne Hall of Stillwater ran 15:30 & Kevin Docherty followed a second later.  Joey Duerr of Chaska placed third with 15:42. Eric Colvin, also from Stillwater, placed 4th in 15:57 and the team was victorious after its other runners placed 8th & 11th.   Jenna Truedson of Bimidji ran 14:06 for 4K to top Megan Haez of Alexandria by two seconds.  Bethany Haez ran 14:12 for third & had a 20 second gap before the next finisher.

 

                                                                                Blaine Invitational

Steven Cotter of Andover won with 15:56.  Emily Betz (14:55) & Bailey Ness of East Ridge went 1 – 2 with Ness running 14:55.

 

                                                                                Wisconsin

                                                                Wisconsin Lutheran Invitational

Taylor Floyd Mews had an easy victory, when he ran 15:34.  Brad Johnson edged Stephen Browne with both being credited with 15:56.  McKaela Christenson came home in 14:07 & Rachel Werking was 2nd in 14:31.

 

                                                                                Falcon Invitational

Tyler Fiebelkorn (16:13) had the time of the day, while Maria Sabourin led the girls with 16:01.

                                                                       

  Madison City Meet

The defending State champion, Chandler Diffee, scored again 16:58.  Amy Davis had the winning time at 14:38.

 

                                                                                New Jersey

Holmdel is another of the nation’s classic courses, although it was missing Edward Cheserek, who announced he’d be returning to action.   The course is also home to the Meet of Champions, which will be held later, so there is little concern for hyper times geared to the rankings:  just great racing on a special course.   Then again, if you can compete on Holmdel, you can race ‘most anywhere and Kerry Dyke of St. Mary’s Academy seemed to improve as she ran to an 18:42 in the ‘F’ Division.  Marisa Ruskan added an 18:44 to claim the ‘A’ Division, as they were the only girls to break nineteen minutes.    

       The boys’ team result was inconclusive, as CBA held out its top runners with thoughts to Manhattan the following week.   Liam Mullett of Pingry had the top time of the day with 16:00 in the ‘F’ Division.  As fine a time as it was Thomas O’Neill countered in the ‘A’ Division with 16:01.  No other time approached those two but Benjamin Malone of Pascak Valley & Nick Costello of Delsea battled in the ‘C’ race to run 16:12 & 16:22 respectively and were the third & fourth best times of the day.  Costello’s mark would have won the remaining divisions with ease.

 

 

                                                                                North Carolina

                                                                           Wendy’s Invitational

This was the 38th inception, which makes it the oldest in the South, and it continues to grow.  The top girls’ race saw a battle between State champions from North Carolina and South Carolina and Laura Miller of SC ran 17:47 to top NC’s Darby Middlebrook, who ran 17:54.   Bakri Abushouk ran 15:05 to best Wyatt Maxey of Providence was second in 15:30. 

 

 

                                                                                Montana

                                                                Capital City 7 of 7 Meet

This meet, which is held in Helena, is run in flights, but with Foot Locker finalist Makena running the way she is it does not matter how they run the race, as far as area competition goes.   Makena stormed home in 16:50 to a facile victory.  The Bigfork runner had a faster time than many of the guys, who ran the course.  Chiara Warner of Townsend placed 2nd in 17:25 & Christina Aragon of Sen-ior came in third with 17:59.  Sadi Henderson of Corvallis placed 4th (18:09) ahead of Caroline Hardin (18:15) of Bozeman. 

Among the area guys Adam Peterman of Hellgate and Zach Perrin of Flathead are in another league and they made that obvious by storming away from the field.   Peterman won with 14:26 with Perrin taking 2nd in 14:46.  The next best time was that of Aiden Theard of Anaconda, who edged Colt Smith of Capital, as both were credited with 15:42.   Jason Holmes of Bozeman was 5th in 15:47. 

 

 

                                                                                Arizona

                                                                        Rattler Invitational

Andy Trouard of Salpointe Catholic scored with 15:31 with Adrian Ortega of Vista Grande taking 2nd in 15:37.  It was a tight battle for third but Andrew Garcia’s 15:44 nabbed it, as Robert Contreras (15:45) followed suit.  Right behind them were Jordan Hellebuyck (15:46), Cal Skilsky (15:48) & Lee Jones (15:50).   Melanie Zibrat of ironwood Ridge scored in the girls’ race with 19:08 to win by 14 seconds.

 

                                                                Florida State Invitational

Colonial’s Andres Arroyo raced away from the field to win in 15:19.  Tyler Bennett of Fort Myers ran 15;32 for 2nd & Nicholas Morken of Niceville edged his team mate Thomas Howell for third with 15:35 each.  Avery Lopez earned 5th with 15:43.   Kacey Smith of Estero succeeded despite a strong field by racing home in 18:06.  Emily Edwards of Fort Myers ran 18:12 to finish a second before Annie Kelly of Milton and Bryce Seymour of Hagerty followed in 18:14.00.   Julie Woolrath was but a tenth of a second behind and Katherine Yost of Norcross placed 6th in 18:16.   Alexa Cruz of Norcross grabbed  7th in 18:18.

 

                                                                                Vermont                                                             

      Woods Trail Run

The Thetford Academy course is not for those with an aversion to hills, so the times must be considered in that light.  Daniel Grosvenor of Montpelier ran 16:36 & Marc Brandmeyer earned 2nd with 16:37.  Peter Hale was the only other to manage to get under seventeen with his time of 16:59.  Taylor Spillane of Champlain Valley ran 18:57 for the victory & her team mate Autumn Eastman followed in 19:39.

 

                                                                                Illinois

                                                                     Sterling Invitational

With one runner falling fairly late in the race it was not your normal race but Caleb Drake of Oswego got the win in 15:01 over his team mate Caleb Beck.  Evan Prizy of Schaumberg ran 15:11 for third.

 

                                                                                Maryland

                                                                     Gunpowder Invitational

Only two harriers broke sixteen minutes but they came in together, when Vincent Ciatei edged David Dorsey with 15:42 each.  Julia Nardone was the best of the girls.

 

                                                                                Delaware

                                                                      Salesianum Invitational

This is another meet, which has been around for awhile & has some history.  Jack Macauley ran 16:25 for the victory, while Allie Klimkiewicz topped the girls with 19:10 & won by almost a minute.

 

 

                                                                                Missouri

                                                                       Kearney Invitational

Ty Hughes (16:18) & Katie Tuck (19:03) got the victories with Spencer Hudson & Ashley Coonfield second

 

 

                                                                Metro Catholic Conference

This meet was held in Forest Park in St. Louis, which hosted the 2012 US Junior Championship.   The team battle was no surprise with University winning again.  Austin Del Russo of De Smet pulled away from Matt Nicholson & Matt Hennessey of University to win in 16:13.

 

                                                                                Indiana

                                                                   South Bend City Meet

 

Andrew Timmons of Adams won with a time of 16:23 & Jacob Timmons placed second in 16:45 but it was not enough to trump Riley, which prevailed in the team race 32 to 57 for St. Joseph & 59 for Adams.  Dylan Dominello of SJ placed 3rd in 16:46, while Bruce Bragg led Riley with his 4th place finish in 17:02.

Amanda Farrough of Clay ran 19:1 & was the only girl to break twenty minutes.  Riley also claimed the girls’ team race.

 

                                                                                MIC

Jackson Bertoli scored in this meet, which was held in Indianapolis, with 15:53.  James Huffman ran 15:54 to take 2nd and Ethan Hoeft earned 3ed with 15:57.  Robert Browning (15:58) led Carmel, which claimed the next two places, as well as 8th & 10th.  Chanli Mundy had an easy time in the girls’ race winning in 18:18.  Carmel runners then took charge, as Kelsey Harris (18:34), Kelcy Welch (18:37) & Ellen Schmitz (18:41) placed 2-4 and then Anna Schmitz & Stacy Schoettmer added 7th & 8th place finishes for the team.

 

                                                                     Odds & Ends

                                                                    Mt. Blue Relays

Justin Tracy won with 11:26 defeating Jonathan Stanhope by two seconds.  Josh Horne of Bangor took 3rd with 11:39 edging Sully Jackson.   Caroline Colan ran 13:34 & Kelly Lynch followed with 13:49.

 

                                                                   Whitefish Invite

Jace Kalbfleisch broke sixteen (15:57) and won by 14 seconds over Gunnar Nabozney.  Elishka Kulhava ran 19:05 coming home three seconds before Samantha Mundel of Columbia Falls. 

 

                                                                Walt Disney World Classic

Top times here were Simon Holden (16:06) & Jessica Molloy (18:41), who were unchallenged.