Tiffin Carnival
Results / Pictures from the DI Boys Varsity Races
Boys Division I
Centerville went to Tiffin to prove that they could have early season success against some of the state's best teams, and they certainly proved that. Many people know that both Shawn Roberts and Eric Schmidt are impressive high school runners, and while these two finished in the top ten at Tiffin, the most impressive races for Centerville were turned in by their third and fourth runners. Centerville's third runner, Matt Montavon (pictured above, left) , finished ahead of all but three team's second finisher, while their fourth runner, Logan Wright, finished ahead of all but six team's third finisher. Mentor may have had all five runners cross the line first, but because of Montavon and Wright's impressive finish Centerville was able to hold off Mentor 140-151.
Centerville Coach Jimmy Weckesser summed up his team's performance at Tiffin when he declard the win "the biggest victory in Centerville Cross Country history." Coach Weckesser will be looking to rewrite the Centerville Cross Country history books once again this year as he prepares his team for the State Meet, a meet that could be bigger than Tiffin for Centerville.
In the individual race, senior Stuart Edmonds (pictured above, right) of Twinsburg beat defending State Champion Donny Roys (pictured above, middle) of Medina by two seconds. Edmonds was able to hit another gear to finish the race. Roys seemed unable to respond to the sudden surge by Edmonds.
Girls Division I
Magnificat was simply sensational, placing their scorers all in the top 25. Magnificat really showed why they deserved to be the top ranked team in the state by having their fifth runner finish ahead of every team's third finisher, and ahead of most team's second finisher. Magnificat ran away with the team title, beating second ranked North Canton Hoover 77-153.
North Royalton sophomore Hannah Neczypor made a name for herself last year by winning her district, finishing second at her region, and coming in 15th at the 2007 State Meet in Cross Country and by finishing third in the 3200m at last June's State Meet for Track and Field, so everyone knows that she is good. But what people didn't know is that she is this good so early in the season. At Tiffin Neczypor dropped about 45 seconds off of her PR (according to results available to OHRunners/MileSplit). Tiffin may be a fast course, but it's not 45 seconds fast! Hannah easily won the race finishing ahead of runner up senior Tori Brink from Hilliard Davidson.
Division II
On the boys team side, Tippecanoe had an impressive race which should help them continue to be ranked number one in the state. Tippecanoe was able to beat CVCA, 151-185. Tippecanoe and CVCA were pretty close to each other through the first four finisher for each team, but Tipp's fifth runner, senior Matt Zuzolo was able to seal the deal and the team title by finishing about 13 seconds and twenty some places ahead of CVCA's fifth runner.
The top three individuals were all seniors, with Jarrod Eick of Marlington taking home the gold in a time of 15:25.76, just two seconds ahead of Kyle Sullinger of CVCA. Jason Salyer of Tippecanoe was third in a time of 15:42.01
On the girls side, senior Katie Gillespie of CVCA was able to finish in a state leading time of 17:33.17 while cruising to take home the individual title. This time is not only state leading, but according ro results that the MileSplit network has been able to compile, Gillespie's time also leads the nation for girls 5k races. Sophomore Brittany Stockmaster of Seneca East finished runner up in a time of 18:27.98.
The team title finish was similar to the individual finish. CVCA easily rolled to a 54-109 victory over Seneca East (the second ranked Division III team). Both teams had impressive showings, CVCA was able to place their five scores in the top 30 finishers, while Seneca East was able to place their five scorers all in the top 45 finishers.
Division III
When you have two girls that can run sub 19 at a big meet, your team has a strong chance to win any meet. Minster was able to go 1-2 with senior Lei Bornhorst just edging out her junior teamate, Jessica Albers, 18:58.23 to 18:58.51. The third ranked Minster girls handed top ranked Versailles their first loss of the season, beating Versailles by an impressive 33 points. Versailles scored 93 points to Minster's 60.
Division III Boys Recap
By Steve Statman
OHRunners Boys DIII Correspondent
Every Saturday, local cross country teams will stomp some sod to determine neighborhood swank and swagger. However, this past weekend, teams from every corner of the state headed to
Many thought Seth Butler (Jr. Findlay Liberty Benton) would use his fantastic 1:52 half mile speed to sit on and out kick any runner who dared take the lead. Alas, it was
The team race pitted schools from all four corners of the state; Delta (NW), East Canton (NE),
Bellaire Saint John and East Canton will travel to Boardman next week and toe the line with #1 ranked McDonald, #4 ranked Saint Thomas Aquinas, and #5 ranked