Eagles, Rangers Advance in Cross Country Tournament

Ranger Boys team from left to right: Juniors Joe Burtzlaff, Evan Budzar, Seniors Ty'Saun Blevins, Micah Swartz, Freshman Max Budzar, and Seniors Henry Bish and Gunnar Stockman

The City of Lakewood will be well represented in this weekend's OHSAA cross country regional meet in Boardman, Ohio. Both the St. Edward and Lakewood boys teams advanced out Saturday's district meet at Lorain County Community College. Leonie Klein of the Lakewood girls team also advanced to compete individually.

St. Edward won the boys district championship, narrowly beating Strongsville for the title. Lakewood finished third, becoming one of the five boys teams to earn a trip to the regionals.  The final standings were: St. Edward - 1st w/59 points, Strongsville 60, Lakewood 114, Avon Lake 120, and Amherst Steele 146.

The Eagles finished with two of the top five and five of the top 20 runners. They were Alex Hauptman (4th place), Trevor Wright (5th), Daniel Conway (11th), Jared Perkowski (19) and Jacob Butze (20). Also running but not scoring for St. Edward were Dave Boepple and Aidan Harrington. The District title is the second in four years for the Eagles.

The Lakewood boys were led by senior Henry Bish, who finished 6th. Juniors Joe Burtzlaff (21st) and Evan Budzar (23rd), and seniors Gunnar Stockman (29th) and TySaun Blevins (35th). Rounding out the top seven for the Rangers was Senior Micah Swartz and Freshman Max Budzar. Budzar, an alternate, stepped up to race for the team last minute subbing in for sophomore Joseph Toole who was unable to run due to a hamstring strain. "We are extremely proud of these runners" said Ranger Head Coach Stephanie Toole after the race.

Among the girls, Lakewood junior Leonie Klein finished 17th overall, earning the right to compete individually in next week's regional meet. As a team, the Lakewood girls finished 7th overall among 14 schools. Also scoring for the Rangers were Junior Jing Feng (30th), senior Lauren Lowell (31th), senior Olivia Rodriguez (42nd), and junior Abby LaForm (46th). Running but not scoring for the Rangers were sophomores Sophie Sanders and Serena Bellino. 

The Eagles and Ranger Boys will face intense competition at Boardman, where they will race the 23 other best teams in the Region.  The field includes 8 of the top 20 teams in the state - Solon #1, Lousiville #5, Medina #7, Hudson #10, St. Ignatius #11, Wadsworth #13 and Kenston #14. "The competition will be nothing short of state meet caliber" says Toole. The Top 8 Teams and 32 Individuals will advance on to the OHSAA Division I State Meet on Sat. Nov. 5 at National Trail Raceway in Hebron.

   

Mike Deneen

Mike Deneen has extensive experience covering sports and community stories for the Lakewood Observer. Mike has been a Senior Industry Analyst for the Freedonia Group in Cleveland, Ohio, since 1998. He has appeared on CNBC’s Closing Bell, NPR’s MarketPlace and has been quoted multiple times in The Wall Street Journal. He has made multiple guest appearances on ESPN Cleveland radio. Mike also writes for Inside Northwestern, a website that covers Northwestern Wildcat Athletics. You can reach him on Twitter at @MikeDeneen1 

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Volume 12, Issue 23, Posted 10:31 AM, 10.24.2016