Chagrin Valley Conference teams placed 23 runners among the top 20 in four different races at the 2018 Andrews-Osborne Invitational on Saturday.
Hawken’s boys’ team finished second in the Division II-III race while Geneva was third in both the Division I girls’ and boys’ races while West Geauga was third place in both Division II-III races.
Individually, several athletes turned in strong performances.
West Geauga sophomore John Patterson was the league’s top finisher on Saturday as he placed third in the Division II-III race with a time of 17:22. Teammate Kenneth Kirk was fifth (17:35) and Lorenzo Linek and Ben Mihacevich also placed among the top 20 for the Wolverines. Linek was 16th with a time of 19:13 and Mihacevich was 18th in 19:21.
Freshman Julia Martinez paced West Geauga in the girls’ race. She finished 12th with a time of 21:36 while teammate Skye Hackathorn was 14th in 21:49.
“Julia has continued to show improvement and improve each race,” said West Geauga coach Mike Taurasi. “She is really doing a nice job demonstrating that she can lead her team and race at the front of the pack regardless of the size of the meet.”
Geneva junior Elizabeth Joy was the league’s top finisher in the girls’ Division I race as she finished fifth with a time of 20:24. Senior Taylor Cupp finished 12th (20:58) and junior Leah Costello came in 15th (21:13) for the Eagles.
Junior Jacob Mirabell was the league’s highest finisher in the boys’ Division I race as he placed sixth with a time of 16:48. Harvey’s David Boykin was 13th and Geneva’s Jacob Robinson and Alex Reese came in 15th and 16th, respectively, with times of 17:29 and 17:30. Harvey’s JT Basco and Geneva’s Jesse McElroy also finished among the top 20. Basco was 19th in 17:43 and McElroy finished 20th in 17:50.
Hawken’s Michael Snyder (6th, 17:46), David Hamilton (8th, 18:29) and Carlos Botella (9th, 18:31), Wickliffe’s Cole Stevenson (13th, 19:04) and Hayden Smith (20th, 19:25), Kirtland’s Ian McGreal (17th, 19:19) and Orange’s Jackson Berns (19th, 19:23) all finished among the top 20 in the boys’ Division II-III race.
Orange freshman Kate Halloran led the Lions in the girls’ Division II-III race with an eighth-place finish in 21:04.
“We are happy for Kate in what she accomplished at her race at Andrews Osborne Academy on Saturday,” said Orange coach Mark Genovese. “She’s a hard worker and is showing continuous improvement in both practices and races.”
Kirtland’s Julie Namciu and Wickliffe’s Makenna Sladky also finished among the top 20.
Namciu was 13th with a time of 21:49.
“Julie had a really good season last year and a very good October that ended at regionals as an individual qualifier,” said Kirtland coach JP Moran. “I think Julie and our other varsity runners understand that they all need to step up a level if we want to advance to regionals as a team for the first time in nearly a decade. I think they are all running well heading into the postseason and we just need to put it all together on that particular Saturday.”
Sladky was 18th in 22:04.
“Makenna has been working very hard all season to get to where she wants to be and she views her performances as still approaching that,” said Wickliffe coach Logan Moritz. “While she wasn’t unhappy with her races at Madison and Osborne, she feels there are adjustments she can make in races to further improve her times and finishes.”
The CVC meet will take place on Saturday at Cardinal High School.
