Three teams and eight individual runners from the Chagrin Valley Conference will compete at the OHSAA State Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Fortress Obetz.
Hawken and West Geauga finished fourth and fifth, respectively, at the Division II Boardman Regional and will send their entire squads to the state meet. Chagrin Falls’ Isaac Bourne and Hunter Longo, and Grand Valley’s David Steimle also punched their ticket to state by finishing among the top 24 runners at the regional.
Sophomore Nick Garcia-Whitko paced the Hawks with a time of 17:23, good for fifth place overall. Longo was ninth in 17:42, Bourne finished 12th in 17:46, Steimle placed 16th in 17:51, and West Geauga’s Daniel Kearn was 23rd in 18:00.
Hawken’s other runners included Parker Carrus, Sam Cohen, David Hamilton, Jeremy Hofius, Mac McMillan, and Logan Miller. West Geauga’s other state qualifiers included Grant Congdon, Dakota Deets, Matt Dienes, Lorenzo Linek, John Mikes, and Chris Whiting.
Chagrin Falls’ girls’ team finished third at the regional meet and will run as a team at Fortress Obetz.
Sophomore Mila Gresh led the Tigers with a time of 20:24, good for sixth place overall. Senior Rose Hoelzel was eighth in 20:34, and senior Claire Coffey also finished among the top 25 with a time of 21:24, good for 25th place. Anna Baker, Aubree Daugherty, Molly Longo, and Claire Stinson also ran for the Tigers.
Edgewood’s Maddie Crooks, West Geauga’s Grace Gyetko, Hawken’s Brielle Collins, Orange’s Kate Halloran, and Perry’s Cori Lynch also qualified for the state meet.
Collins, a freshman, finished fifth with a time of 20:21, Crooks was seventh in 20:31, Gyetko placed 13th in 20:44, Lynch finished 18th in 21:01.4, and Halloran placed 19th in 21:01.9.
Click here for more information on the state meet.
