Hawken’s girls’ cross country team finished sixth at the Division II Youngstown Regional to earn an automatic berth to the state meet.
The Hawks, led by individual champion Ella Gilson and Juliana Metz, who finished ninth, edged Poland by just four points for the sixth and final qualifying berth.
Gilson won her fourth district title with a time of 19:11 and Metz came in at 20:15.
Elena Padley finished 31st with a time of 21:19, Camilla Mara placed 48th in 21:49 and Lena Sylvan came in 102nd with a time of 23:09. Sofia Boyd (23:21) and Gaby Montero (24:23) also ran for the Hawks.
Joining the Hawks at state are several other runners from the Chagrin Valley Conference.
Chagrin Falls’ Mila Gresh and Rose Hoelzel qualified as individuals in the girls’ Division II race while Hawken’s Nick Garcia-Whitko finished
Gresh finished 16th in 20:28 while Hoelzel placed 23rd in 20:52. Garcia-Whitko finished 19th in 17:43.
In Division III, Cuyahoga Heights’ Darien Tillett and Kirtland’s Reilly Greenlee punched their tickets to state with top 16 finishes.
Tillet placed ninth in the boys’ race with a time of 17:34. He’ll make his second appearance at state after qualifying as a sophomore.
Greenlee became the first Kirtland runner to advance to state since 2008. She placed 13th in 21:12.
