Hawken’s Ella Gilson this season hasn’t met a course record she can’t beat.
Gilson on Saturday went 2-for-2 in rewriting the history books after she broke the course record at the Mentor Cardinal Classic with a first-place finish in 17:52.8. She previously broke Hawken’s own course record with an 18:44 last week.
“I am very satisfied with my time,” Gilson said. “I am so happy that I got the course record. My time makes me extremely excited for the postseason.”
The defending Division II state champion enjoyed competing against so many other great runners on Saturday and that helped her to push the pace.
“My performance today raises my confidence because I had some great competition today,” she said. “I am very pleased with my time, especially since it was only the second meet of the season. I dropped quite a bit from last year’s time, so I’m really happy.”
Led by Gilson, Hawken was the highest placing Chagrin Valley Conference team. The Hawks finished in seventh place overall.
Juliana Metz (20:39) and Julia Newman (21:11) also finished among the top 50 for the Hawks. Metz placed 30th while Newman was 47th.
Edgewood finished in ninth place, Perry was 10th, Geneva finished 11th and Lakeside placed 22nd.
Geneva’s Elizabeth Joy (17th, 20:08) and Renee Tetlow (27th, 20:32), Perry’s Cori Lynch (21st, 20:21) and Grace McKoon (34th, 20:53), and Edgewood’s Lydia Randolph (28th, 20:34) and Eve Brunell (29th, 20:39) all placed among the top 50 runners.
Geneva’s boys’ team finished in seventh place to lead the CVC contingent. Senior Jacob Mirabell placed 29th overall with a time of 17:06.
Edgewood placed 13th as a team, Perry was 19th, Hawken finished 21st and Lakeside was 22nd.
Harvey didn’t score as a team but junior J.T. Basco was the league’s top finisher as he placed 20th overall with a time of 16:52.
Edgewood’s Joey Jafarace (41st, 17:18) and Geneva’s Zachary Reese (43rd, 17:24) and Alex Reese (50th, 17:33) all placed among the top 50.
