Independence senior Tyler Polman came within seconds of winning the 2016 Tiffin Cross Country Carnival at Hedges Boyer Park on Saturday.
Polman finished the race in 16:04, just 11 seconds behind Colonel Crawford’s Chad Johnson.
“I was a little disappointed with my time yesterday,” Polman said. “I was aiming for the win and a sub-16 5K, but I didn't run a smart enough second mile to reach either of those goals.”
He did however continue his preparations for the post-season.
“The experience at Tiffin helped because it shows me what I need to improve on in the coming weeks,” he said. “It was very close to a virtual state meet as multiple podium finishers and top runners were in the race.”
Matt Botzman (22:27), Wyatt Balser (23:50), Gregory Adams (24:15), Thorin Chappel (26:39) and Erik Liebal (27:35) also competed in the race.
Independence’s shorthanded girls’ team competed at the Bruce Lerch Invitational in Brecksville. Dana Zaccardelli and Maria Sagi missed the meet to take the ACT.
Freshman Emily Skoczen finished third in the JV race with a time of 23:33 and Emma Wensink was 24th in 26:11.
Independence’s middle school team had three runners finish among the top 20 in their respective races.
Collin Patton was 18th in the boys’ race with a time of 12:24 and Makenna McGhee and Paige Westerburg finished fourth and sixth, respectively, in the girls’ race. McGhee ran a time of 13:19 and Westerburg finished in 13:34.
