Sayle wins Frank Gibas 2-mile race; Kirtland girls finish second

Kirtland junior Kylie Sayle adjusted quickly to a different kind of challenge Wednesday night.

Instead of the traditional 5K distance, runners at Kenston’s Frank Gibas Invitational competed over two miles, leaving considerably less time to settle into a rhythm before making a move.

Then storms added another wrinkle. With the schedule compressed because of the weather, the boys and girls were sent out together.

Sayle embraced both changes.

She won the girls’ race in 11:54.7, finishing 12.5 seconds ahead of Solon freshman Caroline Wang, who crossed in 12:07.2.

“Being a shorter race, I knew I had to pick up the pace a little bit compared to my 5k,” Sayle said. “Knowing that it would be over quick really helped motivate me to go faster.”

Rather than worrying about splits and trying to run the race like a shortened 5K, Sayle found another way to gauge her effort.

“Instead of focusing on exact pace and time, it was helpful to choose a target in the race and try to stay with them,” she said. “Luckily, I have a couple teammates on the guys team who are around my speed and faster, so I knew I was in a good spot by sticking with them.”

Those Kirtland boys quickly discovered Sayle wasn’t simply using them as a reference point.

“She made our boys run for their lives,” Kirtland coach JP Moran said. “She was coming for them.”

Moran said Ben Cook was one of the runners who felt Sayle closing in behind him.

“They had to run the boys and girls combined due to the storms, and Ben Cook ran for his life and said he heard her breathing,” Moran said. “He said it pushed him to do his best.”

Cook finished in 11:47.9, just 6.8 seconds ahead of Sayle.

Sayle’s victory led a strong performance by the Kirtland girls, who finished second with 68 points, trailing only champion Solon’s 49 and edging third-place Kenston, which scored 70.

Kirtland put five runners among the first 21 finishers.

Behind Sayle, sophomore Nadija Mrva finished 12th in 13:00.6, and senior Danika Schaum was 14th in 13:01.7. Junior Anna Hill placed 20th in 13:27.9, with freshman Mila Delgado immediately behind her in 21st at 13:28.4.

Sayle’s cross country success is only part of an unusually busy fall. She also competes for Kirtland’s girls soccer team, balancing practices and competition in both sports.

She credits that schedule — and the people around her — with helping rather than hindering her.

“Although doing both sports is a lot sometimes, it is much more rewarding to be able to make so many fun memories with both teams,” Sayle said. “What truly led me to finding success in both sports is my coaches, who have been extremely understanding and supportive of everything I do.”

Kenston dominates boys race

Kenston controlled the boys competition, winning the team championship with 19 points. Orange finished second with 73, followed by Twinsburg with 76. Kirtland placed seventh with 192, while Wickliffe did not record a team score.

Kenston sophomore Tyler Cingcade won the two-mile race in 10:10.7, with teammate Matthew Collins second in 10:15.1.

Orange’s Griffin Berlin finished third in 10:20.4, Kenston’s Huck Rundo was fourth in 10:26.3, and Wickliffe junior Caleb Wallace rounded out the top five in 10:27.0.

Kenston also received top-10 finishes from Porter Fontana, sixth in 10:32.5; Ian McCallin, eighth in 10:38.7; and Henry Myles, ninth in 10:39.6.

Kirtland’s top finisher was senior Joey Ciavarelli, who placed 16th in 11:04.5.

Cook’s 11:47.9 placed him 35th overall, and senior Ben Brandal finished 48th in 12:13.5.

Boys Team Results

Boys Area Top-20 Finishers

Girls Team Results

Girls Area Top-20 Finishers

Boys Cross Country Results

Kenston Frank Gibas XC Invitational

Wednesday, September 9, 2026 • Kenston High School

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Highlighted runners are from schools currently included in this site’s cross-country leaderboards.

BOYS RESULTSGIRLS RESULTS

Choose Boys Results or Girls Results to view complete team and individual results.

Boys Top Performers

KenstonTyler Cingcade1st • 10:10

KenstonMatthew Collins2nd • 10:15

OrangeGriffin Berlin3rd • 10:20

KenstonHuck Rundo4th • 10:26

WickliffeCaleb Wallace5th • 10:27

KenstonPorter Fontana6th • 10:32

Girls Top Performers

KirtlandKylie Sayle1st • 11:54

SolonCaroline Wang2nd • 12:07

Notre Dame-Cathedral LatinZoey Myers3rd • 12:12

OrangeMarina Campbell4th • 12:25

TwinsburgGianna Rocco5th • 12:27

SolonSydney Lader6th • 12:32