Cross country: Bay boys make strong showing, finish fourth at Tiffin Carnival
Paul Heyse | The Chronicle-Telegram
TIFFIN — It wasn’t a perfect day, but the Bay High boys cross country team gave its parents and fans plenty to be pleased about at Saturday’s 40th annual Tiffin Distance Carnival.
The state’s No. 3-ranked team, Bay finished fourth in the Division II race with 247 points. Top-ranked Tipp City Tippecanoe (151) was the class of the race. No. 13 CVCA was second (184) and No. 5 Defiance was third (245) in the 52-team field.
Sophomore Mike Brajdic’s performance led the way for the Rockets. He finished fourth in 15 minutes, 43.52 seconds, a personal-record time by 24 seconds.
“I just relaxed and opened up my stride during the second and third mile,” Brajdic said. “Everyone else just kind of died the second mile. I’m very happy (with this time). We’re just starting to pick it up in our workouts. We haven’t even begun to do any speed work yet.”
Marlington senior Jarrod Eick won the race (15:35). CVCA senior Kyle Sullinger was second (15:37). He is the son of Glen Sullinger, a 1975 Amherst graduate. Tippecanoe senior Jason Salyer was third (15:42).
“We have another fast course next week (at Galion),” Brajdic said. “It’s nice to see how good we are right now. Hopefully, it’ll provide more inspiration to push ourselves even harder.”
Senior Jordan Hawkins (19th, 16:32), junior Brian Zeuch (37th, 16:54), junior Jeremy Farver (86th, 17:36) and sophomore Nick Banks (101st, 17:45) rounded out Bay’s top five.
“I’m very pleased with the performance,” Bay boys coach Steve Babson said. “We didn’t rest really for this meet. We tried to work through it with a little bit of rest Thursday and Friday. The goal was to get three runners under 17 flat and our top five all under 17:30.”
Last year, Bay was seventh at the Tiffin classic. Brajdic (12th, 16:37) was the only Rocket runner under 17 flat for the day.
For the second straight year, Amherst senior Kyle Lowry (16:30) took second in the Division I-B boys varsity race. Perrysburg senior Tyler Swartz (16:23) was the only one better.
“My heels were just killing me the last two miles,” Lowry said. “They just started burning. It’s the worst thing I ever felt in a race, by far. I ran on my toes for part of the race because it felt better. I felt like taking my shoes off.”
Lowry’s heel problem stemmed in part to adjusting to new orthotics in his running spikes.
“The shoes were fast, but they were absolutely killing my feet,” Lowry said. “It needs more cushion or something. My heels were on fire. I’m planning to see the doctor again this week.”
The Comets finished sixth of 36 teams with 212 points. Sophomore Miles Pittak (fifth, 16:45), junior Brian Szczodrowski (42nd, 17:38), senior Ryan Morris (76th, 18:09) and senior Pete Hause (87th, 18:19) rounded out Amherst’s top five.
Freshman Katy Link (18:57) of Avon Lake had the fastest time by a Shoregal runner since Colleen Byrne ran 18:51 at the 1996 state meet. She finished 10th in the Division I-A girls race.
“We knew today was going to be a faster course, but I wasn’t sure how fast,” said Link. “We were definitely moving today. My mile split was 5:55.”
North Olmsted senior Dan Bullard had the area’s top performance in the Division I-A race. Bullard was 15th in 16:12, a personal-record time by 11 seconds.
“I felt fatigued before the race, but I just hung in there well and kept passing people,” Bullard said. “I’m not really a kicker, but I’m very satisfied with my foot speed today. My mile speed (4:33) isn’t the greatest, but it’s good enough to help me compete well for 5K.”
BOYS
Division I-A
Team scores: 1. Centerville, 140;
2. Mentor, 151; 3. Toledo St. John, 172;
13. Avon Lake, 379; 22. North Olmsted, 612; 31. Berea, 778. Out of 33 teams.
Overall winner: Stuart Edmonds (Twinsburg), 15:19
Top local runners: 15. Dan Bullard (NO), 16:12; 20. Matt Link (AL), 16:17; 68. Jimmy Adams (AL), 17:01; 78. Mike Parsons (AL), 17:08
Division I-B
Team scores: 1. Toledo St. Francis, 70; 2. St. Ignatius B, 171; 3. Perrysburg, 172; 6. Amherst, 212; 17. Westlake, 446; 28. Midview, 770; 34. Southview, 1,096. Out of 36 teams
Overall winner: Tyler Swartz (Perrysburg), 16:23
Top local runners: 2. Kyle Lowry (AM), 16:30; 5. Miles Pittak (AM), 16:45; 6. Jack St. Marie (W), 16:50; 42. Brian Szczodrowski (AM), 17:38
Division II
Team scores: 1. Tipp City Tippecanoe, 151; 2. CVCA, 184; 3. Defiance, 245; 4. Bay, 247; 17. Vermilion, 476; 19. Avon, 517; 36. Firelands, 918; 41. Clearview, 1,206; 48. Black River, 1,376; 49. Wellington, 1,403; 52. Keystone, 1,567
Overall winner: Jarrod Eick (Marlington), 15:35
Top local runners: 4. Mike Brajdic (BA), 15:43; 19. Jordan Hawkins (BA), 16:32; 37. Brian Zeuch (BA), 16:54; 39. Nate Rodriguez (V), 16:54; 45. Nick Jeffers (F), 17:04; 51. Tyler Kvach (A), 17:07; 56. Andy Ventura (A), 17:09
Division III-B
Team scores: 1. Hawken, 130; 2. Ottawa Hills, 132; 16. Open Door, 446. Out of 25 teams.
Overall winner: Elias Dandar (Gibsonburg), 17:27
Top local runner: 44. Mike Ogle (OD), 19:02
Girls
Division I-A
Team scores: 1. Magnificat, 77; 2. North Canton Hoover, 153; 3. Stow, 218; 20. Avon Lake, 491; 23. Amherst, 557; 24. Berea, 583; 25. North Olmsted, 611.
Overall winner: Hannah Neczypor (North Royalton), 17:50
Top local runners: 10. Kay Link (AL), 18:57; 27. Miranda Weed (AL), 19:36; 45. Meghan Wade (BE), 20:05; 47. Jessica Bartholomew (AM), 20:07; 75. Olivia DiBiasio (BE), 20:48
Division I-B
Team scores: 1. Perrysburg, 119; 2. Anthony Wayne, 201; 3. Medina B, 202; 18. Westlake, 481; 20. Midview, 501
Overall winner: Michelle Thomas (Cincinnati Glen Este), 18:19
Top local runners: 9. Sophia Kopasakis (W), 20:08; 38. Alesha Beverly (W), 21:25; 49. Lauren Hutka (M), 21:40; 55. Brianna Adams (M), 21:51
Division II-A
Team scores: 1. CVCA, 54; 2. Seneca East, 109 3. St. Vincent-St. Mary, 164; 19. Avon, 502; 21. Bay, 508; 27. Keystone, 739; 38. Vermilion, 1,143; 39. Firelands, 1,210. Out of 40 teams.
Overall winner: Katie Gillespie (CVCA), 17:33
Top local runners: Erin Schneider (A), 20:28; 52. Nikki Blair (K), 20:28; 70. Kayla Welch (A), 20:46; 89. Hanna Sterle (BA), 21:02; 95. Megan Mohney (BA), 21:07; 96. Jessica Gale (BA), 21:07
Division III
Team scores: 1. Minster, 60; 2. Versailles, 93. 48. Black River, 1,228. Out of 53 teams.
Overall winner: Lei Bornhorst (Minster), 18:58
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Filed by Paul Heyse | The Chronicle-Telegram September 7th, 2008 in Sports. Popularity: 2% |
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