State-based: Local teams, individuals shine at regional XC meet

Staff photo / Dan Hiner. Lakeview’s Trent Miller (328) runs during the Division II boys cross country regional meet at Boardman High School as teammate Jake Langmeyer (326) makes his way around the course.

BOARDMAN – It started with Division III and ended with Division I, and consistently featured teams and runners from Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties.

The area showed up strong Saturday at the regional cross country meet at Boardman High School. Several teams and individuals made their way to the state meet this week.

On the boys side, Boardman, Lakeview and Maplewood will run on behalf of the Mahoning Valley. And for the girls, McDonald and Salem will represent the area.

That’s in addition to a number of individual runners – including a 2023 state champion – who will also tackle the course at Fort Obetz on November 2.

DIVISION I BOYS

There was one thing that was eating away at some members of the Boardman cross country team: the Spartans haven’t made it since 2013.

That changed Saturday when a group of boys gathered around the Spartans’ tent at the shot put circle and cheered as soon as the results were announced. The Spartans finished in a tie for seventh place with Chardon with 244 points. The top eight teams advanced to state.

David D’Altorio has been the No. 1 runner for Boardman all season. He started off strong, but slowly started to lose weight in the second half of the course. He finished 19th with 16:17.34.

However, his Spartan teammates were there to provide support in the middle of the pack. Jacob Turek (16:48.82) finished 46th, Dylan White (16:56.16) was 55th and Dominic Theodore threw in 89th, giving the team 72 points.

“It wasn’t the race D’Altorio had in mind, and his teammates picked him up. That’s an honor for them.” Boardman head coach John Phillips said. “This season David was the leader and he needed his teammates today. It’s a really cool thing. They were behind him today because he was behind them all season. It was a total team effort to get us there.”

It wasn’t a large field in the Division I race, as Austintown Fitch’s Justin Sahli was the only other local to advance. He achieved ninth place with a time of 16:04.23.

DIVISION I GIRLS

No team in the area qualified on the girls side of Division I, but one Spartan will compete in Columbus. Boardman’s Olivia Brady was ninth with 19:13.03

DIVISION II BOYS

The Lakeview boys cross country team had to wait to find out its fate.

Although laser timing did speed up the results process, results were not available until about 15 minutes into the race. But as soon as they were posted, a small crowd behind the finish line erupted in cheers.

The Bulldogs placed fifth and qualified for the state championship.

“There are hundreds of runners, and only one can win. And only six of the twenty teams go (to say), so instead we focused on the process,” Lakeview head coach Sean Voorhies said. “We sleep, we eat well, we train well… usually the results take care of themselves.”

Lakeview placed fifth of the six teams that qualified. The Bulldogs scored 173 points.

The Bulldogs kept their season alive despite not having a runner in the top 20.

Anthony Marble-Salem was 22nd, Jake Langmeyer was 37th, Trent Miller was 41st and Griffin Oravec rounded out Lakeview’s top-50 finishers with a 47th place finish.

Only one individual advanced in the Division II boys race, as Sam Yakubek of Salem finished 10th with a 16:33.14.

DIVISION II GIRLS

Salem is headed back to the state championship game.

The Quakers finished fifth with 191 points, earning their ticket to Fort Obetz.

Salem chose the tried and tested method of running as a pack. Three runners finished in a group of six. Maggie Hopple finished 32nd, Maggie Hall finished 35th and Cassidy Wallace finished 37th. That pack mentality led to a cluster of points.

“The big goal going into the year, these seniors, was to be the first team in school history to reach the first senior class four years in a row,” Salem head coach Ted Yuhaniak said. “It’s pretty special because over the years they’ve had some pretty good teams at our school. You hear it from professional athletes, but you’re at a loss for words. You’re just so proud of them.”

Ursuline had a pair of runners finish in the top 10 of the Division II girls race. Savaya Woody (19:12.98) was fifth and teammate Camille Dunifer (19:17.08) was sixth.

There were a few other local individual qualifiers, led by Lakeview’s Jalyn DeLeon’s time of 19:41.11 for 18th. West Branch’s Clarice Martin’s time of 19:51.04 led to a 21st-place finish.

DIVISION III GIRLS

Sometimes experiences matter in cross country, and Heartland Christian’s Rebecca Geiss has plenty of them.

After winning the Spartan Invitational earlier this fall, Geiss earned a chance to defend her state championship. She won the Division III regional girls meet on Saturday to send her back to state.

Geiss won the race in dominant fashion with a time of 18:10.58. She passed just over 18 seconds ahead of Smithville’s Kaityln Carr.

‘I just do everything I can and trust the results to God’ said Geiss. “I think he knows what’s best for me, and I trust his plan.”

Naomi Sheesley clocked a time of 18:33.65 for third place, and Chalker’s Abbey Castle came fifth with a 19:18.11.

On the team side, McDonald was the top Mahoning Valley team, finishing fourth with 132 points. Maplewood fell two points short of joining its running rival in the top five.

Other individual qualifiers include Mineral Ridge freshman Kylee Molnar (19:35.26) with an eighth-place finish, Anna Steimle (19:45.86) will represent Grand Valley after crossing in 12th and Maplewood’s Mackenzie Edgar (19:47.21) placed 14th .

DIVISION III BOYS

McDonald Boys got things going with a third-place finish in the Division III race. The Blue Devils collected 114 points, finishing behind Rittman’s 87 and Waynedale’s 102.

Carson Klase led the way ahead of McDonald with a 16:29.92, good enough for fourth place. Teammate Joey Cappuzzello finished sixth with a time of 16:36.58.

Emmitt Slabach – who returned to Boardman after winning the Spartan Invitational this year – was the top local finisher with a second-place finish in a time of 16:06.55.

“I rode with many of the runners I faced today,” said Slabach. “It helped me to know how they run. It helped me fix some things that weren’t so good at the time. I’m happy with how I ran today.”

Dominic Pappagallo of Mineral Ridge was third with a 16:19.08. Jackson-Milton’s Lucas Sokol was the next local, running 16:47.83 and placing 12th, Grand Valley’s Sam Steimle was 14th at 16:50.54 and Lowellville’s Nate Yon was 15th at 16:51.02.

A pair of Maplewood runners were the last area runners to qualify. Ethan Nevinski placed 17th with a time of 16:57.70, while Micah Sparks was right behind with a 17:06.87.