Vermilion’s Joseph Webb wins Obenour Invitational at home – Morning Journal

It was an unforgettable weekend for Joseph Webb.

The Vermilion senior was heavily involved in the Sailors’ comeback activities, and he finished them off with a victory at the Obenour Invitational with a time of 16:54.

Webb was busy with the marching band making its first television appearances the day before and performing at the homecoming football game that evening. That didn’t stop him from bringing his A-game.

He took his first career victory last weekend and continued his winning ways. Over the years at this competition, Vermilion used to finish second. Not this time.

“I’ve been trying to win this game for four years,” Webb said. “To finally do it, we had a saying that it was a Vermilion curse. We would still be second. It’s great to come here and break this curse and get everyone excited before the prom tonight.

Webb wasn’t alone at the top as teammate Daniel Grisel finished third with a time of 17:14. The Sailors finished sixth as a team with 158 points.

Matthew Walker and Ben Susi of Amherst took turns in second and fourth place. They set the tone for the Comets who won the game with 48 points. North Olmsted was second with 73 points, followed by Keystone with 93.

Walker stayed alongside Webb for most of the race, finishing just behind at 16:58. The junior got off to a good start and felt motivated to keep pace with the eventual winner. Susi clocked 17:17.

“My legs felt great, I really thought I worked hard from the first mile,” Walker said. “I settled down. (Webb) really pushed me through it, so thanks to him. We have a conference in two weeks, so this is a great preview for that. We need to come out strong and pack our bags.

Overall, the Comets put together a strong team performance to win with four runners placing in the top nine. Behind Walker and Susi, Asa Nicely finished seventh in 17:31, while Jacob Michalak moved up to ninth in the final moments of the race with a time of 17:38. Logan Pitcock finished 26th to round out the Amherst lineup.

“The boys have been practicing hard and we always love coming to this meet,” Amherst coach Rob Glatz said. “It’s been a tradition for a long time to come here. This is our tune-up meet before the SWC Championships, so we wanted to focus on a good performance up front there. The boys executed that well, so I’m very proud of them.

On the girls side, Avon Lake also got some valuable representation heading into the conference championship. Cassidy Valerino and Kelsey Sheehan had a plan to stay together and they executed it to perfection. Neither left the other and they finished third and fourth respectively. The two achieved a time of 21:19.

It was also a team effort as the Shoregals won the competition with 41 points. Their five runners all finished in the top 20. Hannah Cline finished sixth, followed by Kate Leininger 11th and Abby Henry 20th.

“We just have to come up with our game plan, just like this game, and implement it,” Valerino said. “I couldn’t have done it without Kelsey.”

Avon Lake doesn’t typically compete in this meet, but a scheduling conflict created an opening. It was the Shoregals’ first victory at Vermilion in more than 20 years. This couldn’t have been done without Valerino and Sheehan up front. Neither of them could have achieved this without the other.

“When you run alone, all you hear is your own breathing,” Sheehan said. “When you see someone next to you also struggling, you know you are not alone in this situation.”

Originally published: September 28, 2024 at 5:47 p.m.