Four local teams win cross country district titles
The South Range, Maplewood and Salem boys, along with the McDonald girls, each took home cross country district titles on Saturday.
Led by a first-place individual finish from Emmitt Slabach, the Raiders tallied 41 points at the Division III GlenOak district meet. Caleb Baun took fourth, Max Freeze finished fifth and Xavier Winner came in 10th to help South Range clinch the team title.
Maplewood had six of its runners finish in the top-16, as the Rockets scored 38 points at the Division III Madison district meet. Ethan Nevinski paced Maplewood by finishing fifth individually, as Andrew Donaldson took sixth, Micah Sparks was eighth, Trevor Shipman was 10th, Zach Suba was 14th and Kale Calvert came in 16th.
McDonald’s Carson Klase took top honors at the Division III Madison meet, winning the individual district title with a time of 16:03.16.
Salem took home its Division II GlenOak district title with 65 points to beat second-place Canfield, which had 105 points. Parker Warren finished fifth and Sam Yakubek took seventh to lead the Quakers. Luke Stephens finished 13th, Aiden Wright was 16th and Alex Rea was 24th to round out Salem’s top finishers.
Naomi Sheesley continued her sensational freshman season for the Blue Devils, as she earned a first-place individual finish with a time of 18:25.88 to pace McDonald. The Blue Devils finished with 57 points to edge out second-place Maplewood with 73 points for the Division III Madison district title. Kylie Flere and Julianna Krumpak came in 11th and 12th for the Blue Devils and Selah Sheesley was 18th.
Heartland Christian’s Rebecca Geiss also had a first-place finish, winning the Division III GlenOak district title with a time of 18:32.16.
All regional qualifiers will race at the Divisions I, II and III Northeast Regional Cross Country meet on Oct. 26 at Boardman High School.
Qualifiers there then head to the 2024 OHSAA Cross Country State Championships on Nov. 2 at Fortress Obetz and Memorial Park.
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY – Regional qualifiers
Division I
At GlenOak
(Top-8 teams, 32 individuals)
Individual
7. David D’Altorio (Boardman), 12, 16:06.79; 9. Justin Sahli (Austintown Fitch), 12, 16:10.91
Team
6. Boardman 176 points
At Madison
(Top-8 teams, 32 individuals)
27. Levi Armitage (Howland), 11, 16:54.32
Division II
At GlenOak
(Top-6 teams, 24 individuals)
Individual
5. Parker Warren (Salem), 12, 16:39.94; 7. Sam Yakubek (Salem), 10, 16:43.12; 12. Alez Taranto (Canfield), 10, 17:06.75; 13. Luke Stephens (Salem), 10, 17:15.80; 14. Jason Dangol (Canfield), 12, 17:17.77; 16. Aiden Wright (Salem), 11, 17:20.89; 20. Lucas Knez (Poland), 11, 17:36.13; 21. Alexander Hammar (Canfield), 11, 17:38.36; 22. Karsten Miller (Canfield), 12, 17:38.60; 24. Alex Rea (Salem), 9, 17:39.91
Team
1. Salem 65 points, 2. Canfield 105 points
At Madison
(Top-7 teams, 28 individuals)
Individual
10. Jake Langmeyer (Lakeview), 12, 16:43.33; 14. Trent Miller (Lakeview), 12, 17:01.58; 15. Mason Wheeler (Lakeview), 12, 17:02.54; 23. Zachary Tryon (Pymatuning Valley), 12, 17:12.20; 27. Luke Whitmore (Lakeview), 12, 17:16.36
Team
2. Lakeview 100 points
Division III
At GlenOak
(Top-5 teams, 20 individuals)
Individual
1. Emmitt Slabach (South Range), 16:23.06; 2. Lucas Sokol (Jackson-Milton), 16:31.81; 3. Nate Yon (Lowellville), 16:36.41; 4. Caleb Baun (South Range), 17:20.06; 5. Max Freeze (South Range), 17:24.63; 8. Sawyer Szabo (Heartland Christian), 17:33.00; 10. Xavier Winner (South Range), 17:41.23; 19. Mason Sharo (Heartland Christian), 18:10.16
Team
1. South Range 41 points, 3. Jackson-Milton 90 points
At Madison
(Top-4 teams, 16 individuals)
Individual
1. Carson Klase (McDonald), 12, 16:03.16; 2. Dominic Pappagallo (Mineral Ridge), 12, 16:05.22; 3. Joey Cappuzzello (McDonald), 11, 16:23.95; 4. Sam Steimle (Grand Valley), 10, 16:25.19; 5. Ethan Nevinski (Maplewood), 10, 16:27.35; 6. Andrew Donaldson (Maplewood), 11, 16:45.68; 7. Josiah Toth (Mineral Ridge), 11, 16:47.57; 8. Micah Sparks (Maplewood), 9, 16:48.03; 9. Wyatt Brundage (LaBrae), 11, 16:56.98; 10. Trevor Shipman (Maplewood),, 12, 17:11.65; 13. Austin Smith (Badger), 10, 17:26.87; 14. Zach Suba (Maplewood), 10, 17:32.75; 15. Brody Smith (Bristol), 9, 17:34.07; 16. Kale Calvert (Maplewood), 9, 17:37.43
Team
1. Maplewood 38 points, 2. Mineral Ridge 67 points, 3. McDonald 73 points
GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY – Regional qualifiers
Division I
At GlenOak
(Top-8 teams, 32 individuals)
Individual
4. Olivia Brady (Boardman), 10, 19:24.05; 21. Gabby Vennetti (Boardman), 12, 20:26.63
Team
4. Boardman 144 points
Division II
At GlenOak
(Top-6 teams, 24 individuals)
Individual
7. Sabrina Baskett (Canfield), 10, 20:10.57; 8. Maggie Hopple (Salem), 12, 20:16.22; 9. Clarice Martin (West Branch), 12, 20:27.09; 10. Lillian Klimas (Canfield), 10, 20:32.77; Maggie Hall (Salem), 12, 20:49.84; 17. Anna Vennetti (Canfield), 12, 21:00.09; 18. Cassidy Wallace (Salem), 10, 21:05.31
Team
4. Canfield 102 points, 5. Salem 107 points
At Madison
(Top-7 teams, 28 individuals)
Individual
8. Jalyn DeLeon (Lakeview), 12, 19:45.63; 24. Arianna Flauto (Ursuline), 12, 21:00.44
Team
7. Howland 196 points
Division III
At GlenOak
(Top-4 teams, 16 individuals)
Individual
1. Rebecca Geiss (Heartland Christian), 18:32.16; 4. Nora Schwarten (Jackson-Milton), 20:42.91; 9. Madelyn Jackson (Columbiana), 21:38.75; 13. Sidney Schlueter (Columbiana), 22:09.85; 14. Kaitlin Benner (Columbiana), 22:09.90; 15. Morgan Demain (Lowellville), 22:09.94
Team
4. Columbiana 81 points
At Madison
(Top-5 teams, 20 individuals)
Individual
1. Naomi Sheesley (McDonald), 9, 18:25.88; 2. Abbey Castle (Chalker), 11, 18:40.83; 4. Kylee Molnar (Mineral Ridge), 9, 19:18.36; 5. Mackenzie Edgar (Maplewood), 10, 19:28.16; 7. Anna Steimle (Grand Valley), 12, 19:44.22; 9. Reagan Mahan (Maplewood), 11, 20:30.73; 11. Kylie Flere (McDonald), 12, 20:35.99; 12. Julianna Krumpak (McDonald), 11, 20:36.66; 13. Nora Yukich (Garfield), 9, 20:40.29; 16. Ava Liptak (Maplewood), 10, 20:48.77; 18. Selah Sheesley (McDonald), 10, 21:02.13; 19. Jenna Perris (Bristol), 11, 21:05.83
Team
1. McDonald 57 points, 2. Maplewood 73 points, 5. Garfield 121 points