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The high school cross country season came to a close on Saturday, as hundreds of runners gathered at Fortress Obetz for the state championships.
The Mahoning Valley saw McDonald's Naomi Sheesely and Owen Cappuzzello finish in the top three in their respective Division IV championships. The regional also saw several teams put together top-10 point totals.
Sheesley was the runner-up in the girls event with a 18:13.5, and Cappuzzello got the bronze medal with a 15:38.0 in the boys race.
DIVISION II
In Division II, the Salem boys earned an eighth-place finish with 258 points.
Luke Stephens led the Quakers with a time of 16:14.4, which was good enough for 47th and a personal best.
Fellow Salem runners Colton Hall, Alex Rea and Taven Tice also were in the top-100. Hall was 71st with a 16:27.8, Rea finished 82nd with a personal-best time of 16:33.5 and Tice recorded a 16:39.6 for 91st. Jackson Dowd rounded out the Quakers' official scores by coming in 130th with a 17:02.3.
Individually, Boardman's Dylan White came home with a 13th-place finish. He ran 15:49.8 as the top local individual in D-II.
Joining him were two fellow All-American Conference standouts, Canfield's Alex Taranto and Howland's Ryan Barringer. Taranto took 83rd with a 16:34.0, and Barringer came across in 84th with a 16:35.3.
The Boardman girls took 13th in their race after registering 328 points.
Olivia Brady came in eighth for the Spartans with a personal-best time of 18:01.6.
Teammates Kealia Bravo and Haley Bero also earned top-100 finishes. Bravo came in 69th with a 19:36.3 and Bero posted a 19:38.3 to take 74th. Boardman's final two scores came from Jordyn Lacivita and Mia Duble. Lacivita came in 159th (20:36.0) and Duble was 160th (20:36.7).
DIVISION III
Just like their male counterparts, the Salem girls also earned a top-10 finish in the Division III race. The female Quakers ended the day in ninth with 264 points.
Addison Hopple was the top Quaker with an 18:48.2 and a 17th-place finish.
Liliana Pimentel-Alexander and Emily Sinsley both post top-75 times and personal bests. Pimentel-Alexander crossed the finish line in 51st with a 19:51.5 and Sinsley got 61st with a 19:58.0. Chaya Murray took 113th with a 20:33.4, and Cassidy Wallace was 159th with a 21:05.4.
Individually in the girls race, Garrettsville Garfield's Lina Kaufman posted a personal-best time of 18:33.3, which got her 11th. Additionally, Ursuline's Addison Ring got 72nd with a 20:05.5.
For the boys individuals, Garfield's Owen Thomas earned 13th with a 15:34.9 and teammate Lucas Thomas took 17th with a 15:45.3. West Branch's Kyle Ormiston ran a personal-best 16:37.9 for 57th, and Hubbard's TJ Arci clocked a 16:59.4 for 86th.
DIVISION IV
Trumbull County got a pair of top-10 finishes from two teams in the Division IV girls race.
Maplewood was seventh with 232 points, and McDonald came in ninth with 259.
For the Rockets, Mackenzie Edgar was the top runner with a 19:36.3, which earned her 45th. Melody Richards posted a 19:59.6 for 68th, Addison Calvert came in 81st (20:11.8), Kenley Kitzmiller also finished in the top 100 as she crossed in 97th (20:29.5) and Avery Davison just missed the top 100 as she finished 104th (20:38.0).
McDonald's Addison Callow was the second Blue Devil to cross as she ran 20:01.3 and took 69th, then Selah Sheesley wasn't far behind in 84th (20:14.1), Noelle Lytle came in 124th (20:57.5) and Ava Binder rounded out the Blue Devils' scores as she finished 135th (21:13.7).
Individually for the girls, Springfield's Alexandria Fiumara ran 19:50.5 and finished 59th.
In the boys race, Maplewood posted 260 points to take eighth.
Micah Sparks led the Rockets with an 11th-place time of 16:08.6. Ethan Nevinski was the next Rocket to cross, as he finished 89th (17:13.1). Brody Orr was just outside the top 100, finishing 102nd (17:21.8). Nick Blair and Tyler McPeak both were among the top 120, with Blair ending in 111th (17:27.4) and McPeak taking 118th (17:32.6).
Among the individuals, Grand Valley's Sam Steimle earned a top-10 finish with a time of 16:05.9, South Range's Ryan Fieldhouse came in at 16:32.3 for 29th, Lowellville's Jesse Coon wasn't far behind Fieldhouse, as he posted a personal-best 16:35.1 for 35th, and Mineral Ridge's Bryce Garland came in 53rd with a 16:50.9.