Dunham kept the same pace ahead of his teammate as the two took a scenic jaunt around Austintown Township Park on Tuesday afternoon.

A couple of Poland junior high runners were playing a quick game of football in an open space around the back half of the cross country course. It wound around twice — going through a wooded area and out near a pond, where some birds and other sounds of nature could be heard on a non-cross country day.

The Austintown Fitch tennis team was taking on an opponent. Some children were on the nearby playground. The recreational league softball fields were empty this day, all sights encompassed by the course winding around the park.

None of this was seen last year as a tornado warning in the Austintown area cancelled the meet.

Staff photo / John Vargo Canfield’s Danielle O’Brien, right, runs ahead of Boardman’s Julia Gorby on the latter half of Tuesday Mahoning County Cross Country Meet at Austintown Township Park. O’Brien won the individual varsity girls title, while Gorby led the Spartans to the team title.

This year, even a young boy in a Mickey Mouse shirt, pointing to the nearby lake, took in the athletic prowess that each of the high school boys and girls displayed on this day. He, like the others, watched Dunham lead Bero and the rest of the 100-plus boys running Tuesday in the Mahoning County Cross Country Meet.

The two Boardman runners approached the southwest side of the Austintown Township property, nearing the finish line. Bero surged ahead of Dunham as he crossed first, winning the individual title.

“It’s always been like a little joke us sprinting out at the end when we do workouts or tempos like this,” Dunham said. “This time, he got me going up the hill.”

“Mitch wins 99 percent of the time,” Bero said. “You know what, 1 percent sounds good. I went for it. I got lucky. I was wearing spikes. He had the gravel.

“It’s fun. Without him, he wouldn’t have pulled me.”

Canfield’s Nick Plant, South Range’s Michael Hvisdos, Fitch’s Matt Smutny, Poland’s Logan Flament, Fitch’s Corbin Roby, Ursuline’s Jarett Gordulic, Boardman’s Beau Gorby and Boardman’s Justin Maloney rounded out the top 10.

The Spartans 1-2 finish led Boardman to the team title, its first since 2015. Fitch took second, while South Range was third.

The Boardman girls completed the sweep of the Mahoning County Meet as the Spartans took three of the top five spots — led by junior Julia Gorby’s second-place finish.

These Boardman girls go on the same training paths as the boys, running as a unified group.

“It’s such a great atmosphere, having a team than being on your own,” Gorby said. “I love all the girls. It’s so amazing.”

Canfield, led by Delaney O’Brien’s individual victory, and Poland finished second and third, respectively.

O’Brien, a Cardinal freshman, is used to a flatter course similar to Austintown at the Canfield Fairgrounds, the site of the Sept. 25 Suburban League Championships.

Austintown Fitch’s Kristin Yeager, Boardman’s Raegan Burkey, Boardman’s Alayna Cuevas, Poland’s Haley Trolio, Poland’s Gianna Stanich, Canfield’s Aurora Fares, Canfield’s Angie Ferguson and Boardman’s Lauren Bero were in the top 10 with O’Brien and Gorby.

O’Brien said she was tested by Tuesday’s course with the late-summer heat and this being the first time she had run on the Austintown course.

“I knew I had to work the uphills and try to beat my competitors on that,” she said. “I don’t have much of a kick at the end.”

Tuesday, she didn’t need it.