BOARDMAN, Ohio -- Rocky River Girls' Cross Country is headed to the Ohio Championships for the first time since 2013. The Pirates qualified for the DI state meet with a seventh-place finish at the Northeast Region Tournament on Saturday. [Results:
Boys |
Girls]
The River girls needed a top-8 finish to qualify for the 44th Girls' Cross Country Championships to be held Nov. 6 at Fortress Obetz and Memorial Park in Obetz, Ohio. And despite one of its top performers being unable to finish due to an illness, Rocky River posted tremendous splits and found itself in a pack near the cut line.
Shaker Heights registered four top-30 finishes en route to winning the region. The Red Raiders posted a team score of 89. A group of three more schools -- Brunswick, Medina, Massillon Jackson -- were in a cluster taking second, third, and fourth, respectively. Mentor and Stowe would take fifth and sixth, and then it came down to schools getting more of an even mix of top-30 runners and finishers in the 50-100 range. The Pirates were in this group and very place improvement -- passing just one runner late or fending off a strong kick by a pursuer -- would be key in the final standings. And behind two top-30s and all five runners clocking top-100s in a field of 182 athletes, the Pirates prevailed.
With sophomore Brianna Chaves taking 13th and freshman Katie Stirm placing 29th, the Maroon & White gave themselves a big start. Runners 3, 4, and 5 would earn placements just a shade lower than a couple competitors from schools in the pack with River. And the Pirates were able to post a team score of 237. That score edged a group of three other programs -- Westlake, Avon, Wadsworth -- for seventh place. A qualifying berth for the DI state race next Saturday.
Carolyn Wanosik (51st), Jane Rathbun (86th), and Grace Lavelle (100th) made up that 3-4-5 finish for the Pirates. A sophomore and two freshmen -- an all-underclassman quintet and a group certainly worthy of a high five. Because the River girls' squad is bound for the Buckeye State title race.
The Pirate girls finished seventh in a field of 24 teams
Rocky River also gave a game effort on the boys' side, where the Pirates finished T12th-of-24. The Pirate boys tallied 331 points, getting three top-75 finishes (Greg Ganor, Luke Dorenkott, Grant Preto) along the way. Louisville recorded three top-20 finishes on its way to taking first place with a score of 125.
With no individual qualifiers, the Double-R boys closed out their 2021 season at Saturday's region meet at Boardman High School.
CANNON FIRE ...
RIVER RETURNS: On Saturday, the Rocky River girls will be making their 11th trip to the state meet. The Pirates first qualified in 1979 when they placed second. River came in 12th when it last appeared at the meet (2013, DI).