Shelby cross country squads tackle DI foes
Daily Globe Sports Editor
LODI — Shelby’s boys and girls cross country teams journeyed north toward Cleveland and tested Division I competition during a quad meet held Saturday at Lodi Cloverleaf.
The Whippet squads went up against the host school as well as Medina and Brunswick.
“This was the best competition we have faced all year. Medina is a Top 10 Division I team and we went toe to toe with them,” remarked SHS boys coach Chris Zuercher.
The Battling Bees, who are ranked tenth in the latest state poll, squeaked out a 40-41 win against Shelby, which comes in as the No. 20 school in Division II. Cloverleaf, which is in the same division as the red and gray and ranked 21st, was third with 44 points. Brunswick was last with 119.
“We had a great field of competition at Lodi,” cited Lady Whippets coach Steve Clark, who felt his team looked good in the field that featured three stateranked opponents.
The SHS girls totaled 76 points and finished behind Medina (30) and Cloverleaf (35). Brunswick was fourth with 119.
Race winners during the morning included Shelby’s Huck Finnegan in the boys with 16:50 and Cloverleaf’s Sophia Spencer with 19:31.
Boosting the Whippets and their scoring pack Riley Fackler (3rd, 16:56), Josh Mohr (10th, 17:30), Mason Hendrickson (11th, 17:35) and Luke Dininger (19th, 17:57).
The next five in for the SHS boys were Kael Moore (23rd, 18:28), Marshall Moore (25th, 18:28), Luke Lesseuer (26th, 18:34), Graeme Harvey (31st, 18:49) and Nathan Ganzhorn (33rd, 19:01).
“Huck continues to lead the team. He faced strong competition and came through again. Riley was the star of the meet as he put himself in position after a mile and finished with a 30 second PR. Mason had a break through race also,” said Zuercher. “We need five guys under 17 (minutes) by the end of the season and we are getting there. The more races, the better we are.”
Also racing for Shelby were Ryan Dick (42nd, 19:21), Carson Perkins (51st, 19:58), Ian Finnegan (56th, 20:03),
Caleb Vogt (58th, 20:10), Indy Mayer (62nd, 20:25), Brenton Graska (67th, 20:45), Robbie Davidson (70th, 20:58), Sean Finnegan (73rd, 21:08), Toby Randall (80th, 21:57), Landon Sensmeier (102nd, 31:33), Graham Yeager (103rd, 32:21) and Damon Frary (104th, 33:50).
In all, there were a total of nine personal best times recorded for the Whippets during the boys race.
Sophomore Kayla Gonzales led the SHS girls with a fourth-place time of 20:21.
Shelby’s first five for the girls also included Kailyn Schwall (18th, 21:56), Abby Vogt (25th, 22:37), Lily Clark (17th, 22:52) and Channon Cundiff (31st, 23:02).
“Kayla is a hard worker and continues to impress. Kailyn is looking good and is primed to get in the 20’s soon. Lily has been a constant performer and Channon has been dropping times since meet one,” said Clark.
The next five for the Whippets were Aleigha Thauvette (32nd, 23:12), Ava Long (44th, 24:44), Ava Heimlich (56th, 25:42), Brittany Cundiff (68th, 27:33) and Kaitlynn Winters (72nd, 28:49).
“Aleigha has had her ups and downs, but we are getting to see her form come back. Ava Long has been very consistent and Ava Heimlich has dropped four minutes off her time since the first week. Brittany keeps moving forward and Kaitlynn has a lot of heart and works hard every day,” said Clark.
The Shelby cross country teams are back in action Saturday at the Ontario Invitational.
and Luke Lesseuer, right, battle a runner from Medina during Saturday’s quad meet at Lodi Cloverleaf.