The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Cross country hits the halfway mark of season
Fuad Shalhout recounts the highlights of the first half of the season, the top runners in the area, and looks ahead to this weekend’s meets in his weekly notebook.
As we’ve reached the midway point of the cross country season, a lot has already happened. In The Morning Journal coverage area, there are stateranked teams, and individuals who have proven they can qualify for the state meet, and maybe an AllOhio finish.
Let’s look at a rundown of this season’s highlights:
State-ranked teams
There are three stateranked teams in the area, all in Division II boys. Bay is No. 4, Rocky River is No. 8 and Fairview is at No. 14.
The Rockets are the deepest, led by senior Sam Coe, who has a season-best 16:26 time on the year. They’ve experienced a few injuries along the way. But with Danny Desmond, Khaled Hamil and upstart freshman Jude Ault, Bay’s formidable lineup is poised to excel in the postseason.
The Pirates’ lineup is top heavy, led by senior Eddie Zuercher (season PR of 15:53.6). Rocky River won the Galion Invitational, and came in fourth at the Fleet Feet Strongsville Invitational.
After Zuercher, they have Riley Robinette (16:21), Jack McDonough (16:31) and Joseph Nanni (16:43) rounding out a top four as strong as anyone’s.
Head coach Steve Stahl also anticipates a runner on his team, who hasn’t competed yet, to emerge as their No. 5 runner. But Stahl isn’t revealing who it is for competitive reasons.
No. 14-ranked Fairview has its first state-ranked team in a long time. No. 1 runner Connor Kilbane (PR of 16:18.5) is on track to embark on his first state meet appearance.
The Warriors won a conference title last season for the first time since 1967, and are favorites to repeat. But this team has the potential to make a deep postseason run if their runners are healthy.
Individuals blazing trail
Three boys runners have come in under 16 minutes this season, with Amherst junior Josh Hill leading the way with a 15:51. Hill just accomplished the time at the Strongsville Invitational, winning the title.
Hill has a little extra motivation this year. In 2016, he fell a second short of earning Division I AllOhio honors, coming in 26th place.
Avon senior Jack Reed is right behind Hill with a season PR 15:52, which he earned at the Tiffin Carnival. Reed has been the Eagles’ top runner all season.
Rocky River’s Eddie Zuercher has a season-best 15:53.6, and was an AllOhio finisher last year in D-II, placing 21st.
On the girls side, Lutheran West sophomore Kristin Groppe, a regional qualifier, leads the area with a best time of 19:23.6. Groppe recently won the D-III Malone Invitational with a 20:51.4.
At the Tiffin Carnival, she placed fifth (19:31). Coach Anjanette Whitman said she expects Groppe to continue her success.
“She’s very competitive as an athlete,” Whitman said. “She’s been running since she was young. She has experience outside of high school running, which is nice. She doesn’t have fear like some younger runners do.
“But as a sophomore, we’re just taking it one race at a time with her.”
Avon junior Jules Frombach (19:28.) and Westlake freshman Emma Jaros (19:32) round out the top three runners in terms of times so far this season. Frombach won the Southwestern Conference Preview meet, and along with teammate Claudia Hermann, has been the Eagles’ consistent top runner. Jaros is a part of an impressive trio of Demons runners, along with sophomore Teagan Walsh and junior Erica Francesconi.
Sept. 30 meets
• Amherst, Bay, Brookside, Clearview, Firelands, Lake Ridge, Midview, North Olmsted, North Ridgeville, Oberlin, Wellington and Westlake are at the Vermilion Obenauer Invitational.
• Avon is at the Midwest Meet of Champions at Hilliard Bradley.
• Columbia is at the Woodridge CVNP Invitational.
• Keystone is at the Western Reserve John Speer Invitational.