North Ridgeville seniors eye berths in state meet

For North Ridgeville seniors Milan Seiber and Alex Freeman, this season isn’t just about improvement. It’s about making history.

No Rangers boys or girls cross country athlete has ever qualified for the state finals. If Seiber and Freeman can do it, they’ll forever etch themselves in North Ridgeville lore.

“I want to be remembered as the best runner in my school’s history,” Seiber said after finishing second at the Vermilion Obenour Invitational on Sept. 30 with a time of 16:53.56.

If they keep up their pace, they’ll have a shot. Seiber’s PR is a 16:27, while Freeman’s is a 16:32. Freeman didn’t run the race he wanted at Vermilion, taking ninth (17:29.38), but he remained upbeat.

Seiber ran at Vermilion feeling under the weather. But, with the postseason a couple weeks away, he feels good about the season he’s had. At the Spartan Invitational at Boardman, home of the regional site, Seiber ran a 16:45.7 — which should be a qualifying time for state if things go his way.

“I’m feeling pretty confident about this season and I’m just trying to stay healthy,” he added.

Seiber and Freeman have been running partners since their freshman seasons. Growing up, Seiber played just about every sport. But once he got to high school, he physically wasn’t strong enough. That’s when cross country presented itself and he joined the team right before the season started.

He’s the only member of his family to run.

“I remember being a little sluggish the first couple meets,” Seiber said. “But I did pretty good towards the end and I tried to stick with it. I’ve been improving my training since then.”

Freeman played football through middle school, but in the seventh grade opted to run after a friend convinced him to.

Last year, Seiber qualified for the regional meet, but burned out, finishing only 190th (19:00). He attributes it to “overtraining” and added he’s more prepared this time around.

Freeman placed 133rd (18:07) last year. Those finishes haven’t sat well with them, and they’ve been waiting for another crack at a state finals berth.

If Seiber and Freeman put their best foot forward in October, it’ll be something they can look back on fondly years from now.

“Making it to state is all we ever talk about together,” Freeman said. “Hopefully we can do it.”

Rocky River boys step up

Rocky River continued their impressive season at the Woodridge Cuyahoga Valley Invitational on Sept. 30, finishing second (83) in a 27-team field.

Kenston (63) won the title, while Rocky River topped defending Division II champion Woodridge (127), who placed third. Senior Eddie Zuercher placed third, clocking in at 17:12.5, while teammate Riley Robinette placed eighth (17:24).

Paul Primeau Invitational

The Bay boys team won the 58th annual Paul Primeau Invitational at Gilmour with 46 points.

Fairview placed third (86). Warriors senior Connor Kilbane finished as a runner-up (16:30.7) behind Lake Catholic’s Matt Kirchner (16:26.4). Rockets senior Sam Coe was third (16:36.4) and senior Danny Desmond took sixth (16:47.4).

The Avon Lake boys finished second in the Gray Division with 74 points and were led by Eric Alu, who placed fourth (17:04.2). The Shoregals won the Gray Division with 47 points and saw sophomore Emma Sherban take third (19:47.3) and sophomore Maggie Jantz finish fourth (19:48.5).

The Fairview girls took seventh (183) in the blue division and senior Elene Kaufmann was 10th (19:41.1). Lutheran West girls took eighth place; senior Kristin Groppe finished fifth (19:08.8).

Amherst Skeleton Run

Amherst high school will host the 18th annual Skeleton Run on Oct. 29 at 9:30 a.m. The first 400 registered 5K participants will receive a long sleeve, synthetic shirt and refreshments after the race. There are overall men’s/ women’s trophies and Grand Masters men’s/women’s trophies in addition for the top three in each age group. Awards for best costumes will also be presented. For pre-registration and additional information, click here. All proceeds go to Amherst’s youth running activities.

Around the trail

Where you’ll find area teams on Oct. 7:

• Amherst is at the Saturday Night Lights Invitational.

• Bay will be at the StowMunroe Falls Invitational.

• Brookside, Firelands, Vermilion, Wellington are at the New London Dan Olian Invitational.

• Elyria, Elyria Catholic, Lorain, North Olmsted and Open Door are at the Medina Invitational.

• Lake Ridge is at the Andrews Osborne Invitational.

• North Ridgeville is at Midview for a dual meet.

• Rocky River will be at the Legends Meet.