RUNNER OF THE YEAR

Josh Hill Amherst, senior

No one in the area held themselves to a higher standard than Josh Hill. And that determination showed on the course, not only at the state meet, but all season long. Hill concluded one of the best cross country careers in Lorain County with a third-place finish at the Division I state meet, coming in with a time of 15:47.5. Along the way to Hebron, Hill captured a Southwestern Conference title, LCCC District title and finished second at the Boardman Regional meet. He is a three-time state qualifier and his lifetime personal record is a 15:34.7. He earned Lorain County MVP honors for the second-straight year and is committed to Eastern Michigan to continue both his track and cross country careers. But he gets to add one more title before college: Morning Journal cross country Runner of the year.

COACH OF THE YEAR Rob Glatz Amherst

For the first time since 1990, the Comets won a district title. It was a title that was not fully expected from Amherst, and Rob Glatz admitted he was a bit surprised. The Comets also missed out on a state berth by two places. In other words, the postseason success made for a season that will not soon be forgotten by the Amherst faithful. And while there is undoubtedly plenty of talent on this year’s Comets squad, as evidenced by Glatz helping mold the Player of the Year in Josh Hill, it takes a coach of Glatz’s caliber to help mold the raw talent into a functioning and successful team. And that is exactly what Glatz did. As a result, Glatz can add the title of 2018 Morning Journal boys cross country Coach of the Year to an already highly decorated season.

FIRST TEAM (In alphabetical order; S — State, R – Region, D— District) Jude Ault, So., Bay

(S): 27th; (R): 20th; (D): seventh

Joe Backus, Sr., Olmsted Falls

(S): 75th; (R): 22nd; (D): eighth

Robert Callaway, Jr., Midview

(R): 58th; (D): 10th

Khaled Hamil, Jr., Bay

(S): 23rd; (R): 15th; (D): fourth

Matthew Kirsch, Jr., Amherst

(R): 42nd; (D): seventh

Jack McDonough, Sr., Rocky River

(S): 105th; (R): 10th; (D): 12th

Matt Pettegrew, Jr., Columbia

(S): 14th; (R): second; (D): fifth

Luke See, So., Vermilion

(S): 95th; (R): 9th; (D): 12th

Ivan Slyepkan, Sr., Bay

(S): 14th; (R): third; (D): first

Will Warren, Fr., Bay

(S): 37th; (R): 32nd; (D): 11th

SECOND TEAM

(In alphabetical order; S — State, R — Region,

D — District)

Devin Baumgartner, Sr., Amherst: (R): 91st; (D): 21st

Matt Henry, Fr., Avon Lake: (R): 113th; (D): 14th

Ryan Keller, Jr., Avon Lake: (R): 101st; (D): 11th

Matt Krese, So., Elyria Catholic: (R): 22nd; (D): 12th

Nolan Krumhansl, So., Fairview: (R): 47th; (D): 19th

Everest McKenna, Sr., Bay: (S): 97th; (R): 44th; (D): 22nd

Jacob Nasr, Sr., Avon Lake: (R): 82nd; (D): 23rd

Jacob Raesler, So., Amherst: (R): 98th; (D): 20th

Cael Walker, So., Amherst: (R): 103rd; (D): 32nd

Jett Wieber, So., Avon: (R): 94th; (D): third

THIRD TEAM

(In alphabetical order; R — Region, D — District) Ethan Barnes, Jr., Amherst: (R): 134th; (D): 30th

Sam Diamond, Sr., Bay: (S): 118th; (R): 59th; (D): 30th

Alex Dzurec, Fr., Westlake: (D): 17th

Stephen Faltay, Fr., Keystone: (R): 72nd; (D): 16th

Danny Garcia, Fr., Lutheran West: (R): 80th; (D): 14th

Luke Kishna, So., Rocky River: (R): 69th; (D): 31st

Nick Schulz, So., Avon Lake: (R): 140th; (D): 36th

Ian Smith, Jr., Elyria Catholic: (R): 46th; (D): 18th

Colin Walsh, Jr., Westlake: (R): 173rd; (D): 12th

Sam Young, So., Bay: (R): 49th

HONOR ROLL

Amherst: Gabe Del Valle; Avon: Muhammad Abedeljaber; Avon Lake: Cole Sparker; Bay: Trevor Ifft; Brookside: Joel Pospisil; Clearview: Jacob Ritter; Columbia: Jared Swartz; Elyria: Isaiah Torres; Elyria Catholic: Zach Smith; Fairview: Ben Osborne; Firelands: Zach Baldwin; Keystone: Dawson Maiden; Lake Ridge: Dylan Coble; Lorain: Carlos Ruiz; Lutheran West: Angel Ortiz; Midview: Hayden Meek; North Olmsted: Sean Whelan; North Ridgeville: Patrick Bay; Oberlin: Mattias Fritz; Olmsted Falls: Andrew Vichill; Open Door: Jay Lin; Rocky River: Sam Buehrle; Vermilion: Isaac Lindo; Wellington: Henry Haas; Westlake: Lance Clemons

JON BEHM — THE MORNING JOURNAL Amherst senior Josh Hill is the 2018 Morning Journal boys cross country Runner of the Year. This is Hill’s second time winning the award.