Capsule preview for regional cross country

The venerable Boardman Regional is Oct. 31, and Henry Palattella has a look at all the races, including which area runners will be vying for berths in the state meet.

Boys

Division I

Start time: 3 p.m., Oct. 31

Area team qualifiers: Amherst, Avon Lake

Area individual qualifiers: Jett Wieber, Avon, K.J. Mueller, Westlake

State qualifications: Eight teams, individuals among the top 32 finishers

What to watch: Amherst boasts the only area district winner, as freshman phenom Ty Perez won the second of the Division I races at LCCC with a 17:00. Perez, who was named Southwestern Conference runner of the year, has been a machine this year and should qualify for state. It’s not a stretch to see Amherst qualifying as a team as well. … The other area team to qualify, Avon Lake, has a solid quintet of runners led by Matt Henry (17:49 at LCCC). The Shoreman will need some strong performances to make it to the state meet. … Avon’s Jett Wieber came in third in the first LCCC D-I race with a time of 17:15. He’ll have to run that well at Boardman to advance in the stacked D-I race. Westlake’s K.J. Mueller also had a strong performance at LCC, finished with a 17:05.

Division II Start time: Area team qualifiers:

Noon

Bay, Fairview, Keystone

Area individual qualifiers: Christian Cornwell, Firelands

State qualifications: Six teams, individuals among the top 24 finishers

What to watch: Woodridge enters this year’s Division II race as the clear favorite. After winning the D-II regional race last year, the Bulldogs return four of their top five finishers from a season ago and are the No. 1 ranked team in the state. … Three area teams made it out of a stacked D-II race and each of them has a chance to move on to the state meet. Fairview came in second in the team standings behind its one-two punch of Nolan Krumhansl (17:07, fifth place at LCCC) and Ben Osborne (17:08, sixth place). They’ve been leaders all year for the Warriors… That said, Bay has a one-two punch of its own in Jude Ault (17:01, third place at LCCC) and Will Warren (17:03, fourth place). Ezra Fleeman (eighth place at LCCC, 17:21) could be the surprised x-factor for the Rockets to make it forward as a team. … Keystone’s Stephen Faltay built on his Lorain County League win with a seventh-place finish at LCCC with a 17:16. No matter what, he runs well enough to qualify for the state meet. … Fireland’s Christian Cornwell is the area’s only individual qualifier. He came in 24th at the district meet with an 18:18.

Division III Start time: Area team qualifiers: Area individual qualifiers:

9 a.m.

Elyria Catholic

Michael Couture, Open Door, Sam Sikorski, Columbia

State qualifications: Four teams, individuals among the top 16 finishers

What to watch: Elyria Catholic ran to a big win at the district meet at LCCC, behind a standout performance from Matthew Krese (second overall, 17:20). Krese, who qualified for the state meet last year, has been one of the area’s most consistent runners and should end his season at the state tournament regardless. Colin Garrity (18:40 at LCCC) is a solid No. 2 as well. … On the individual side, Couture came in fourth at LCCC with a 17:55 while Columbia’s Sam Sikorski finished in 11th with an 18:33. They both have a chance to earn a berth to state with a solid performance.

Girls

Division I

Start time: 4 p.m.

Area team qualifiers: Bay, Westlake, Olmsted Falls, Avon

Area individual qualifiers: Audrey Sanzone, Midview, Marisa Del Valle, Amherst, Maggie Jantz, Avon Lake, Aurora Wilson, Amherst

State qualifications: Four teams, individuals among the top 16 finishers

What to watch: The only area girl runner to win her district race, Olmsted Falls’ Katie Clute won the second Division I race at LCCC with a time of 19:34. While Clute hasn’t eclipsed the 17:59 she ran in the season-opener at the Keystone Ice Breaker, the Bulldogs sophomore has dominated all season and could end up running faster at Boardman because she’ll have similar competition. … Bay finished fourth in the first D-I race to qualify for Boardman. Abbie Dent led the Rockets with a 21:03, good for ninth place. … Westlake won the second D-I race on the backs of four to-10 finishers (Sarah Peer, Ellie Irwin, Stephanie Nivellini and Sydney Peer). If the Demons run that well and together at Boardman they’ll be in the state meet. … Avon finished in fourth and had four runners (Meadow Smith, Maddie Harrington, Liz White and Jane Roach) finish in the top 20. Smith and Harrington have a chance at securing one of the final individual spots for state. … Midview’s Audrey Sanzone leads the area individual qualifiers with a 20:04 at LCCC. She’s been a stellar runner all year. Marisa Del Valle and Auroa Wilson both qualified from Amherst while Avon Lake’s Maggie Jantz rounds out the qualifiers.

Division II

Start time: 1 p.m.

Area team qualifiers: None

Area individual qualifiers: Jessica Gower, Brookside, Madison Palmer, Brookside

State qualifications: Six teams, individuals among the top 24 finishers

What to watch: For most of the season, Brookside’s Jessica Gower and Madison Palmer have matched each other stride for stride in the races they’ve been in. That won’t change at the district meet, as Gower and Palmer are the only two area runners to qualify. Palmer finished in 25th at LCCC with a 21:53 while Gower came in 28th with a 22:06. They should finish near each other at Boardman. … Hawken’s Ella Gilson is the favorite to win the race. Gilson who has won the D-II state title two years in a row, won the regional meet at Madison with a time of 17:51, 83 seconds faster than the second-place finisher.

Division III

Start time: 10 a.m.

Area team qualifiers: lumbia

Area individual qualifiers: Una Laubsher Baumann, Oberlin

State qualifications: Four teams, individuals among the top 16 finishers

What to watch: The lone area team to qualify out of Division III, Columbia came in fourth in the team standings at the regional meet at LCCC. Madeline Finton finished second overall with a 20:59 while Kelsey Pettegrew (22:32) and Riley Egli (22:38) finished eighth and ninth at LCCC. If Pettegrew and Egli are able to run well and Boardman and finish together then the Raiders could find themselves near the top of the team standings. … On the individual side, Oberlin’s Una Laubsher Baumann came in 16th at LCCC with a 23:09. She should run well at Boardman.

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