The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Chagrin Falls girls, NDCL boys win D-II district titles
Nothing was wrong with Leah Roter’s undefeated junior season that culminated in a Division II state title. But that doesn’t mean Roter and her coach, Jamie Lader, couldn’t make improvements.
Beachwood’s star runner, a Furman commit, wanted to ensure she would remain fresh throughout the postseason. After last year’s state meet, she was exhausted. With a few changes to her diet and training, Roter’s first race of the postseason indicated her performance and physical shape is near its peak.
Roter ran a season-best 17:14, seconds off her personal best of 17:09, on Oct. 21 to win the Division II Madison District girls race. Roter finished the race nearly two minutes ahead of her runner-up, Chagrin Falls’ Annie Zimmer, who recorded a 19:04 finish.
“(Roter) certainly has her eye on the state meet,” Lader said. “We’re going to do everything we can to be in good shape when we’re there.”
Zimmer led the Tigers to their second straight district team title. Catherine Coffey (19:22) placed fifth, Hannah Clark (19:31) was seventh, Hannah Zaluski (20:12) finished 10th and Katarina Lechman (20:13) was 11th. Chagrin Falls’ 35 points were 33 better than second-placed Edgewood’s 68.
Crestwood, Laurel and Perry rounded out the five teams to earn regional bids. West Geauga’s Olivia Conley (20:13) placed 14th to qualify individually.
Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin’s boys team delivered another exemplary team performance to easily lock up its second straight team title.
Augie King (16:52), Cal Yackin (16:53), Donny Gatto (16:54) and Harmond Richardson (17:04) finished fourth through seventh, and David Beebe (17:10) placed 11th. The Lions’ 33 points left them well ahead of second-place Lake Catholic’s 81.
Orange, Jefferson and Perry claimed the next three team qualifying spots.
The Cougars earned a surprise team qualification for Boardman. Matt Kirchner (16:42) won the boys race and Alex Hansel (16:47) delivered a third-place finish to push Lake Catholic from the fringe and earn a runner-up placement.
Hansel, a junior, placed in the top three for the first time in his career with his first-ever sub-17 time in an opportune moment. He was edged at the finish line by Benedictine’s Anthony Sweet, who beat Hansel by 12-hundredths of a second and earned an individual regional qualification.
“It was a very close finish,” Hansel said. “I thought I got second but the picture showed I was third. You know what, I’m happy with that.”
Kirchner was satisfied with his race after a fourth-place finish at last week’s North Coast League meet. A win at Madison, three weeks after Kirchner won his first career race at Gilmour’s Paul Primeau Invitational, gives the district champion a confidence boost headed to Boardman.
But Hansel’s effort was Lake Catholic’s most prominent revelation, and possibly the most vital headed into the regional meet.
“He stepped up big,” Kirchner said. “Going under 17 and moving down into the 16s, that’s really going to help the team next week. We need everybody to keep on stepping up to place as high as we can at regionals.”