The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Mayfield has 1-2 punch that could reach far
Nate Barnes checks in with the Mayfield girls, who welcome Nicole DiCicco to the fold from the soccer team, and the senior has been impressive as a No. 2 runner paired with sophomore Val Sague.
Mayfield’s girls cross country team’s races have followed a similar pattern during the season’s initial weeks.
Sophomore Val Sague crosses the finish line at or near the front of the race’s pack. Seconds later, senior Nicole DiCicco follows.
Sague and DiCicco were the first two runners to finish at Villa Angela-St. Joseph’s McDonough Invitational. Sague picked up her first win of the season in the Red Division race at Forest Hill Park, and DiCicco was the runnerup two seconds later.
Sague, a state qualifier as a freshman, and DiCicco, running her first cross country season, make up one of Northeast Ohio’s top duos.
“We both push each other,” DiCicco said. “If one of us slows down, the other will speed up and then we’ll just focus on staying with each other the whole time.”
After four races, Sague’s average placement is fourth while DiCicco’s is a shade under sixth. The past two weeks, they’ve finished races alongside one after the other.
Sague was third at Solon’s meet to open the season Aug. 25, 10th at the Mentor Cardinal Classic a week later and second in Brecksville’s Bruce Lerch Invitational a week before her win at VASJ. DiCicco placed sixth to start the season, 11th at Mentor and fourth at Brecksville.
Behind them, Mayfield’s team has notched three thirdplace results and a fourthplace finish at meets featuring state-caliber competition.
Sague aims to improve on her personal-best time of 19:11. At National Trail Raceway, she placed 106th in the D-I girls race with a time of 20:02.7. Sague’s freshman season taught her the state meet or any other goal isn’t out of her potential.
“I thought that would be hard,” Sague said. “Then I realized, if you work really hard, you can get wherever you want to be with the right coaches and staying on track, going to practice all the time, it really works out.”
A year of experience imparted a better knowledge of how to approach races. As a sophomore, Sague said she’s trusting her fitness more to push harder during races.
“I usually go out thinking I should stay behind a certain person,” Sague said. “Then I realize I can get the time I want.”
Teammates during track and field season, Sague did her part to encourage DiCicco to leave the soccer pitch for the cross country course in her final fall season. Each runs distance for Mayfield during the spring season. Sague runs the 1,600 and on the Wildcats’ 4x400 and 4x800 relays. DiCicco runs in the three events alongside the 3,200 and was a regional qualifier in the 1,600 during the spring.
The initial weeks of the fall have proven to DiCicco to be an even better cross country runner. Part of her decision to run in the fall derived from her goal to run in college next year.
Sague, entrenched as the Wildcats’ top runner, provides her senior teammate a training partner to pursue.
“This is my first year running, so I just wanted to focus on staying with Val,” DiCicco said. “We ran track together, so I knew I could run with her if I tried to stay with her.”
Sague plans to return to the state meet, and DiCicco appears likely to join her there. Until then, neither will say where she hopes to place but wants to ensure each qualifies. Individual achievement may not be all that’s on the table for the Wildcats’ postseason.
Mayfield’s top seven features one senior, DiCicco, and six underclassmen. If sophomores Morgan Tropf and Leah Daher or freshman Lauren Isabella continue their growth, their supplement to the potential of two consistent single-digit team scores would significantly aid the Wildcats’ team score.
Then, a qualifying spot out of the D-I Boardman regional to Hebron isn’t implausible.
“I think if we all work hard enough,” DiCicco said, “for sure.” Football computer ratings