The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
FINTON CONTINUES BLISTERING START
The Columbia senior has won three of her four races this season
In regard to area cross country, it is Madeleine Finton’s world and we are just living in it.
The Columbia senior is off to an incredible start to her season, winning three of her four races so far and finishing 15th out of 1,275 total runners at the Tiffin Carnival over the weekend.
On Sept. 14 at the 34th annual Open Door Christian Invitational, Finton impressed once again, winning the girls race in 19 minutes, 59 second as she defeated Brookside’s talented junior Madison Palmer by one minute and 17 seconds.
Finton beat the third place runner by more than four minutes.
“It’s Tuesday so it was a pace race,” Finton said. “I didn’t want to crush it because we have the (Spartan Invitational) at Boardman this weekend and I am hoping for sub 19 (minutes) finish there. I came off a really long week. Kind of a down week for me.”
Finton added “that was my goal today, to not go above 20 and I was right there.”
Tuesday was preparation for Saturday and other big meets that are coming up for Finton and the Raiders.
“I was able to attack the hills better,” Finton said. “I think I closed my last half mile better than I did at the (Early Bird Invitational). The conditions were perfect, it wasn’t too hot.
“Days like this, I really like to work on pace and learning how to be in front because I want to be like that in other races,” Finton said.
Earlier in the season, Finton broke the school record at the Seneca East Tiger Classic with a time 19:07.02.
“She’s having a great season,” Columbia coach Adam Bailey said. “She is really focused right now and running really well. Executing the game plan every meet.”
Bailey added “overall, she is just having an amazing start to her season.”
Finton is a three-time state qualifier, so she is used to having eyes on her.
“She handles expectations
really well,” Bailey said. “She has kind of had them on her since she was a freshman. She has never not been a state qualifier. This year it is a little but different because she wants to be a state champion and she is on a short list of girls who can do that.
“The way she is running right now she feels like she has a chance against everyone and I fully agree,” Bailey added.
The Columbia girls all
had a great race Tuesday, winning the invite with 31 team points. Riley Egli and Rachel Washburn finished fourth and sixth overall with times of 24:12.27 and 24:59.69, respectively. Brookside finoshed second as a team, paced by Palmer’s second place finish and senior Jessica Gower finishing third with a time of 24:04.92.
“The girls are running really well,” Bailey said.
“I really like the way we are improving as a team,” Bailey added.
On the boy’s side, Open Door’s Michael Couture won the race with a time of 18:08.29.
“I felt good coming in,” Couture said. “I felt really loose. It was a little hot today so the conditions were a little rough but I was able to fight through that.”
Columbia’s Sam Sikorski continued his strong season, finishing second with a time of 18:58.17.
“Sam has really stepped up,” Bailey said. “He is one of the best half-milers in the state and he is starting to embrace the longer distances and he has a chance to be a state qualifier.”
Open Door won the boys race with a team score of 40 points. Avon came in second with 60 points. Avon’s Ben Hallowell finished third with a time of 19:07.08.
“The team did amazing,” Couture said about Open Door. “We really prepared well and we were really together. We all knew what he had to do and we did really well.”