The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Mentor, West G runners win district races
Despite the cold and windy conditions Oct. 21, Mentor’s Billy Dennison pushed through for his second Division I title at the Madison District meet. The junior has also been battling an abdominal strain through the season but continued to kick.
He beat St. Ignatius runner Peter Spellacy for the top step on the podium with a 15:34. But the championships didn’t stop there for the Cardinals.
Fueled by Matthew Penkowski in sixth, Joey Burger in 10th and Michael Maynard in 14th, Mentor edged Chardon for the team title as well. The season has seen the pack develop around Dennison and he has been impressed with how his teammates have attacked the season.
“It’s great because early in the year I didn’t know what to expect from the team,” Dennison said. “That’s always hard when it’s your own team but they had potential. Michael and Joey have been battling all season, Matt is having a great first season. And our fifth Brayden (Carlson) breaking 16 for the first time was huge.”
Chardon’s Thomas Nelson and Taman Chokshi were third and fourth as both posted a time of 15:48. Riverside’s John Young was ninth with a 16:15. Both University and Madison also nabbed the final two team advancements to go to regionals.
In D-II, a trio of area runners battled for the race lead throughout with West Geauga’s Matthew Dienes, Hawken’s Nick Garcia-Whitko and Kenston’s Kyle McMahan. As they emerged from the woods, the Wolverine was in front.
Dienes claimed his seventh straight win with a new PR of 15:26.61 The senior knew he was going to have some stiff competition in the meet and was prepared to try a new strategy in the meet.
“I didn’t know how fast we were going but I did know that I could stay with them,” Dienes said. “I knew I was going to have to kick earlier but it was worth it to catch them both a little off guard. It provided me a great PR as well.”
Garcia-Whitko held on for second over McMahan as he led Hawken to the team title. Having two runners of the caliber he had to compete with up front helped Garcia-Whitko push himself.
He knew that the team battle was going to be close and that the Hawks needed every position. With a seven-point victory, Garcia-Whitko is proud to have found the right spot to push.
“The conditions need to be on point,” Garcia-Whitko said. “The wind was a bit of a factor but I wasn’t going to let that be a deciding factor for me today. I knew it was going to be strong competition and being able to race it. All of that and the energy on the course really helped not just me but everyone on the team.”
NDCL’s Anthony Ciecierski crossed the line in eighth as he led the Lions to the final team advancement over Chagrin Falls.
In D-III, Cardinal’s Samuel Gdovichin was determined to wash the bad taste last year’s district left out of his mouth. The sophomore got out early and built up an early cushion to ensure his advancement this year.
He added one more spot in the final mile to come across seventh with a new PR of 17:11.07. Even with the cushion he had, Gdovichin knew that one more spot just ensured more comfort.
“Last year was really tough for me and I was thinking about it all summer and track season,” Gdovichin said. “It’s nice to say that I have it officially. I was very excited for this meet and all the adrenaline kind of pushed me for that PR.”
Wickliffe’s Jacob Peklay was the first runner to miss advancing as an individual as he came home in 17th. But the heartbreak was soon alleviated as the Blue Devils secured the final team advancement over McDonald.