Jefferson’s Matt Kantor and Grand Valley’s Jessica Finley claimed victories at the Champion Cross Country Invitational on Saturday.
Kantor finished in 17:49 to lead Jefferson to the team championship. Finley finished nearly a minute ahead of her nearest competitor.
The Falcons netted 44 points on the boys side. Lakeside was second with 70, Pymatuning Valley was third with 117, Champion was fourth with 128 and Grand Valley was fifth with 140. Cardinal (158), Girard (164), Mineral Ridge (219), Newbury (228), Garfield (235) and Streetsboro (243) closed out the field.
Girard slipped by Geneva, 74-78, to win the girls race. Streetsboro was third with 80 points, Garfield fourth with 93 and Lakeside fifth with 112. Mineral Ridge (154), Conneaut (189), David Anderson (198), Jefferson (204), PV (256), Edgewood (293) and Brookfield (317) rounded out the field.
Emily Deering led the Eagles, placing second in 21:07 and Lakeside’s Karen Barrientos followed in third in 21:17.
Brandon Scribben and Steven Houser also finished in the top 10 to aid Jefferson. Scribben was 8th in 18:35 and Houser ninth in 18:42.
Brady Bunnell paced the Dragons, finishing third in 18:10, and Alex Marsch was the top finisher for the Mustangs, placing seventh in 18:29.
Hailey VanHoy was the other Eagle in the top 10, placing ninth in 21:51. Cami Dodge was 15th in 22:19, Rachel Crites was 30th 23:52 and Julia Hanchosky was 31st in 23:53.
Kristen Berus was eighth for the Dragons in 21:26.
Andrew Picard (14th, 18:57) and Paul Bogdan (18th, 19:18) were the other Falcon scorers.
For the Dragons, William Taggart (18:46) placed 11th and Caleb Henery (19:21) was 19th.
Corry Mientkiewicz was PV’s top placer, coming in at 19:25, which was good for 20th.
Geneva’s Darren Haydu was 17th in 19:15 and Conneaut’s Christian Tusai was 22nd in 19:27. The Eagles and Spartans did not figure in the team score.
Jefferson was paced by Colleen O’Connor’s 22:21 in 16th place and Alexis Millard led Conneaut, finishing 26th in 23:37. Rebekah Simmons was the top finisher for Edgewood, taking 34th in 24:04. Abby Hamilton led PV with a 47th-place finish in 24:43.
Bruce Lerch Inv.
Brigham Baker was 15th in 19:08 and Matt Lee was 17th in 19:13 as Riverside took eighth as a team at Brecksville-Broadview Heights.
Chardon’s Nick Elswick won the race in 17:50 and the Hilltoppers claimed the team title.
Taylor Strauss paced the Beavers in the girls race, placing 29th in 24:01. Riverside finished 10th as a group.
Tomahawk Run
The Perry boys and girls each claimed fourth-place finishes at Walsh Jesuit.
Aaran Gessic led the boys in ninth place in 17:57. Eric Grubaugh was 13th in 18:30, Erik Pritschau was 17th in 18:47 and Alexander Guthrie was 20th in 18:51.
Marissa Sell was the top placer for the girls, taking 14th in 22:44.
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