BAZETTA TOWNSHIP — Drew Avsec was trying to learn to pace himself. Brittany DiMare was trying to learn the course.

And the rest of the hundreds of runners who graced the Trumbull County Fairgrounds cross country course all had similar aims as points took a back seat to personal improvement in the Sim Earich Invitational on Saturday.

With district meets looming a week away, “tuneup” was the word of the day as runners were applying some last-minute tweaks to try to get that extra second shaved off their time.

DiMare tuned up in fine fashion, overcoming last week’s respiratory problems to capture first place in the girls open race in 21 minutes, 25 seconds.

“I didn’t expect to get first after my breathing problems,” DiMare said.

After getting stuck behind a pack early, DiMare, Geneva’s Alyssa Nieset and St. Joseph Academy’s Brooke Danforth separated themselves at the one-mile mark.

By the second mile, DiMare was all alone.

“I was with the Geneva girl for awhile, we ran together,” DiMare said. “Then I just pulled away. I just chased the four-wheeler (that served as a pace car).”

More important than the win for DiMare was the chance to learn the course at the Fairgrounds, which will play host to the Division III district race next Saturday.

“‘Get a feel of the course,’ that’s what my coach told me,” DiMare said.

DiMare knows the district race will be more challenging than Saturday’s open contest. Had she run in the Division III race, the SS. John and Paul runner’s time would have left her in 10th place, more than two minutes off the pace of Canton Central Catholic’s Christina Oprean, who finished in 18:40.

“Division III is really tough,” she said.

While DiMare is gearing up for a tough race next week, Nieset, who finished third in 22:06, is not sure what to expect from the Division II race. The freshman has never run it before.

She is sure that she did something special Saturday, though.

“It was amazing,” Nieset said. “I’ve never done that good before.”

So what was going through her mind when she found herself at the front of the race?

“Oh, my god,” she said.

Teammate Carly Cash took eighth in 22:20 to help Geneva to a third-place finish with 75 points, well behind St. Joseph’s first-place mark of 25.

In the boys open race, Avsec learned he still has to work on his pacing. After a five-minute first mile that left him leading the way, Avsec started fading before finishing fourth in 17:39. Southern’s Jared Sevek won the race in 17:11.

“It was a good course to run on, I just went out too fast,” Avsec said. “We’ve been trying to get that first (mile) down and the second and third faster.”

By the second mile, Sevek had pulled away.

“I was trying to stay close to first and second, but I felt them slowly slipping away,” Avsec said.

The junior held onto third only to see himself passed by St. Ignatius’ Jack Holzheimer in the final 200 meters.

“That was a little kick in the face, but hopefully, I’ll learn from what I did today and go out and perform at districts,” Avsec said. “I feel like it was a good preparation.”

For Conneaut’s Casey Tagle, his pre-district goal was simple: try to get a personal record. He came up 30 seconds shy, finishing in 18:52, good for 55th in a meet that featured both Division I and D-II runners.

“It was pretty tough,” Tagle said. “These uphills, they got me the most.”

Brandon White turned in the Spartans’ best time, taking 51st in 18:29.

“Brandon would have medaled if it was just a Division-II race,” Conneaut coach Jeff Rehmer said.

In the district race, Conneaut’s Hannah Fertig is hoping to see her time drop below 21 minutes. So on Saturday, Fertig shot for something in the mid 21s as a stepping stone.

She hit right on her mark, taking 23rd in 21:34.

“It was hotter than last week,” Fertig complained with a smile, before adding, “It was fun.

“I was trying to stay within the 21s. That’s what coach has been working on with me.”

She succeeded on that mark. Now, will the second part of her plan work out next week?



Girls Division I and II

n Conneaut (12) — 23. Fertig, 21:34; 55. Jennifer Oxley, 22:51; 76. Kelly Gore, 25:27; 91. Leah Stamp, 28:04; 101. Robin Arnold, 41:00.



Boys Division I and II

n Conneaut (12) -- 51. White, 18:29; 55. Tagle, 18:52; 80. Tevin Colbert, 19:46; 91. Alex Williams, 20:05; 92. Ben Betteridge, 20:06; 106. Zach Harper, 20:46; 110. Ian Thompson, 21:01.



Girls open race

n Geneva (3) — 3. Nieset, 22:06; 8. Cash, 22:20; 15. Leslie Woodworth, 22:50; 22. Nicole Smith, 23:16; 44. Natasha Loveridge, 24:09; 69. Rachael Corvell, 26:01; 105. Paige Bowser, 29:53.

n SS. John and Paul (Inc.) — 1. DiMare, 21:25.



Boys open race

n Geneva (7) — 4. Avsec, 17:39; 118. Michael Ellis, 21:58; 119. Kyle Huff, 22:01; 123. Brian Fink, 22:18; 136. Brazton Wessell, 22:53.

n Conneaut (Inc.) — 111. Bennett Coltman, 21:49; 142. Ian Williams, 23:13.