BOARDMAN — Then there were only two.

Regional competition in Northeast Ohio has a way of doing that to fine teams and individuals. It was no different Saturday at the regional cross country meet at Boardman High School.

On a day when two area teams and seven individuals entered the meet, both the Edgewood and Riverside boys teams were eliminated and all seven runners competing individually also fell by the wayside. Only by finishing in the top 16 runners in the Division I race were Riverside sophomore Zack McBride and senior Dan Shafer able to qualify for the state meet next Saturday at Scioto Downs Race Track in Columbus.

A sixth-place finish from McBride and a ninth from Shafer weren’t even enough to advance the Beavers team to the next level. Riverside finished 12th with 287 points, well behind the four qualifying teams of Hudson at 110, Louisville at 120, Mentor at 125 and Canton GlenOak at 140.

Edgewood finished a strong sixth in the Division II race with 236 points. That fell short behind the four qualifying teams of Peninsula Woodridge with just 50 points, Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary with 103, Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy with 118 and Akron Hoban at 131.

But the fine performance of the Warriors as a team was tempered somewhat by the knowledge that its lone senior member, Thomas Butryn, was unable to qualify for state. Butryn had the best individual finish of any Ashtabula County boy in the meet, placing 26th in 18:48.73, but those who advanced to state as individuals needed to be in the top 16 in their race.

The next-best individual performance by an area individual was turned in by Pymatuning Valley junior Kyle Eastlake. The only area runner in the Division III race, he finished 34th overall in that Division in 18:56.40.

The team state qualifiers in Division III were Independence with 60 points, McDonald with 82, Maplewood with 101 and Louisville St. Thomas Aquinas with 119.

Four area individuals were in the Division I race. Geneva senior Drew Avsec had the top finish in 53rd place in 18:56.55, while teammate Gabe McLeod, a sophomore, was 111th in 20:43.65.

Madison junior Bobby Bismark finished 89th in 19:32.47. Blue Streak senior Konner Lashley was 103rd in 20:00.86.

Perry senior Brien Croff finished 89th in the Division II race in 20:14.29. Teammate Dean Light had also qualified for the race, but was held out of the competition after contracting mononucleosis.

McBride, who has spent the entire season chasing Shafer, got the better of his teammate in the race that probably counted the most, finishing in 17:43.27. Shafer was clocked in 17:48.44.

The sophomore put on an impressive stretch run over the final 800 meters of the 3.1-mile course to earn his trip to state. He exchanged positions with Shafer over the final stretch of real estate, finishing strongly.

“That last 800 meters, I knew that state was right there,” McBride said. “I just couldn’t let it go. I felt a little slow at the start, but once I worked my way through the mud and the traffic, I started getting stronger. This means so much to qualify to state as a sophomore.”

Shafer admitted he was struggling a bit when McBride passed him in the latter stages of the race and just decided to hitch his wagon to McBride’s fortunes.

“I wasn’t feeling real good when we were getting to the end of the race,” the senior said. “When Zack passed me, it was great motivation. I give all the credit to him for helping me get to state.

“It’s an amazing feeling to know I’m going to state. I’ve been praying about it all week. It’s something I’ve been working for four years. My goal all year long has been to get to state and it feels so good to finally come through. I know it’s going to be a great experience.”

Riverside coach Phil Baioni was pleased with both his state qualifiers and his team’s finish. Ian Kallay was 99th overall in 19:50.83, Jacob Burr finished 102nd in 20:00.06 and Alex Fuhrmann was 108th in 20:25.68 to round out the scoring for the Beavers.

“Considering what the conditions were, Zack and Dan went out and did what they had to do,” he said. “This is Zack’s first year running cross country, so it’s a great achievement for him.

“All season long, Dan has set the pace for Zack, so it was great when Dan needed it that Zack was there to provide it. It’s been in the back of our minds all season all year to get them to state, so to pull it off is fantastic. The team finished about where I expected, which I think will be a good building block for next year.”

That was pretty much the way Edgewood coach Steve Hill was looking at the Warriors’ finish, which exceeded his expectations. It came about from solid finishes after Butryn from sophomore Travis Dickey, who was 40th overall in 19:04.47, freshman Derryn Tomsic, who finished 46th in 19:11.22, junior Chris Incorvati, who placed 84th in 20:01.78 and sophomore Phillip Scheanon, who was 93rd in 20:19.71.

“Realistically, I thought we could finish about eighth,” Hill said. “Sixth is an excellent finish considering Thomas is our only senior and we were running with two juniors who have barely run cross country before this year, a sophomore and a freshman.

“I thought Travis and Derryn ran particularly good races. I’m very pleased with the team finish. I think we can really build around these guys.”

At the same time, Hill’s heart went out to Butryn.

“Thomas just didn’t have a good race today,” he said. “He’s worked hard enough over the last four years to get to state, but it just wasn’t his day. That’s part of life and growing up.”

Butryn had a hard time finding a way to express his feelings.

“I thought I was going to make it,” he said. “I thought I was in a good position. I never felt like I wasn’t going to make it. I felt I was in the right pack and it was pulling me along.”

Tomsic found his first regional experience a valuable one.

“I knew there was good competition here, but I thought I could do better,” the freshman said. “I went out a little too fast, but you just have to push through those things.

“I need to learn to run in the right places, to learn to run smart. I think it was a good learning experience for me.”

Eastlake was hoping to finish in the top 25 of his race, but just couldn’t maintain a pace to keep himself there.

“I was shooting for the top 25, but the course was real hard and the competition was a lot faster than I was expecting,” he said. “The wind and the mud finally got to me. The last 800 meters, the wind really hit me.

“But I feel pretty good about my race. This is definitely something to build on for next year.”

PV coach Shauna Bryan liked what she saw from Eastlake.

“This was about where I thought Kyle would be,” she said. “The clock is not your friend on a day like today, so the time is not really a measure of success.

“I thought he got off to an excellent start. But this is the third week in a row we’ve run in mud like this and I think it takes a toll on the legs after a while. I think Kyle is an outstanding competitor. We’re in the strongest region in the state. I think he’s given himself something to build on for next year.”

Avsec tried to set a fast early pace and hold on for a spot in the top 16, but couldn’t do it.

“The first mile and a half were great, but the last mile and a half I was just thinking, ‘Please, let me finish,’” he said. “I thought if I went out fast maybe I could make it into the top 16, but I couldn’t fight people off over the last mile and a half.”

McLeod tried to stay in a comfortable position near the front of the field, but had some problems shortly into the race and couldn’t completely shake them off.

“I started out where I wanted to be in the top 30, but I got a cramp in my stomach and it didn’t leave me until it was too late,” he said. “But it was a good learning experience for me. I’m going to work hard for next year.”

Geneva coach Walt Lininger wasn’t very happy with the conditions with which the runners had to contend.

“I was a little disappointed, especially since Drew had such high hopes,” he said. “I don’t know why they run a regional meet on a course like this.

“I was real happy with the meet last year at (Canton) GlenOak. You wouldn’t run a regional track meet on a cinder track. I’m a little disappointed they’re running this meet here.”

Bismark found letting course conditions affect one’s race is a bad idea.

“I learned that it’s going to be muddy no matter what, so you just have to push through it,” he said. “I know I have to put in a lot more miles for next year. I’d like to bring our whole team back here next year.”

Unfortunately for Lashley, his first trip to regional was also his last.

“With it being my first time here, I was really pumped up for the race,” he said. “But then I saw how sloppy the course was and I had trouble. But it was worth it to make it here.”

Croff had been used to running at regional with a team entry after participating with last year’s Perry boys who qualified for state. It was even tougher not to have Light along to share in this year’s experience.

“It was kind of hard not having my team here with me,” he said. “It was hard not having Dean with me. There was a lot more pressure compared to last week, a lot of collective pressure.

“It would have been nice to share the experience with someone. I’d have had more confidence in myself.”