Field freshman Maddie Adams (left) ran to a seventh-place finish in a time of 20:46.3 and was the only freshman to place in the top 15 at Thursday’s Metro Athletic Conference Championships. Cassidy Wells was right behind her, placing eighth in a time of 21:11.1.
Ed Conroy/Special to Portage Sports

By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

The boys and girls final standings at Thursday’s Metro Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships were mirror images of each other.

Woodridge ran to the titles, with Cloverleaf finishing as runners-up and the Field Falcons placing third overall amongst the field in the race held at the Silver Creek Metro Park.

The Bulldogs, the state’s continued powerhouse, dominated the field with the boys taking the top three spots and having five in the top 10, with the girls also taking the top three spots and placing four in the top 10.

For the Falcons, veteran head coach Ed Conroy spoke with pride about the way his girls team ran, most notably the team’s top-two finishers in freshman Maddie Adams and sophomore Cassidy Wells.

Adams ran to a seventh-place finish in a time of 20:46.3 and was the only freshman to place in the top 15 in the race.

Wells was right behind her, placing eighth in a time of 21:11.1.

“Our girls team ran a fantastic race tonight overall, and I am very proud of Maddie and Cassidy,” Conroy said. “When you are talking about Woodridge and Cloverleaf, you are talking about two of the best programs in the state. All are tremendous athletes and state-bound programs year after year so for our girls to run right with those programs is a real tribute to them.”

Wells was running in ninth place with approximately 1,000 meters to go, according to Conroy, but she closed the gap with a strong finish to capture eighth place.

The top eight in the race were recognized as First Team All-Metro Athletic Conference.

Field’s third-place boys finish was highlighted by junior Sean Silk’s 12th-place finish. He ran a time of 17:47.3. Freshman Evan Pruszynski was 16th for Field in 18:03.5

“I think the boys ran just a little flat today,” Conroy said. “They had a huge race last week at Legends and they ran very well. Today was just a little flat, but that is OK. We will pick ourselves up and start to prepare for the districts.”

Streetsboro senior Zach Vales finished fifth overall in a time of 17:05.6 to help the Rockets to a fourth place team finish. The Rockets’ girls team was led by freshman Sonia Downing, who placed 16th.

“Overall, I thought it was a good race on both sides and people stepped up due to our second runner on the boys side dropping out from being sick and our girls fighting through some injuries,” Streetsboro head coach Jon Hannan said.

Ravenna did not have enough boys compete to score as a team, but on the girls side, sophomore Julia Stratton placed 13th (21:54.1). Overall, the Ravens’ girls placed sixth as a team.

“Last season was our first time running at this course, and I think the girls learned how to approach the courser,” Ravenna head coach Ashley Williams said. “All of our returning girls improved their times from last year.”

The Ravens’ Paige China placed 27th and Addison Ribelin finished 30th.

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY

METRO ATHLETIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

(At Silver Creek Metro Park)

TEAM STANDINGS

1. Woodridge 25, 2. Cloverleaf 67, 3. Field 93, 4. Streetsboro 125, 5. Springfield 126, 6. Coventry 133, 7. Norton 160.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

1. WOODRIDGE — 1. Seth Singer 16:28; 2. Sam Su 16:34; 3. Robbie Champa 16:43; 9. Steven Duffy 17:38; 10. Harvey Kever 17:42; 14. Josh Stetler 17:55; 15. Ben LeBay 17:56.

2. CLOVERLEAF — 8. Brett Gucker 17:25; 11. Vova Herdman 17:46; 13. Gavin Forbes 17:55; 17. Caleb Neville 18:07; 18. Nathan Naples 18:09; 26. Hunter Stallings 18:42; 30. Ethan Vaughn 19:09.

3. FIELD – 12. Sean Silk 17:48; 16. Evan Pruszynski 18:04; 20. Ammon Hottensmith 18:13; 22. Carter Little 18:22; 23. Parker Shutty 18:25; 24. Billy Silk 18:31; 33. Mason Prusha 19:25.

4. STREETSBORO — 5. Zachary Vales 17:06; 25. Eric Tiller 18:40; 29. Mario Puleo 19:08; 32. Timothy Harkleroad 19:15; 34. Hayden  Brown 19:42; 36. Kevin Murphy 19:57; 39. Marcus Peters 20:24.

5. SPRINGFIELD — 4. Peyton Carney 16:45; 21. Xander Glass 18:14; 28. Logan Gaspar 18:55; 35. Sam Lininger 19:47; 38. Jay Souza 20:09; 46. Dominic Wasil 21:40.

6. COVENTRY — 6. Tyson Denison 17:09; 19. Bryce Denison 18:10; 31. Beau Harper 19:14; 37. Jackson Hunger 20:06; 40. Logan Virag 20:39; 47. Joseph Sands 22:00; 48. Phoenix Davis 22:58.

7. NORTON — 7. Ryan Ehrler 17:13; 27. Ben LaLonde 18:52; 41. Gavin Emerling 20:49; 42. Ryan Pratt 20:50; 43. Luke Flohr 20:57; 44. Will Goff 21:13; 45. Henry Judge 21:14.

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY

METRO ATHLETIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

(At Silver Creek Metro Park)

TEAM STANDINGS

1. Woodridge 24, 2. Cloverleaf 42, 3. Field 99, 4. Springfield 109, 5. Streetsboro 124, 6. Ravenna 157, 7. Norton 179, 8. Coventry 231.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

1. WOODRIDGE — 1. Reese Reaman 18:53; 2. Marissa Boone 19:41; 3. Eloise Willett 20:11; 6. Joy McFarland 20:43; 12. Kathryn Kiley 21:42; 18. Ruby Wuscher 22:33; 19. Regan Smith 22:34.

2. CLOVERLEAF — 4. Megan Knapp 20:38; 5. Emma Hibler 20:42; 9. Madison Snyder 21:19; 10. Brooke Gucker 21:23; 14. Allison Yagersz 22:12; 17. Vanessa Monhemius 22:31; 20. Lauren Mensch 22:39.

3. FIELD — 7. Maddie Adams 20:47; 8. Cassidy Wells 21:12; 24. Julia Potts 23:25; 29. Kristin Toepke 24:15; 31. Jessica Pollard 24:32; 39. Nema McAmis 25:22; 41. Malerie Mishler 25:45.

4. SPRINGFIELD — 11. Grace Frient 21:33; 15. Lexi Davis 22:21; 21. River Gum 22:58; 26. Sydney Hillyard 23:44; 36. Hannah Furlong 25:00.

5. STREETSBORO — 16. Sonia Downing 22:24; 23. Madi Campbell 23:14; 25. Kendall Epple 23:34; 28. Carra Tiller 24:12; 32. Claire Campbell 24:35; 33. Kenzie LaGuardia 24:38; 35. Sofia Maglionico 24:51.

6. RAVENNA — 13. Julia Stratton 21:55; 27. Paige Chinn 23:58; 30. Addison Ribelin 24:26; 40. Reese Johnston 25:23; 47. Kathleen Stroh 27:15; 50. Clare Johnston 30:23.

7. NORTON — 22. Caiden Bail 23:07; 34. Summer Speck 24:41; 38. Tatum Nutter 25:19; 42. Annie Latham 25:56; 43. Molly LaLonde 26:26; 44. Elizabeth Pratt 26:26; 45. Chloe Gable 26:49.

8. COVENTRY — 37. Maggie Griffin 25:16; 46. Chloe Eder 27:02; 48. Olivia Piekarski 28:17; 49. MacKenzie Harmon 30:21; 51. Lilly Ledford 30:53; 52. Zoe Banks 32:28.