If there was any doubt that the Crestwood Red Devils girls’ cross country team could not compete in the Chagrin Valley Conference Chagrin Division, they erased those concerns by rallying to take second place in the Conference Meet scoring 46 points with a 3-7-9-13-14 finish last Friday morning at Cardinal High School in Middlefield.
“It was great,” said Coach Jim Schweickert. “We used the whole year to experience with race tactics and pack running and all of that and now we are at the point where we are telling them it is all about placements. We are in the best shape we are going to be in, and we have raced well all year and now we just have to compete. In our final miles, we had kids whose fastest mile of the race was the fastest mile of the race for them.”
Crestwood’s postseason begins when it competes in the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II district meet this Saturday at Madison High School at 11:30 am and will fight to become one of seven teams to earn a berth to the regional meet.
Sophomore Maddie Grace Gonczy finished in fourth place with a time of 20:06.84, followed by sophomore Piper Seibold who came in eighth place with a time of 20:41.21, sophomore Piper Freedline wrapped up 10th place with a time of 20:47.19, senior Abby Guyette clinched 14th place with a time of 21:12.77 ,and senior Erin Hallis captured 15th place with a time of 21.15.44.
Although the Red Devils’ top five all finished in the top 15, they were trumped by conference foe Orange, who scored 40 points with a 4-5-6-10-15 finish to finish six points ahead of Crestwood and clinch the conference title.
Having been paced by Seibold throughout the season, Gonczy fueled the Red Devils in the Conference meet by being the first Crestwood runner to cross the finish line.
“Maddie ran great,” said the 14th-year coach. “She ran a career personal record by about 20 seconds and she looked good and looked strong. She is hyper competitive and is just mentally and physically a tough runner and she does not take to not accomplishing her goals.”
According to Schweickert, while the Lions’ pack-running strategy kept their top runners at the front of the pack, the Crestwood girls made up ground in the last mile to rally for their second consecutive runners-up finish since being transferred to the CVC Chagrin Division two years ago.
Schweickert also credited the pack-running of Freedline, Guyette and Hallis for helping the Red Devils keep pace and fend off Chagrin Falls for second place by only two points.
“Our pack of Erin, Abby and Piper has been a tremendous group,” he said. “They have been running the last few meets step by step but Piper is the one who just killed it. She ran a career personal record by 30 seconds, she was with that pack like she always is and she just never let up. She ran the best race of her life, and she looked great doing it so that pack of three right there is a huge key to our team.”
On the boys’ side, Crestwood took fifth place by scoring 111 points with a 13-18-21-26-33 finish.
Senior Kevin Vechery fueled the Red Devils by coming in 13th place with a time of 17:22.59, followed by junior Garret Byers who took 18th place with a time of 17:41.64, senior Augie Schweickert clinched 26th place with a time of 18:05.60, freshman Evan Rhodes earned 35th place by clocking a time of 18:54.74 and sophomore Julien Russo snagged 36th place with a time of 18:56.65.
Despite finishing well behind some of the top-tiered teams in the meet, Coach Schweickert said that Crestwood’s pack-running strategy allowed them to stay together leading up to the first mile mark, which put them in position to pick off some runners in the last half of the race and move up a few places.
“You can see your teammates running and you know you are running strong as a pack and that enhances scoring,” noted Coach Schweickert. “Pack-running is huge for scoring so I think it builds some confidence and when they all are able to see each other and run with each other, it is a huge plus.”
It was Vechery who made the most of his final mile by being the first Crestwood runner to finish the race.
“He got out a little faster than usual which was fine which we have told them to do,” Coach Schweickert added. “He slowed down in the middle and really dug down in the last mile.”
