The Crestwood Red Devils girls’ cross country team’s final league race as members of the Chagrin Valley Conference ended on a high note. The Red Devils captured their second consecutive league banner, winning the CVC Valley Division title by scoring 27 points with a 1-3-4-9-10 finish last Saturday morning at Hawken Upper School in Chester.
“I think it is a testament to our kids,” said Coach Jim Schweicker “We have good quality and our motivation to win the CVC is there regardless of the division we are in It was one of our main goals this year so it is great to see them come through and do it.”
Crestwood will carry its momentum into the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division III district race, where it will compete for a regional team berth at Madison High School in Lake County on Saturday morning at 11:45 a.m.
“Berkshire is going to be there again and other teams that we don’t typically see but our goal is to go out and win it, and I think we can if we run like we have the last couple of weeks,” said the 14th-year coach.
Last Saturday, the Red Devils were led by freshman Luci Maschek, who clinched her first postseason championship by winning the race with a time of 18:49.40, followed by senior Maddie Grace Gonczy, who earned third place with a personal record 19:28.70, senior Piper Seibold took fourth place with a time of 19:43.50, senior Piper Freedline came in ninth place at 20:36.20, and sophomore Abby Pfost netted 10th place by logging a personal best 21:07.80.
It marked the first time that Crestwood has repeated as league champions, as they won the CVC Chagrin Division title last year, since becoming members of the CVC in 2020. With consecutive league banners in tow, the Red Devils will attempt to continue their dominance when they join the Greater Portage Athletic Conference next year.
Once again pacing the Red Devils was Maschek, who dazzled in her first high school varsity conference race, by enjoying another fast start.
“She was not afraid to run up front,” said Schweickert. “She took the lead off the bat. There was a girl or two or three that were lingering behind for the first mile and mile-and-a-half, but she ran the second half of the race well.”
He said that the entire Crestwood team kicked into high gear in the second half of the race, fueling a big comeback as it appeared halfway through that Berkshire’s pack was slightly ahead of the Red Devils, but Crestwood’s pack tightened down the stretch, propelling it to victory.
It was a day of defending league titles, as the Berkshire Badgers boys’ cross country team repeated as CVC Valley Division champions, scoring 26 points with a 3-4-5-6-8 finish.
“That was on the short list of things to get done this year and they were excited to have that repeat and keep the trophy at Berkshire this year,” said Coach Bryan Wadsworth. “They work hard and they got together all summer and achieved one of their goals so far.”
The Badgers will seek a team regional berth when they race at the OHSAA Division III district meet at Madison High School in Lake County on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
“This is the most exciting part of the year,” noted the fourth-year coach. “The postseason, is do it right or go home. Everyone is excited, they want to see what they got, we are excited to go back to Madison and give that course another run.”
Last Saturday, Berkshire was led by junior Aiden Hollingsworth, who finished third with a time of 17:06.80, followed by sophomore Evan Tromba, who took fourth place at 17:07.90, senior Danny Auth earned fifth place with a time of 17:09.80, sophomore Tripp Wadsworth captured sixth place with 17:19.70 and freshman Benjamin Townsend clinched eighth place with a time of 17:36.30.
According to Coach Wadsworth, it was a healthy competition amongst the Berkshire runners to see who would cross the finish line first as they rounded the final few hundred meters of the race, and Hollingsworth ultimately set the pace as the lead runner.
“Aiden has had a tremendous season, and the guys know that when he is out front and running strong, that we are in good shape,” he added.
The Badgers’ top five runners not only all finished in the top 10, but recorded an overall spread of 29.50 seconds, marking their best pack-running performance of the season.
“I think the guys really fed on each other in a good way and tried to pull each other along as we go through the race so we are hoping to get closer the next couple of weeks and see what we can do,” Coach Wadsworth said.
