For the first time since 2003, the Streetsboro Rockets’ cross country program will have both teams on the cusp of earning a team state berth. The Streetsboro boys secured sixth place as a team at the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division III district meet by scoring 176.0 points with an 18-32-33-43-50 finish and the girls placed 10th by scoring 247 points with a 20-29-59-67-72 finish last Saturday at Lorain Community College.
“I am ecstatic about them making good on their promise to me,” boys’ Coach Adam Miller said. “All of the statistics said that we were in that zone to go ahead and attack, but we just needed to prove that we were capable of it. They made their presence known and now we just have to carry ourselves into the regional.”
The Rocket boys will fight for a team berth for the OHSAA Division III state meet when they race at the OHSAA Division III regional meet at Boardman High School on Saturday afternoon at 2:20 p.m.
“We have run at Boardman already this year, they are familiar with it, and we ran at the Boardman Spartan Invitational,” noted the first-year coach. “There were around 350-400 runners on the course that day and they performed well.”
On Saturday, the Rockets were paced by sophomore Preston Krzeminski, who took 18th place with a time of 17:52.20, followed by sophomore Aiden Beaver, who earned 32nd place by coming in at 18:29.70, junior Troy Mazer netted 33rd place with a time of 18:30.80, sophomore Brendan Mallloy captured 43rd place at 18:49.70 and sophomore Ryan Haber finished in 50th place with a time of 19:10.00.
Out of the seven qualifying teams from the Lorain district, the Rockets recorded the second-lowest spread with 1:17.80.
According to the first-year coach, what makes the team’s first regional berth since 2003 special is knowing that Streetsboro’s top five will stay together for at least one more season.
“It is exciting to see the next couple of years and scary to see those next couple of years,” he added. “This group of kids has had some very strong talent, and it is being passed into this core group of five.”
Miller said that the Rocket boys enjoyed a fast start when the pack was separated during the race and acknowledged that he was unsure how tight the pack had stayed together as he watched the runners round into the final 200 meters of the race. He said that his worries were put at ease when he saw that the top five Streetsboro boys had kept a tight pack in the final stretch.
Once again, Krzeminski led the Rocket boys by crossing the finish line first.
“Preston has again stepped into those shoes,” he noted. “He is ready to go, he is up to the challenge, and the team is responding well with him.”
On the girls’ side, the Rockets earned their second regional berth in four years with a strong finish in the final mile.
“I can honestly say I could not be prouder of this group of girls,” said Coach Larry Hoffman. “They had to fight and claw their way every step of the way, and a lot of people doubted the fact that they could make it, and they proved a lot of people wrong.”
The Streetsboro girls will race at the OHSAA Division III regional meet at Boardman High School on Saturday afternoon at 1:40 p.m.
“All I can hope for and wish for from this team is that they go out and give me everything that they’ve got like they have done all year long,” added the first-year coach “It has been a fantastic season and this team just has no quit in them at all so wherever they end up, that is where they will end up but I know that they will give me 110%.”
Last Saturday, the Streetsboro girls were led by senior Kaelyn Malloy, who snagged 20th place with a time of 22:16.20, followed by junior Cara Thomson who took 20th place at 23:05.60, sophomore Reagan Ripper netted 59th place with a time of 25:07.60, junior Harmony Cook finished in 67th place at 25:41.20 and sophomore Sadie Honroth wrapped up 72nd place coming at 25:59.80.
According to Hoffman, the key to the Streetsboro girls’ success was for each runner to establish their placement in the final mile of the race and pick off at least three runners. Hoffman acknowledged he was not sure if the Rocket girls had done enough to snag the last team berth when they crossed the finish line and was furiously checking his phone to see how many points they scored. Entering the race, the Rocket girls had been projected to finish in 11th place, just 14 points out of the final team berth.
“When they made that turn towards the finish, we have had a mindset all year that when we get to a certain part, nobody passes you and I think they really took that to heart in this race,” he said.
Once the results were official, Hoffman said he revealed the good news to his team and that wrapped up what had been a historic day for the Streetsboro cross country program. Hoffman noted that the Rockets were only expected to advance Kaelyn and Thomson to the regional meet, but the entire team outperformed their projections.
He credited Kaelyn for another strong race and using her senior leadership to fuel the Rocket girls.
“She is a great competitor,” he said. “She has showed up this year. She has done a lot of things this year that have helped her be that lead runner.”
