Garfield G-Men freshman Lina Kaufman is not quite finished with her breakout season in her first year of varsity cross country. The G-Men freshman clinched a state berth at the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division III regional meet, finishing in 11th place with a time of 19:44.01 last Saturday at Boardman High School.
“It is just spectacular to see what she has achieved in such a short high school career so far,” said Coach Matt Pfleger. “Coming in as a freshman and breaking the school record in her first varsity meet which was set in 1986. It is exciting to see, and I really think it is going to be pretty exciting to see what she does down at the state meet as well.”
Kaufman becomes the first Garfield runner to qualify for the OHSAA state cross country meet since Caroline Hahn was a state qualifier in 2012. Although she finished in 11th place, she placed fifth in a race where the top 12 female racers qualify if their team does not earn a state berth. The G-Men’s freshman will wrap up her freshman campaign when she competes at the OHSAA Division III state meet at Fortress Obetz on Saturday morning at 11:50 a.m.
“She is going to see a lot of great talent down there and even though that she knows she is capable of it, she is still only a freshman, and she has done a great job this whole season just being prepared both mentally and physically,” noted the fifth-year coach.
On Saturday, Kaufman once again started in the front pack at the first mile mark. According to Pfleger, Kaufman sat at the back of the front pack as several of the racers in the top flight got off to a faster start but Kaufman kept a steady pace by clocking six minutes at the first mile.
Kaufman maintained her position throughout the race and slowly gained ground on several of her competitors, picking off several places to move up to 11th place by the time she crossed the finish line, ensuring her season would last one more week.
“She was looking pretty good,” he added. “Her position was good the whole time and I knew some of the girls that were ahead of her might have come out a little more quickly than they thought they could on that first mile. I knew that she was safe where she was when I looked at her time.
In a season filled with so many milestones for Kaufman, who already has broken the school record and became the first female runner to win a district championship, Pfleger also lauded Kaufman for her leadership. She will have one more chance to pave the way for Garfield in the final high school cross country race of the season.
Crestwood’s Seibold and Gonczy land state berths
Kaufman was not the only female Portage County runner to clinch a state berth, as Crestwood Red Devils’ juniors Piper Seibold and Maddie Grace Gonczy each earned a state bid by finishing in 13th place with 19:58.77 and 18th place by clocking 20:21.78, respectively, last Saturday.
“This has been a goal of theirs that got away from them the last couple of years when they had opportunities, so they are excited to finally get that goal,” noted Coach Jim Schweickert. “They pretty much run step for step all of the time.”
Seibold finished in 13th place but qualified as the seventh individual while Gonczy earned the 10th individual qualifying berth in the race.
They become the first Crestwood female runners to secure state bids since Zoë Simmons qualified for the state meet in 2020.
“It is a challenge,” added the 15th-year coach. “Some people run fantastic, and some people blow it up and don’t get it done. We will be talking this week about race tactics and what to expect.”
On Saturday, the Red Devils’ duo hovered around 20th place at the first mile.
Schweickert noted that Gonczy began to fade as the race wore on while Seibold gained ground on her competitors, advancing to 13th place with only a half mile remaining in the race. Although Gonczy lagged behind in the middle part of the race, Scheickert said that she kicked into a different gear in the final stages of the race to cross the finish line as the 10th individual runner.
“Piper was probably in about 13th place with a half mile to go and was able to hold that, she looked really good,” he said. “Maddie was struggling a bit, but after she dropped back to like 23 or 24th place, she put on a massive kick in the woods. She needed that kick, and she dug down and found it when she needed it.”
