The Crestwood Red Devils girls’ cross country team finally ran a race where they had athletes run in the top flight and their entire pack stayed close together, as the Red Devils earned second place with a team score of 122 points with a 3-6-12-43-58 finish last Saturday at the Trumbull County Fairgrounds in Cortland.
“Our goal was to go run fast, it was a fast course, and it was a perfect day for running. We thought we had a chance to win the race outright,” said Coach Jim Schweickert. “We beat some other teams we wanted to beat so it was a great day.”
The Red Devils were paced by freshman Luci Maschek, who took third place by recording a time of 18:32.70, followed by senior Piper Seibold who finished in sixth place with a personal record18:54.50, senior Maddie Gracy Gonczy earned 12th place with a time of 19:37.10, senior Piper Freedline finished in 43rd place at 20:42.10 and sophomore Abby Pfost netted 58th place with a personal record 21:14.90.
Crestwood will attempt to build on its runner-up finish in the postseason when it competes in the Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division race at Hawken Upper School in Chester on Saturday morning beginning at 9 a.m.
“You always want to win your league,” said the 15-year coach. “That is the focus, so they are aware of who we have to beat to make it happen. They have known that all year, so I think that mentally, they are ready to go do that.”
Last Saturday, the Red Devils appeared to be in good position by having a pair of runners in Maschek and Seibold finish in the top 10, but CVC rival Kirtland’s pack-running was efficient, as four of its top five runners finished in the top 30, edging Crestwood by four points.
Although the Hornets claimed the team title, Schweickert said that Crestwood finished with its best spread of the season, as their pack was separated by a time of only 2:42.30.
“Our spread actually shrank which is going to be important for the postseason and my hope is that we continue to close that gap just a little bit more as well,” he noted.
Once again, Crestwood was paced by Maschek, who continued her breakout freshman season with another strong finish in the top flight.
According to Schweickert, Maschek kept pace with McDonald junior Naomi Shipley and junior Caroline Valentino from Hathaway Brown after the first mile, but the pair gained separation at the second-mile mark.
Maschek still ran strong to finish in third place.
“She has shown she can compete in the front of a race and that is ultimately what it is about, competing. Time or no time, you have to be able to compete with others in a race. She has shown that she could do that,” Schweickert said.
On the boys’ side, the Berkshire Badgers once again displayed a clinical pack-running approach to take sixth place with a team score of 217 points with a 27-29-36-41-84 finish.
“These guys train together all week and run those kinds of splits during practice, and it is great to see them carry over to the meets on Saturdays,” said Coach Bryan Wadsworth. “That is our plan, we don’t have a top gun in the 15:00s but we are hoping to get it done with a small split between one and five.”
Senior Danny Auth led the Badgers by capturing 27th place with a personal record 16:51:00, freshman Ben Townsend netted 29th place with a personal record 16:51.20, junior Aiden Hollingsworth finished in 36th place with a time of 17:01.70, sophomore Tripp Wadsworth landed in 41st place with a personal record 17:05.40 and sophomore Evan Tromba earned 84th place with a time of 17:56.90.
The Badgers will attempt to repeat as league champions at the CVC Valley Division race at Hawken Upper School on Saturday morning beginning at 10 a.m.
Last Saturday, while no Badger runner finished the race with a sub-15:00 time, the fourth-year coach said that once he saw the first Berkshire runner cross the finish line, he knew there were would be more behind him.
He added that Auth and Townsend battled until the final second, as Townsend led with 400 meters remaining, but Auth kicked late to just surge past Townsend and finish as the Badgers’ lead runner.
“As a senior, Danny stepped up on Saturday. I only expect him to keep getting stronger through the rest of the season,” said Coach Wadsworth. “That is the great part about those guys, they don’t care who is leading, they just want somebody out there who is feeling it to go after it.”
The Badgers ultimately finished with a total spread of 1:06.00, propelling them to finish as one of the top teams in a crowded field.
