HS Cross Country Seasons End At Regional Meet

Ranger runners Micah Swartz and Henry Bish hug after the regional race.

Photo by Valerie Swartz.

Lakewood’s successful boys cross country season ended October 29 at the OHSAA Div. 1 Regional Meet at Boardman HS. The meet, deemed “The Mini State Meet” by many coaches, included most of the best cross country teams in the state of Ohio. The Lakewood boys, who won the Southwest Conference Championship this year, finished 22nd amongst the field of 25 teams.

“They raced hard, strong, and confident,” said Ranger Head Coach Stephanie Toole. Henry Bish led the Rangers with his 45th place finish, narrowly missing an individual bid to the state meet. (Top 32 individuals qualified on to the OHSAA State Meet). Evan Budzar was the second Ranger in finishing 71st place with an outstanding race. Evan was followed closely by Ty'Saun Blevins, Gunnar Stockman, and Micah Swartz. Max Budzar and Joe Burtzlaff rounded out the team. 

St. Edward, which won the district championship the week previous at Lorain County Community College, was also eliminated. The Eagles finished 14th out of 25 teams, led by Alex Hauptman who finished 46th overall. On the girls' side, Leonie Klein raced individually for the Rangers. She finished 104th out of 192, missing the cut to make the state finals.

Mike Deneen

Mike Deneen has extensive experience covering sports and community stories for the Lakewood Observer. Mike has been a Senior Industry Analyst for the Freedonia Group in Cleveland, Ohio, since 1998. He has appeared on CNBC’s Closing Bell, NPR’s MarketPlace and has been quoted multiple times in The Wall Street Journal. He has made multiple guest appearances on ESPN Cleveland radio. Mike also writes for Inside Northwestern, a website that covers Northwestern Wildcat Athletics. You can reach him on Twitter at @MikeDeneen1 

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Volume 12, Issue 23, Posted 3:38 PM, 11.09.2016