Varsity runner Makorobondo Salukombo (#706) leads during the Walsh Jesuit Tomahawk Run.
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The Lakewood High School Cross Country Teams began the season at the GlenOak Golden Eagle Invitational on August 25, near Canton, Ohio.

The course for this meet was held on the campus of GlenOak High School and finished in their football stadium. The course, 5k in length (3.1 miles), snaked across rolling terrain and over grass covered fields with little or no shade.

This was a race run in very hot early morning sun with temperatures hovering around 90 degrees with at least two (non Lakewood) runners requiring medical attention due to the heat.

Senior Lakewood runner Makorobondo Salukombo (Dee) placed first in the Varsity race and had the fastest time of the weekend completing the race in 16:29.64. Boys Varsity runners Nick Meeson and Tim Kelly finished second and third in team results, respectively. The Boys Varsity Team earned a solid 4th Place finish overall. Eighteen teams competed in the Boys Varsity race.

Junior Pat Joyce, running in the JV race, placed second overall with a time of 18:31.92. Joyce finished less than one second behind Perry High School runner Shane Gillard in a sprint finish. Lakewood Boys JV finished 5th overall with 12 teams competing.

Girls Varsity placed a respectable 10th overall with 20 teams competing in the contest. Junior Lauren Rudin was the highest placed Lakewood Girls Varsity runner. Girls Varsity runners Bianca Beltran and Daniella Beltran finished second and third respectively in team results. The Girls JV team placed 8th overall with freshman runner Missy Richardson being the highest-placed Lakewood runner.

On Saturday September 1, Lakewood High School’s Cross Country teams competed at the 2007 Avon Lake Earlybird Invitational held at Lorain County Community College.

This course is run around the campus of Lorain County Community College. It consists of rolling terrain through fields and on dirt paths in the woods.

Controversy and confusion still being talked about on Internet forums, resulted in the Lakewood Boys and Girls Varsity teams not competing in their respective varsity races. As a result, the Boys and Girls Varsity teams raced in the Open categories. Some of these runners competed in the Open race without wearing numbers and were not scored nor given official finishing times as a result.

Senior Nick Meeson officially finished first with a time 17:19.0. Casey Meeson finished second with a time of 17:40.0. Unofficially Makorobondo Salukombo finished with the fastest time of the weekend at 16:24.

Junior Hannah Evans finished first overall in the Girls Open race finishing with a time of 21:35.0. Junior Lauren Rudin placed third overall with a time of 22:02.0.

The JV teams did compete in their correct meets with Lakewood Boys JV placing a respectable sixth overall out of 20 teams competing. Junior runner Jacob Ott placed first in team results with a time of 18:11.0. Juniors Matt Miller and Ryan Walsh finished second and third respectively in team results.

The Girls JV finished 10th overall out of 13 teams. Junior Emily Patsouras finished first in team standing (34th overall) with a time of 24:08.0.

Lakewood found some redemption from the previous weekends problems with the Boys Varisty Team placing 4th overall at the Walsh Jesuit Tomahawk Run on Saturday September 8 with 17 teams competing. This course, considered fast by Coach Ventura, consisted of some hills, wooded areas, and fields, looped around the Walsh Jesuit High School.

Makorobondo Salukombo (Dee) easily won the boys varsity race with an amazing time of 15:58.56 beating Keith Mrak of Walsh Jesuit. Mrak finished with a time of 16:10.12.

The Girls Varsity placed 8th out of 15 teams competing. Hannah Evans of Lakewood was the highest-placed Lakewood runner finishing a strong 26th overall with a time of 21:18.0

The Boys JV race saw Jacob Ott of Lakewood, Matt Miller of Lakewood, and Ben Kisley of Mentor battle for the lead the entire race. Throughout the race these three competotrs could be seen swapping the lead. In the end Matt Milled edged out both Kisley and Ott in the final 50 yards of the race. Kisley and Ott finished second and third respectiviley.

The Boys JV Team Finsihed 5th overall with 15 teams competing.

The Lakewood High School Cross Country teams started their season off with a strong start. As the athletes conditioning improves over the next several races, their strengths will improve making the team even stronger. Their chances of making it to the State Championships are looking strong at this early point of their season.