Marshall Park was flooded with cross country runners and spectators for Ontario’s Bill Brown Invitational, held on Saturday, Sept. 21. The course saw some literal flooding, too, as the rainy weather conditions persisted throughout practically the entire meet.
But the rain wouldn’t prevent the runners from competing, and the meet officially kicked off with the high school boys’ “gold” race. Lexington’s Zane Sturts and Nick Stricklen finished third and fifth, (16:44 and 16:59), respectively. David Yosick of the Shelby squad picked up tenth place (17:36). Other locals included St. Peter’s Sean Stockmaster, who placed fifteenth (18:00), and Mansfield Senior’s Matt Brown, who finished twenty-second (18:29).
Stockmaster commented about the tough terrain and mentioned that he slipped and fell going down one of the hills. “It was pretty crazy. I didn’t feel too great during the race, but that’s okay.” Stockmaster is returning from a stellar race the previous weekend at Galion where he earned 16:40, his personal record (PR). He stated that he finally beat his coach’s record of 16:45, which was one of his goals for the season.
Both Lexington and Shelby’s boys’ teams placed in the top five, Lex in third and Shelby in fifth.
Following that race was the high school girls’ gold competition, which saw a flurry of purple and gold uniforms at the front of the pack. Lexington girls had eight of its runners finish in the top twenty, undoubtedly helping the team win. Those leading the Lex pack were Lillian Freundlich, second (20:18) and Susan Fain, third (20:26).
Jordie Garrett was the first Shelby girl to cross the finish line in ninth place (21:42). “It was rough inside the woods, and of course the second mile was hard with all of the hills, but overall I think our team did well,” she said.
The Shelby girls ended up third overall. Contributing to that placing were Garrett, Kaitlyn Evans, nineteenth (22:43); Haley Evans, twenty-fifth (23:12); Macy Lynch, twenty-seventh (23:16); and Dani Hoffman, thirtieth (23:25).
In the high school boys’ “blue” race, Ontario’s Brett Cortelletti took control of his home course, finishing first (17:35).
“I was shocked with how muddy it was. It was like running on wet sand,” he said. Not to mention, hundreds of other runners competed on the course before him, making the conditions even worse—“They primed it for me,” a smiling Cortelletti stated.
“I took it easy the first mile so that way when I was going up the second mile I could get ahead of everyone so they would wear out. I just needed to stay strong because I knew once I got over the peak of the second mile that I’d be able to hold them off for the rest of the race,” explained the champ.
Crestview’s A.J. Trent wasn’t too far behind Cortelletti, finishing in eighth (18:21), and Lucas’s Kyle Shindeldecker followed shortly after in fourteenth (18:47).
When it came time for the last competition (the high school girls’ blue race), the rain finally stopped.
And while the rain was no longer a factor, the course’s four – five inch mud presented problem areas.
Fortunately, the girls were able to power through. Moriah Montgomery of the Crestview team earned fifth (22:31). Teammate Emily Fulk finished in twelfth (23:25), just behind Mansfield Christian’s Abby Reynolds who placed eleventh (23:24).
Ontario’s Arie Cox and Kylie Bittner placed eighteenth and nineteenth (24:01 and 24:04), respectively.
Head coach of the Ontario team, Phil Giffin, gave some insight into the course dynamics and mentioned that at least one third of the high school’s course is run in the woods, which saw the worst conditions. Trying to keep one’s shoes intact would be as much as a feat as finishing the race because of all the heavy mud.
Even without the poor weather conditions, the course is pretty tough, he said. Given that, “We weren’t expecting any PR’s today,” said Coach Giffin.
For a complete listing of the meet results, go to www.baumspage.com.
