ASHAND — Chance Basilone and his Lexington teammates stepped on the accelerator.
Basilone finished second in the Division I boys race at the Ashland Cross Country Invitational, leading the Minutemen to the team title on a steamy but overcast Saturday morning.
Lex finished with a score of 64, while Stow-Munroe Falls (67) was second and Parkersburg (96) was third. Brecksville (113) and Ontario (180) rounded out the top five.
Basilone finished in 15 minutes, 42.9 seconds. Nathan Hartenburg of Stow-Munroe Falls won in 15:37.7.
“Last year at this course I went 16:23 and then I went 15:34 at the end of the year,” said Basilone, who flirted with his personal best of 15:34.
“So I went about 40 seconds faster (this year at Ashland). Coach told me if I break 16, I’d be moving.”
Teammate Latrell Hughes was moving, too. The junior finished in a personal record of 16:07.3.
“This was a good race for me,” Hughes said. “This year I’ve been training a lot more.”
Lincoln Rice finished 13th for Lexington in 16:45.7. Gage Devaney (16:49.8) was 17th and Luke Haring (17:22.9) was 29th.
Xavier Trent and Dean Morrison both placed in the top 10 for Ontario. Trent finished sixth in 16:26.5 and Morrison was ninth in 16:37.7.
Chaden Sampson led Ashland, finishing 28th in 17:13.
Brockway Leads Charge
Crestview’s Cooper Brockway was the top area finisher in the boys Division II/III race. He finished sixth in 16:39.1.
Loudonville’s Lettie Wenell was 13th in 17:41.3, while Zane Robinson paced Shelby (16th, 18:01.3). Mansfield Christian’s David Delorenzo was 18th in 18:08.3.