Bigger schools? No problem for Woodridge cross country at Cloverleaf
Woodridge had no problem mixing it up with big Division I powers at the Todd Clark Cloverleaf Invitational in boys and girls’ cross country action.
Head coach Jeff Howard was pleased with how his Division II program stacked up among big schools at the 51st annual Todd Clark Invitational at Cy Hewit Park in Seville.
“The boys’ team is currently ranked fifth in the Ohio coaches’ poll and on Saturday, the team finished fourth behind four of Ohio’s state-ranked “big school” programs in Highland, GlenOak, and Green.”
In the girls’ standings, the strong Bulldogs more than held their own, placing an impressive third out of 24 schools.
“Reese Reaman and Marissa Boone both grabbed top-six finishes to pace the squad to a third-place finish,” noted Howard, as Woodridge ran third (166) behind state-ranked Division I powers Shaker Heights (78) and Mentor (88).
“The girls are currently ranked eighth in Ohio’s most recent state poll and continue to race well,” commented Howard.
Solid gap times, strong balance, and improvement marked the day, which included 21 teams, led by Highland (68), GlenOak (73) and Green (90). Woodridge (132) beat Mentor (155) and Cuyahoga Falls (182), among other big schools.
“Seth Singer, Robbie Champa, and Sam Su continue to lead the way,” said Howard.
Singer crossed 10th overall out of 191 runners with a clocking of 16-minutes and 22.1 seconds.
With a time of 16:45.6, Champa finished 16th overall while Su placed 19th overall with a clocking of 16:55.1.
“Atticus Sloan had a monster race to finish fourth for the team while Steven Duffy rounded out the scoring five,” said Howard.
Continuing to improve, Sloan was timed at 17:17.6, which was good for 33rd-place. Duffy crossed 56th overall in 17:41.9.
“Harvey Kever and Ben LeBay both ran lifetime bests to round out the seven,” emphasized Howard. “Erick Williams had a lifetime best (18:58.2) in the varsity race as well.”
Crossing in 17:45.2, Kever finished 62nd overall while LeBay ran 92nd in 18:10.7.
The Bulldog girls managed to place ahead of GlenOak, Wooster, Mayfield, Brecksville, Cloverleaf, and Amherst Steele.
Howard is eager to develop a strong support cast for Reaman and Boone and that has been occurring with different athletes stepping up from week to week.
“Eloise Willett ran her best race of the fall season to grab 13th place while Joy McFarland and Ruby Wuscher rounded out the scoring five,” said the mentor.
Willett was time at 19:52.6 while McFarland finished 52 in 21:03.6, and Wuscher was 98th with a time of 22:22.4 in Seville.
“Riley Yajko and Sydney Wilkinson also ran well to complete the scoring seven,” said Howard. “Anna Schluep and Izzy Howell also raced well.”
With a time of 22:50.7, Yajko was 115th overall and Wilkinson was 118th in 22:50.0
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Woodridge runs with bigger schools at Cloverleaf
