Mogadore boys cross country seeks sweeter postseason
PLAIN TWP. — Last postseason left a tough taste in the mouths of the Wildcats after they finished last in the team standings at the Boardman Regional.
They started this postseason with a different taste, as the Mogadore boys cross country team spent Wednesday evening baking a cake together, with varying success.
A couple of days after the cake was completed, and the kitchen cleaned up, the Wildcats took third in the GlenOak District, moving up two spots from a season ago.
The whole goal of the cake was to lift everyone's mood at an emotional time of year.
Mogadore senior Alejandro Navarrete got the process started when he invited his teammates over to his house, and following a trip to Acme, the boys got to work.
Except that one of the cakes they had bought at Acme was way too small.
"It was absolute chaos in the kitchen, because it was like all eight of us in a small kitchen," Navarrete said. "We made an absolute mess, so we had a lot of fun, and then we just bonded as a team and that's just what cross country is about."
Once the cake was done, some of the runners continued on to Wing Warehouse, and by the time the night was through, the Wildcats were bonded closer than ever.
"I feel like that night was just really special for us because we just really connected well," Navarrete said. "We really showed that we're a team and we're going to make it."
Those positive vibes carried into Saturday's GlenOak District meet with Navarrete (16th, 18:15.35) joined by junior Ryan Keren (19th, 18:27.05) and senior Daniel Carter (20th, 18:38.81) in the top 20 of the Division III boys race.
"I really just kind of had my eyes locked on Daniel and I saw [Caleb] Cutright from Rootstown and Carter [Evans] from Southeast" Keren said. "I knew those guys, I just kind of found familiar faces in the race and just kind of worked my way up, just one segment at a time, just working one mile at a time, and then just finish strong."
Carter noted his goal Saturday was to start strong, and while he didn't love his finish, he was thrilled with the jump the Wildcats have made heading into Boardman.
'"Even though we didn't all run our best races, we've improved a lot from last year," Carter said. "We've got a stronger bond this year and so we're going to carry that to regionals."
While not everyone was thrilled with their times, Mogadore sophomore Dante Navarrete couldn't help but smile when it came to his sub-20 (18:56.40) to take 27th, and freshman Cameron Brady (28th, 18:58.24) crossed the finish line less than two seconds behind the younger Navarrete brother.
Now, the goal is simple.
While making Boardman is a big deal, and not something to be taken for granted, these Wildcats have business to take care of once they get off Route 224 Saturday.
"We've improved so much and I'm so proud of all my boys and we just got to attack it," Ale Navarrete said. "We're just going to go in with a mindset we're going to forget about this race and we're just going to keep going. We're not going to get last at regional, I can tell you that for sure, and hopefully we can squeeze into the top four."
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Mogadore boys cross country seeks sweeter postseason finish
