Tue, Nov 24 2009
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Published November 01, 2009 01:45 am - BOARDMAN — Then there were only two. Two Beavers only guys to punch tickets to Columbus KARL PEARSON Star Beacon BOARDMAN — Then there were only two.
Regional competition in Northeast Ohio has a way of doing that to fine teams and individuals. It was no different Saturday at the regional cross country meet at Boardman High School. On a day when two area teams and seven individuals entered the meet, both the Edgewood and Riverside boys teams were eliminated and all seven runners competing individually also fell by the wayside. Only by finishing in the top 16 runners in the Division I race were Riverside sophomore Zack McBride and senior Dan Shafer able to qualify for the state meet next Saturday at Scioto Downs Race Track in Columbus. A sixth-place finish from McBride and a ninth from Shafer weren’t even enough to advance the Beavers team to the next level. Riverside finished 12th with 287 points, well behind the four qualifying teams of Hudson at 110, Louisville at 120, Mentor at 125 and Canton GlenOak at 140. Edgewood finished a strong sixth in the Division II race with 236 points. That fell short behind the four qualifying teams of Peninsula Woodridge with just 50 points, Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary with 103, Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy with 118 and Akron Hoban at 131. But the fine performance of the Warriors as a team was tempered somewhat by the knowledge that its lone senior member, Thomas Butryn, was unable to qualify for state. Butryn had the best individual finish of any Ashtabula County boy in the meet, placing 26th in 18:48.73, but those who advanced to state as individuals needed to be in the top 16 in their race. The next-best individual performance by an area individual was turned in by Pymatuning Valley junior Kyle Eastlake. The only area runner in the Division III race, he finished 34th overall in that Division in 18:56.40. The team state qualifiers in Division III were Independence with 60 points, McDonald with 82, Maplewood with 101 and Louisville St. Thomas Aquinas with 119. Four area individuals were in the Division I race. Geneva senior Drew Avsec had the top finish in 53rd place in 18:56.55, while teammate Gabe McLeod, a sophomore, was 111th in 20:43.65. Madison junior Bobby Bismark finished 89th in 19:32.47. Blue Streak senior Konner Lashley was 103rd in 20:00.86. Perry senior Brien Croff finished 89th in the Division II race in 20:14.29. Teammate Dean Light had also qualified for the race, but was held out of the competition after contracting mononucleosis. McBride, who has spent the entire season chasing Shafer, got the better of his teammate in the race that probably counted the most, finishing in 17:43.27. Shafer was clocked in 17:48.44. The sophomore put on an impressive stretch run over the final 800 meters of the 3.1-mile course to earn his trip to state. He exchanged positions with Shafer over the final stretch of real estate, finishing strongly. “That last 800 meters, I knew that state was right there,” McBride said. “I just couldn’t let it go. I felt a little slow at the start, but once I worked my way through the mud and the traffic, I started getting stronger. This means so much to qualify to state as a sophomore.” Shafer admitted he was struggling a bit when McBride passed him in the latter stages of the race and just decided to hitch his wagon to McBride’s fortunes. 
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