High school girls cross country: Muddy course creates added element to regional meet

The following article was posted on the News-Herald’s website.

YOUNGSTOWN — It was a drastic change from the conditions runners faced at Boardman for the regional meets compared to the Spartan Invitational earlier this season. Runners were happy with the cooler weather, but the mud added an extra layer of suspense to an already pressure-packed meet on Oct. 30.

Despite the course getting slicker as the meet wore on, it changed a lot of strategies during the day, which included Mentor junior Savannah Dennison. The Cardinal still posted a solid fifth-place finish with a time of 19:59.4.

Instead of a charge out of the gate, Dennison paced herself and focused on running a clean race.

“My strategy was just to get through it,” said Dennison. “I knew I needed to score single digits for my team and that was my main focus today. It isn’t a race where I’m trying to just go, rather I have to worry about the mud and being in a group while not unusual isn’t my strong suit.”

While Dennison scored well, other Mentor runners also needed to step up to make sure the team advanced to state. Sophomore Ada Sabo answered that call, as she crossed the line in 15th with a 20:35.0 to help the Cardinals secure a fifth-place finish.

“I don’t even know what I was thinking in that moment and just knew I had to go,” said Sabo. “It means a lot to help the team advance. It was tough with the mud at some points and I had to push through my legs dying.”

In the D-II race, after being upset last week for the district title, Chagrin Falls bounced back strong. Sophomore Mila Gresh and senior Rose Hoelzel finished in the top 10, which led the Tigers to a third-place team finish with 154 points.