High school cross country: 2016 runners, teams and meets to watch

This article was originally posted on the News Herald’s website on 8.29.16. Written by Nate Barnes.

Runners to watch: (in alphabetical order)

Matthew Bull, Mentor, Sr.: Bull enters his senior year after an 18th place finish at the 2015 Division I state meet.

Tommy Carballada, NDCL, Sr: Finished 18th at D-II state meet, owns a 16:15.2 personal record.

Timothy Diemer, Gilmour, So.: Was the sixth-best runner at the D-II district meet as a freshman, finished 55th at state meet.

Katie Engle, Gilmour, So.: Posted a 26th-place finish at D-II state meet as a freshman, PR is 18:59.2

Nate Kawalec, Chardon, Jr.: Placed eighth at regional meet, ran a 16:27.6 at district meet for a PR.

Jacob Keating, Lake Catholic, Sr.: 19th at D-I state, owns a 15:44 PR.

Brent LeBlanc, Wickliffe, Jr.: 18th at regional meet, PR is 16:12.

Jakob McConnell, Kenston, So.: Impressive freshman campaign ended with a 19th-place finish at D-I regional meet.

Mikaylie Park, Chardon, Sr.: Looks to build off 33rd-place finish at D-I state meet.

Leah Roter, Beachwood, Jr.: Seventh at D-II state meet last year with a 18:36 mark, her PR.

Ashley Rulison, Beaumont, So.: 10th-place finisher at state as a freshman should be impressive in sophomore campaign.

Sydnie Schwenk, North, Sr.: Placed 27th at D-I regional, should improve on 19:28 PR.

Kylie Scott, Berkshire, Sr.: 81st at D-III state, owns a 19:44 PR.

Annie Zimmer, Chagrin Falls, Jr.: Fifth-place finish at D-II state has Zimmer’s eyes on a state crown this year.

Boys teams to watch (in alphabetical order)

Chardon: Nate Kawalec leads a group with potential to finish near the top in each meet the Hilltoppers attend.

Gilmour: Young talent is abundant for the Lancers with a trio of state qualifiers in each of the junior and sophomore classes.

Lake Catholic: Jacob Keating will challenge for a state title, and the Cougars have runners behind him with top-10 ability.

Mentor: One of the deepest teams in the area, Lake Catholic transfer Matthew Bull hedges against the loss of Joe Polakowski.

Girls teams to watch (in alphabetical order)

Chagrin Falls: The Tigers have their eyes set on domination with the return of Annie Zimmer and four of their top five runners from 2015.

Gilmour: Finished third at 2015 state meet as a team, and have eight runners with state experience on the roster.

Hawken: Defending CVC Valley champs move back to D-III with experience in their top five.

Mentor: Cardinals have plenty of state experience, and only get stronger with the addition of Emma Lane off a second-place finish in the 400 at state track.

Cardinal Classic at Mentor: Sept. 3

Walsh Invitational at Walsh Jesuit: Sept. 10

Spartan Invitational at Boardman: Sept. 17

Fleet Feet Invitational at Strongsville: Sept. 24

Lancer Invitational at Gilmour: Sept. 30

Medina Cross Country Festival: Oct. 8

League meets: Oct. 15

District meets: Oct. 22

Regional meets: Oct. 29

State meet: Nov. 5

Gilmour’s young runners on the boys and girls teams had breakout seasons in 2015. How they follow those up could make the Lancers state contenders on each side.

Chagrin Falls returns a ton of talent in Annie Zimmer, Allie Owen, Halle McClintock, Hailey Lowe and Catherine Coffey. Anything but a first-place finish wherever the Tigers compete this year should be a surprise.

Zimmer headlines a number of runners on the girls side who will look to claim the top spot at the D-II state meet. Her fifth-place finish, Beachwood’s Leah Roter’s seventh-place performance and Beaumont’s Ashley Rulison, who was 10th in Hebron as a freshman, put them in line for big years.

Mentor once again looks strong on each side, even if numbers are slightly down on the girls team. How Emma Lane makes the transition from track, where she placed second in the 400 at state, could take the Cardinals from good to great.

Joe Bistritz is no longer around to dominate the area. Mentor’s Matthew Bull and Lake Catholic’s Jacob Keating, who finished 18th and 19th at the state meet, respectively, as teammates at Lake Catholic, figure to compete for area supremacy in his stead this season.

Kenston returns a good deal of experienced talent from last year’s boys team that won the WRC on the boys side, and many seniors on the girls team as well. Each squad should compete for a league title, and be running deep into October.

Chardon’s teams have excellent runners up top in Nate Kawalec and Mikaylie Park. Deanna Ogrinc and Denali Selent will make the Hilltopper girls formidable, while Josh Metzung gives the boys a solid second runner.

Tommy Carballada and Augie King make NDCL strong at the top, but the Lions boys have the potential to be strong top to bottom if underclassmen make improvements. Meanwhile, if any of the seven girls with regional experience take strides to the next level, Karl Weinfurtner’s teams will be strong on each side.