NE REGIONAL

psycho_dad

Well-known member
D2 GIRLS LOOKS TO HAVE 7-8 TEAMS FOR 6 SPOTS.

$V$M
CHAGRIN FALLS
TALLMADGE
BEAUMONT
POLAND
WOODRIDGE
HAWKEN
EDGEWOOD


D2 BOYS MAYBE 7 TEAMS FOR 6 SPOTS.

WOODRIDGE
BAY
$V$M
POLAND
SALEM
NDCL.
WEST G.
 
 
D1 Girls Any other teams besides these 8 for the 8 spots.

Shaker hts
Mentor
Hudson
Howland
Medina
Jackson
Green
Avon

D1 Boys

Iggy
Louisville
Hoover
Brecksville
Medina
Hudson
Solon
Kenston
Mentor
 
D3 Girls I might be giving some teams more credit than they deserve, but 7 teams for 4 spots

CCC
East Canton
Gilmour Academy
Smithville
Maplewood
McDonald
Berkshire

D3 Boys This seems to have 5 teams for 2 spots. 2 are locks.
East Canton
CCC
Elyria Catholic
Columbia
McDonald
Maplewood
Southrange
 
Add Mineral Ridge to the list of contenders for D3 girls. They caught many of us by surprise last year, and I'm not sold that we saw all that they have to offer last weekend. McDonald, Maplewood, and Gilmour have been the class of the region all season. McDonald has the studs up front, Maplewood has a solid #1 followed by tremendous depth, and this is the thinnest Gilmour team I've seen in a long time, but their top 5 are more than good enough to finish 2nd or 3rd in the team standings. It's 5 teams going for 1 spot, IMHO.

D3 boys looks about right as far as which teams should be on the short list. McDonald and East Canton should have no trouble claiming the top 2 spots. I notice Elyria Catholic's #3 and #4 from last weekend did not compete at the invitational.
 
I am going with Kenston Girl’s. They will be adding their #1 and #4 runners back into the line-up . If they are healthy that will adding a 1930’s and a 20:00 . Making them better at 1 and 5.
 
Well, St Joseph Academy wins the region. I saw them dominate at Gilmour about a month ago. They really looked the part back then.
 
Any word on the girl in the D3 race who collapsed during the race? Was she from CCC? The ambulance left before the race was finished.
 
Crazy day of racing!
- For starters, it wasn't muddy. I don't know how to act when Boardman is dry for the regional meet.

Girls
- Maplewood and Gilmour girls tied for the DIII girls title with McDonald comfortably advancing in 3rd. The race for the 4th team spot was hot. Canton CC had 3 in the top 16, but 1 was unable to continue somewhere slightly past halfway. Smithville capitalized with solid frontrunners and a good pack performance to hold off East Canton.

- Gilson dominated the individual race. Beamount girls barely held off St. V-M and Tallmadge for the DII title. Woodridge girls still have an excellent knack for doing what they need to do to advance to yet another state meet. Poland got through after so many near-misses in past years, and Chagrin Falls lived to fight another week,

- St. Joe's Academy took down a large field. Jackson girls narrowly averted disaster when their normal #1 lost her shoe early in the race but kept battling to still be their 3rd runner on the day and help them nail down 7th place. Howland proved that DI wasn't too big for them after being in DII last year.

Boys
- East Canton and McDonald proved to be the class of the region in DIII boys, but I did not expect all that happened behind them. Dalton rode a great day from their top 4 runners, especially the top 3 to advance. I raced against Dalton in a triangular meet the 1st year they had an XC team in the late '90s. The other team competing that day was St. V-M. They were a far cry from the program they are today. South Range worked an effective pack into the 4th spot to leave perennial power Maplewood home by 2 pts. and up-and-coming Canton CC by 9 pts. It should be a good rematch between Snellenberger and Fisher. McDonald advanced teams of both genders from this region.

- We'll see what happens next week, but I think this is Woodridge's 2nd best team ever. '06 is the gold standard for me. That was a dominant run today to complete the 15th straight year of advancing BOTH genders to the state meet. Poland and St. V-M also advanced both genders in DII from this region. How often does a team score under 100 pts. in a 19-team meet and still lose by 73 pts? Not very often, but that was the fate for a very good Bay team. IIRC, Bay has compiled more than 30 trips to state as a team in boys XC. NDCL and Cloverleaf held off a few other teams in a hot race for the final 2 team spots.

- The DI boys race was extremely difficult to track, especially with Kenston and Louisville having such similar color schemes and Hudson sporting gray uniforms. I wish my school could afford to have so many different sets of uniforms, haha. Solon had the best cheering section with many of their boys wearing shirts and ties. St. Ignatius and Medina keep churning out state teams. University School proved once again that they're dangerous at the end of the year when they get all of their athletes together, and Jackson is a team that refuses to be eliminated. Jackson was dead to rights at the district until another team's top runner lost 6 places in the final 25m while struggling to reach the finish and swung the team results in Jackson's favor. Today, Jackson clawed its way to the 8th and final team spot by 1 pt. over Mentor while also beating 3 of the teams that beat them last week in the process. It sure beats the alternative. Jackson, Medina, and Hudson all advanced both genders to state from this region.
 
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Any word on the girl in the D3 race who collapsed during the race? Was she from CCC? The ambulance left before the race was finished.

1 of the CCC runners DNFed, but she wasn't the one taken via ambulance. She was still at the meet as of the DII girls race. I was thinking maybe Mineral Ridge as I did not see 1 of their top girls from last weekend listed in the final results, but that is pure speculation on my part. A few teams did not have 7 finishers. I saw the ambulance tear out of the parking lot. It seemed too early in the finishing proceedings to be a runner who had already finished.
 
Having been around for the 2006 Woodridge team, this 2019 team could be as good. I would give the 2006 team the advantage at 1-2. Hilditch and Himelright were just nasty racers and it's hard for me to bet against them. However, Blair and Champa are very similar to those two. Blair looked as good as I've ever seen him this past weekend and Champa has another gear/level he can get to. I can't help but give Hilditch and Himelright a slight edge. 4:09 and 4:17 in the 1600 gives them the benefit of the doubt. This years team has a better 3. Elkurd could run #1 at the state meet. He has that ability. I would give the '06 the advantage at 4, but I'd give this years team the advantage at 5. It would be a tight dual meet.

The '06 team probably should have won in '05 and was highly motivated to win the state meet in '06. That motivation for redemption had to help them only score 43. This year's team only has the ghost of the '06 team pushing them. They came through last year and are used to big races. Unioto and Bay aren't jokes, so they have to perform well. That could push them to a similar score as the '06 team.

Realistically, Woodridge put 5 in front of Bay's 2 and 6 in front of Bay's 4 with 5 in before Bay's 7. It would take a lot for Bay to beat Woodridge.

Unioto: If their #1 is as good or better than Woodridge 1, then they have a fighting chance. I don't see that though. I think Woodridge goes 1-2-3 on them. At least 1-2.

Wooodridge loses their #1 for next year and their 6. They bring back the top 4 returners in the region. If you took out the two Seniors at the Regional, they still would have only scored 50 ish. That's what the NE D2 has to look forward to next year.

This team could get close to that 43 at the state the '06 team scored. Good chance to tie Caldwell for most state titles for boys and looks promising to overtake them next year.
 
38 points for Woodridge this Saturday. Huron helped them for 5.
Unioto second, Defiance third, Bay(5 may negate top 3?) or Heath 4 and 5. Poland(if Boardman is really that tough) could be next if they can all move up a bit.
 
38 points for Woodridge this Saturday. Huron helped them for 5.
Unioto second, Defiance third, Bay(5 may negate top 3?) or Heath 4 and 5. Poland(if Boardman is really that tough) could be next if they can all move up a bit.
Poland needs a stronger 1, will make more of a difference at state. Carroll or Madeira will likely be around there
 
I do believe in Bay for 4th or 5th, they're a darn good team, and that would be a very respectable finish. I just think the
pollsters have it about right this time.
 
I don't see where the Troy teams are all that much better than last year, if at all.

Woodridge, Unioto, Bay, Heath, and Defiance look like the top 5 in whatever order it works out to be.

Poland is going to be up there. They are pretty good through 6.

Lexington and Huron are almost identical teams and not too far off of Defiance, so they should be up there. I tend to give Lexington the benefit of the doubt.

Is Madeira better than NDCL? or $V$M?

Johnathan Alder brought back an entire team that was better than Madeira last year and there are 3 teams between them and Heath. Those 3 teams are wild cards in the mix.

I just have a gut feeling that Carroll and Madeira will be in the 8-10 range.
 
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