Rocky River Cross Country Comes To A Close

HEBRON, Ohio – In a title event run on delay, a pair of Rocky River athletes ran without, as senior Jack McDonough and freshman Samantha Coleman competed in the Ohio Cross Country Championships on Saturday. [results: Boys’ DII | Girls’ DI]

McDonough – a member of two Pirate top-5 teams at the state meet (2016, 2017) – placed 105^th in a field of 178 Division II runners. Coleman – a speedy newcomer who won the Great Lakes Conference title on Oct. 14 – carded 93^rd place in a field of 176 DI athletes on the girls’ side. Saturday’s Buckeye State meet at a chilly National Trail Raceway was delayed a week by wet course conditions at the Hebron, Ohio, facility.

McDonough closed out his fine Pirate career with a time of 17:56 in Hebron. His final fall flourish included a fourth-place finish at the GLC Championships and top-20 finishes at the district and region level.

Coleman clocked in with a final time of 20:21 on Saturday. The fleet-footed freshman ran an even race, crossing the split wires in 81^st and then 92^nd before her eventual 93^rd-place finish. Earlier this autumn, Coleman had backed up her First-Team All-GLC performance with a runner-up finish at the district level and then a 17^th-place finish at the Northeast Ohio Regional.

McDonough and Coleman both qualified into the state final individually. At the team level, Woodridge captured the DII Boys’ crown in a remarkably close three-headed race between Woodridge (109 points), Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary (118) and Shelby (132). Beavercreek won the Girls’ DI race with a five-man score of 118.

Via VNN Rocky River Skip Snow