Bay sophomore Hannah Sterle, left, won the girls title at last Saturday’s WSC Preview Meet at Cahoon Park. Rocky River senior Brittany Towner, right, finished a very close second. (West Life photos by Larry Bennet)

Bay, River solid in WSC cross country preview
By Jim Horvath
Sports
Published Sept. 2, 2009

The 2009 high school cross country season officially began in the Westshore area last Saturday morning at Cahoon Park with the West Shore Conference Preview Meet.

The Bay boys and the Rocky River girls came out as team champions, with a number of individuals having successful days as well.

Rocky River took the girls crown with 25 points to get past second-place Avon (58) and third-place finisher Bay (70). Fairview took sixth behind North Ridgeville and Midview.

In the boys race, the Rockets finished on top with 26 points, followed by Rocky River at 43 points. Fairview took fourth overall behind Avon with 118 points. In both races, the Rockets and Pirates dominated the top 10, with Bay gaining bragging rights with a pair of first-place finishers.

Sophomore Hannah Sterle won the girls race with a time of 20:03, just edging out River senior Brittany Towner’s 20:09. For the boys, junior Michael Brajdic set a new course record with his winning time of 15:55. The next closest runner was River senior Tommy Eldridge, who recorded a time of 16:46.

“Not too many runners are going to post a time like Michael did,” said Bay head coach Steve Babson. “Despite the rain yesterday, the course dried out pretty well. It was still a little wet in the valley, but for the most part conditions were good.

“We have an older team this year,” Babson said. “This is the first year that I’ve had mostly upper classmen competing. They now have experience, plus they did a lot of work during the summer. They’ve been pretty consistent with their workouts for the past six to eight weeks, so they’re prepared for the season.”

The Rockets placed six runners in the top 10 at Cahoon Park. Junior Nick Banks took fourth with a time of 17:11. a personal best, while senior Brian Zeuch was sixth with a time of 17:25. Senior co-captain Jeremy Farver also tied a personal best with his time of 17:30, while first-year runners Joey Kinkelaar, a senior, and Sam Allen, a junior, turned in times of 17:33 and 17:42, respectively.

“We had some nice surprises from people who are new to cross country,” said Babson. “Overall, we had 18 runners come in at under 20 minutes, which is pretty incredible for a Division II school. It’s not a real fast course to begin with, and there’s a pretty good climb out of the valley.”

The River boys got a third-place finish from junior Eric Stoddard, who turned in a time of 17:03. Senior Martin Russ was the third Pirate runner to finish in the top 10, taking 10th with a time of 17:45.

Some newcomers came through as well for the River girls, according to head coach Laura Brabant.

“I’m excited about how we finished today,” Brabant said. “I really wanted to get them out there today, to see how they performed and find out what we need to work on heading into the season.”

Sophomore Madi McDonough, who played soccer last fall, took third place overall in her first varsity race with a time of 20:27. Another sophomore, Elyse Bierut, was right behind in fourth place with a 20:37 clocking.

Sophomore Megan O’Keefe was sixth overall in the girls race with a time of 21:16, while freshman Madison Connelly took 10th with her time of 21:50.

“For a freshman to come in and run in the 21-somethings is really a great start,” Brabant said. “And I think McDonough is going to do some nice things as well this season since she’s already running in the 20s.

“And Brittany has just come back with a vengence,” she said, referring to the ACL injury that kept Towner out of all sports during her sophomore year.

“She’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever met,” Brabant said. “She’s got such mental toughness. I wish I could bottle it, because I’d use some for myself. You just can’t teach that. She just has it, and I love that in her. There’s a lot of desire and drive there.”