GALION — The Colonel Crawford Eagles cross country teams had themselves quite a day last Saturday at Galion’s Amman’s Reservoir Park.
Both the boys and girls squad will be moving on to the regional meet in Tiffin at Hedges Boyer Park after the boys won the district championship and the girls team took home runner-up honors.
For the boys, they were anchored by their leader and district champion, Chad Johnson. Johnson ran his way to a 15:37.33 time, defeating the runner-up, Dylan Moes of Lakota (16:45.47) by more than a minute. Crawford took the district title with 61 team points, 16 points ahead of second place Sandusky St. Mary Central Catholic (71).
Rounding out the boys team placements were: 3. Seneca East; 4. Old Fort; 5. Lakota; 6. Collins Western Reserve; 7. Woodmore; 8. Gibsonburg; 9. New Riegel and 10. Buckeye Central. The top four teams and top 16 individuals would qualify for regionals.
Johnson would also see four of his teammates finish within the top-25 of the 77-runner field.
Wade Hopkins finished sixth with a time of 17:10.49. Braxton James ran his way to 14th in a time of 17:59.82. Alex Mutchler finished in 18:08.45 to claim 17th and Mason McKibben earned 25th, crossing the finish line in 18:27.90.
Other Eagles running on Saturday were: Jacob Hoffman (43rd)- 18:58.28 and Zach Leonhart (48th)- 19:16.85.
On the girls side, the Lady Eagles tallied 68 points in their runner-up finish, just four points behind the champions from Collins Western Reserve (64).
Rounding out the girls team placements were: 3. Margaretta; 4. Seneca East; 5. St. Paul; 6. Gibsonburg; 7. Buckeye Central; 8. Fremont St. Joseph Central Catholic; 9. Danbury; 10. Plymouth and 11. St. Peter’s. There were a total of 79 runners that finished the event. Lily Dowdell, a sophomore at St. Paul, won the event in 19:33.25. The top four teams and top 16 placing individuals would qualify for regionals.
Freshman Ally Hocker was the top-placing finisher for the Lady Eagles, snagging third overall with a time of 20:49.68. Courtney Britt finished seventh in 21:40.57 and Kari Teglovic rounded out Crawford’s top-15 placers, taking home 12th with a finishing time of 22:05.66.
Other Lady Eagles running on Saturday were: Hannah Willacker (26th)- 22:32.92; Alison Manko (29th)- 22:51.26; Katie Hopkins (31st)- 23:06.85 and Kaisey Speck (38th)- 23:35.73.
Also in action on Saturday were the three runners from the Crestline Bulldogs cross country teams.
Caitlin Harley was 46th in the girls race with a time of 24:09.94. Gavin Balliett finished 56th on the boys side in a time of 19:56.20 and Wesley Patrick was 86th, finishing in 31:36.00.
Best of luck to both of Colonel Crawford’s teams on Saturday at the regional meet in Tiffin!
