Firestone High School continued its run of winning City Series cross country titles Wednesday in the annual league championship meet at Goodyear Heights Metro Park.
Juniors Eli Dunlap and Sarah Schueler conquered Goodyear and its steep hill to cross the finish line first for the second year in a row in the boys and girls races, respectively, to guide the Falcons .
Dunlap completed the 3.1-mile course in a time of 17:15 and Schueler posted a time of 20:47.
Firestone wins 22nd Akron City Series boys cross country title in a row
Sophomore Sebastian Bee finished second Wednesday in 18:55 for the Firestone boys , which scored 25 points, and won their 22nd City Series title in a row and 23rd in 24 seasons. North was second with 53 points.
"I was looking to go a little faster, but overalI I am really happy with how I felt the entire time," Dunlap said. "I feel like I could have pushed it a little more, but a win is a win and I will take it."
The other boys in the top 11 were Ellet junior Jramayne Williams, Firestone freshman Carter Young, North senior Dev Bhujel, Buchtel junior QiZiah Marks, Ellet sophomore Andrew Burkhardt, Firestone freshman Jasper Purcell, North senior Dipesh Chuwan, Firestone sophomore James Rice and Firestone senior Andreas Varner-Waltz.
"We were talking in the huddle before the race that we had four returners coming into the season, two varsity runners and two JV runners," Firestone coach David Herr said. "We lost five out of our top seven from last year. Four to graduation and one transfer. At the beginning of the summer, we didn't have five scorers. We had 15 on the [starting] line today, which is more than we have had the past two years."
Firestone wins 11th Akron City Series girls cross country title in a row
Senior Reese Brady finished second in 21:51 for the Firestone girls . The Falcons finished with 17 points and won their 11th league title in a row and 13th in 15 seasons. North was second with 79 points.
"It is really refreshing to win because I have had some rocky last few races," Schueler said. "To be able to come here and run almost a season best is really big."
The other girls in the top 11 were Firestone sophomore Kathryn Miller, North junior Morales-Lara Marely, Firestone senior Soraya Ledley, Firestone sophomore Fallon Highfield, Ellet senior Layla Lemin, North senior Ayusha Subba, Garfield senior Ahmyadr Wallace, Firestone freshman Nina Thiele and Buchtel sophomore Zhariyah McMillon.
"I am happy that we ran well today," Firestone coach Sara Schaefer said. "There were a lot of smiles. That is what I am happy about."
Mogadore's Cameron Brady wins Portage Trail Conference championship
The Portage Trail Conference also held its cross country championship meets at Goodyear and ran alongside the Akron Public Schools athletes.
Mogadore junior Cameron Brady won the PTC boys race in a time of 17:51 and Lake Center Christian sophomore Zach Varner was second in 18:20.
"I felt really good coming into the race and got pretty much the time I needed to win," Brady said. "I like to go out strong during the first mile."
Rootstown won the boys team title with 40 points and Lake Center Christian was second with 42 points.
The other boys in the top 11 were LCC sophomore Isaac Larson, Rootstown junior Brady Brown, LCC sophomore Joey McAboy, Mogadore senior Dante Navarrete, Rootstown junior Wyatt Shenal, Rootstown sophomore Tycho Smolk, Mogadore senior Jude Leeser, Rootstown junior Jacob Strum and Rootstown sophomore Brayden Dougherty.
Lake Center Christian's Gianna Ritchie wins Portage Trail Conference title
Lake Center Christian junior Gianna Ritchie finished first in the PTC girls race in 19:47 and Mogadore sophomore Kasey Bolyard was second in 20:40.
"I was really excited to run in this race with my teammates," Ritchie said. "For this race, I want to give all the glory to God because he has given me the strength to run and come out here and compete."
Mogadore won the girls team title with 20 points and Lake Center Christian was second with 41 points.
Mogadore took second through sixth in the girls race with Bolyard, junior Alana Santiago, senior Emma Quillen, senior Julie Tompkins and junior Kai Gaetjens.
The other girls in the top 11 were LCC junior Nicole Hayes, Mogadore senior Ari Tompkins, Rootstown senior Allison Krieger and LCC freshman Callie Bailey and Nell Craig.
Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 'I will take it': Firestone extends Akron City Series cross country championship streaks
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