<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1SQqBh_0wP3kYhg00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1SQqBh_0wP3kYhg00" width="1200" height="900" ></figure>PHOTO BY JACQUI L. HERSHBERGER<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=05TdNf_0wP3kYhg00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=05TdNf_0wP3kYhg00" width="1200" height="900" ></figure>PHOTO BY JODI AUGSPURGERBy JACQUI L. HERSHBERGERDGKN correspondentThe 50-degree sunny fall weather was perfect for an unforgettable cross country meet for theDivision III Wayne County Schools regionals race at Boardman, near Youngstown.One hundred and fifteen runners lined up at the grassy start close to the road while fans lined the wide short hill at Boardman. Poised and ready, the gun went off, and the enthusiastic crowd rang cowbells and cheered as the swarm of runners came closer and ran past, with Rittman’s Luke Snyder already leading the pack.Clicking their spikes on the cement to run across a short driveway, the high school boys thinned out as they turned the corner and went down around the outside of the ball field in the home run zone, clamoring to pass the next guy.The four-wheeler zoomed up a short knoll with Snyder clearly still in the lead. Past coaches yelling advice and parents and friends shouting out the runners names and team names, the athletes paced themselves. Back towards the landscape they had started off on, cheering onlookers first heard the ATV, then saw Snyder’s black and red solo stride as the competitors strove to catch up and to move up against each other to claim one of the four team spots or the top 20 individual places to make it to state.Through the autumn woods, racing spikes dug into the dirt path as the few die-hard fans watched for their guys to cheer on. A few OHSAA officials stood guard to make sure all rules were met in the veiled trees. Coming out past the way that would take them past the finish chute on the next lap, the boys jockeyed for spots, pushing themselves to new levels on the difficult and not PR inducing course.Running up inclines and down and around over grass, dirt, and cemented areas, the D3 boys did the lap again. Finally entering the woods the second time, most less than 12 minutes since they started, the runners knew the finish was near and breathed into their individual pains as they fought for their best times and best places. Up the outside of the woods, they finally turned a hard right to barrel down the finish line, while roaring fans lined the metal fence, cheering on their boys as they came down the home stretch, passing each other and being passed.Luke Snyder from Rittman was the first across the Division III finish line with a 15:45. Emmit Slabach from South Range was the man for his team as he came in second with a 16:06. Joey Claubaugh from Smithville was 5th with a 16:33. Jackson Varner, from Waynedale, had a solid 16:38 in 7 th place, Bryen Valerio from Rittman was 13 th with a 16:48, and twin brother Jayden Varner from Waynedale took 19 th place with a 17:10.Ely Hutson, was first across the line in 20th place for Dalton with a 17:20, just passing a South Range runner to give Dalton the lead. Wyatt Moore from Waynedale sailed across with a 17:26. Judah Hershberger, from Dalton, was right on his tail with a 17:31.21, passing a Mineral Ridge runner at the finish line and 7 seconds ahead of another South Range runner, unknowingly giving Dalton the advantage. Bulldog Cody Hofstetter finished 3rd for Dalton with a 17:43, and his brother, Caleb Hofstetter was within sight with a 17:51. Lucas Miller from Waynedale got a 17:50, 4th across the line for Waynedale. Nick St. John was the last one toscore for Waynedale with a 18:16, and Dalton Holden Himes was the 5th runner for Dalton with an 18:18.Fans waited by the finish line with the sweaty athletes clustered in teams to find out who would be to advancing to state. Scrolling down on their phones for minutes to refresh the milesplit page to get the winners, finally a scroll down revealed the results. Rittman with only 87 points came in first, Waynedale took 2nd with 102, Maplewood was in 3rd with 114, and Dalton showed as the 4th team with 122 points. South Range, only a 7 point touchdown behind Dalton with a score of 129, and Mineral Ridge, 139, did not advance.The music was turned down the results were announced, with a 30 minute window given for coaches to dispute. Some fans cheered with the solid hope that there would be no q0uestioning of the results, while others sighed disappointingly. In the meantime, the D3 girls race started with the athletes pushing themselves on the same 5K course.Katelyn Carr from Smithville, who has been the leader almost every race, finally had some competition as she took second with an 18:29 behind Rebecca Geiss from Heartland Christian, who flew across the finish line in first with an 18:10. Rittman fans didn’t have to wait long for their top five girls to come across the finish line as they scored only 63 points—with 3, 7, 14, 15, and 24 scoring, while Norwayne was in 2 nd with102.Lexi Bischoff from Central Christian made it to Regionals individually and got 58th with a 22:17. The Dalton girls top five were all packed together between 66-95th places. Smithville got 8th, Waynedale 13th, and Dalton 14th , and will not advance to state.Maryn Erdman, from Smithville, came in 9th with a 19:39, and freshman Piper Polen, from Waynedale, crossed the line in 13th place with a 19:46. Both will compete at State individually. After 30 minutes, it was announced that the results remained the same for the boys race, and the Wayne County schools of Dalton, Waynedale, and Rittman boys posed, holding their awards, while proud fans snapped pictures. “See you next week at State!” some parents from the opposing schools said to each other.“I’m really proud of the effort that both teams gave today. The boys ran some of the best times they’ve ever had at Boardman which shows how hard they worked in the race today,” Dalton Coach Jody Augspurger said.The D3 boys will compete Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024 at Fort Obetz at 10 a.m., and the D3 girls will race after them.</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

STATEBOUND: Dalton, Waynedale, Rittman boys cross country teams advance

The 50-degree sunny fall weather was perfect for an unforgettable cross country meet for the. Division III Wayne County Schools regionals race at Boardman, near Youngstown. One hundred and fifteen runners lined up at the grassy start close to the road while fans lined the wide short hill at Boardman. Poised and ready, the gun went off, and the enthusiastic crowd rang cowbells and cheered as the swarm of runners came closer and ran past, with Rittman’s Luke Snyder already leading the pack.