This past Saturday the Jags scratched and clawed their way through the 24 team field at the Boardman Div 1 regional to a state meet birth. With their 8th place finish, the Jags earned the final qualifying spot. It took a full team effort, starting with the top 3 runners who each put together a strong race at the same time after trying to do so for many weeks. Senior Ali Blouch was the top runner, finishing 14th overall and bouncing back after an injury prevented her from qualifying last year. The team's second runner, junior Grace Rowell, finished 21st overall and demonstrating how good she can be with 2 shoes on her feet after losing a spike last week at the district meet. Senior Sarah Scott, who lost most of her junior year with an ACL injury, bounced back for her senior year with 27th place finish. All 3 runners would have been individual qualifiers on their own, but the team wasn't done.
Sophomore sensation Bridget Mullen, having never been a varsity cross country runner until the second half of the season, finished as the 4th Jag beating many runners that have beaten her earlier in the season and in previous years. It was a crafty veteran who pulled out the race of the day, as junior Erin Hvizdos, slowed by injuries earlier in the year, and rested the weekend of districts, finished as the 5th Jaguar punching the team's ticket to the state meet. Newcomer and senior Tacy Kratt was 6th runner and another sophomore running as varsity for the first time, Grace Harris, rounded out the 7 runners for the Jags.
This marks the 13th time in the past 23 years the Jags have qualified to the state meet, which is now hosted at a venue called Fortress Obetz which is along the I-270 outerbelt in the Southeast corner. The team will run at 3:45 Saturday, November 5th.
