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Green junior Krista Roehlig ran her PR of 19:12.33 to win the Suburban League Super Duals Wednesday at Howe Meadow.
CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio –“The faster you run, the faster you’re done.”
That’s what Green junior Krista Roehlig says she keeps telling herself over and over during cross country meets.
The whole time?
“Every step you take, you are closer to being done,” Roehlig said. “It’s all mental. You do a lot of training, but it’s so mental. You break the race down into parts. It helps.”
Well then one would have to figure Roehlig must really have wanted to get done in hurry Wednesday as she ran away from the field to win the Suburban League Super Duals at Howe Meadow.
Field Tri-Meet
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She appeared to be running on a cloud, her feet barely touching the ground. Most observers said her race appeared “effortless.”
Roehlig, of course, knew better, out of breath, after being clocked in a PR time of 19:12.33 over 5,000 meters on Revere's home course.
“Getting rid of negative thoughts is a huge thing,” she said. “Staying positive throughout the race is important.
“My legs were better (today) than they’ve ever been.”
First-year coach Kelly Whitmer said Roehlig is on the verge of a breakout season.
“She’s just been really dedicated. I feel like she’s just come out of her shell,” Whitmer said. “And this is just a little bit of what’s to come.”
The Bulldogs went 1-2 with junior Marisa Papp, who missed all of last track season to injury, coming in at 19:56.02.
“She’s almost up to 100 percent,” Whitmer said about Papp. “She’s catching up on her training, catching up on her miles.”
Jaclyn Koza of Tallmadge placed third (19:57.83) and Natalie Zidd of Highland took fourth (20:02.79).
“It’s a great feeling to come out here and go 7-0,” Whitmer said.
Wadsworth finished 6-1 and Copley at 5-2 on the girls side. The Grizzlies will be without junior 2-mile state track qualifier Paige Szabat this season, sidelined with a stress fracture in her femur.
The boys race did not follow form. Wadsworth senior Russ McCune, who took second (16:20.93), said, “It was a weird race.”
Revere All-Ohioan Josh Sabo, the favorite to win the race, was ill and gutted his way through, stopping several times, almost completely wiped out, and still posted a time of 16:33.92 to place third.
“It was awful,” Sabo said. “The first two miles I felt fine. But, I knew I was sick today and really I wouldn’t have gone to school if it wasn’t for this race.
“As soon as I got to the 2-mile mark my legs gave up on me, my body tightened up and I didn’t have anything left.
“I hadn’t thrown up since fourth grade and I threw up three times today.”
The champion, Copley-Fairlawn junior Nick Pupino, said, “Sabo is an unbelievable competitor and I’m sure he had a bad day.” Upon learning that Sabo was sick, he said sympathetically, “There had to be more to it.”
Pupino, clocked at 15:56.69, said he ran about 550 miles this summer. “We added a coach back to our coaching staff and he really helped me put in some good base miles and some good workouts and tempo runs.”
The Grizzlies went 7-0 against the field, with Green at 6-1 and defending league champion Revere at 5-2, thanks to Sabo’s effort. The Minutemen edged Copley (4-3) by one point.
“Coach is pretty happy,” McCune said. “This meet was going to make or break our season. Coach is pretty competitive. She would have been upset if we hadn’t won this.”
McCune said he was not feeling well either, running almost 17 seconds off his PR. He added the team goal is to become the first Wadsworth boys cross country team since 1995 to qualify for the state meet.
Green did not have a top-10 runner, but the Bulldogs bunched their top five within 15 seconds in places 11 through 16, led by junior Brandon Simmons finishing at 17:20.82.
Freshman Keith Genetin, also a member of the Green varsity soccer program, crossed 16th at 17:35.09.
Course record falls at Field triangular meet
BRIMFIELD TWP., Ohio -- A course record fell -- by a lot, in fact -- on Wednesday when Field hosted a triangular boys and girls cross country meet involving Norton and Uniontown Lake.
Lake's Justin Groubert set a new mark for the boys with a time of 16:49, beating a full 10 seconds the old record of 16.59 by Crestwood's Brandon McGee.
Bill Darmon of Field was second in 17:40, while teammates Christian Bochar (18:01) and Tyler Sigmon (18:31) were fourth and seventh, respectively. Norton's Steve Ziegler (17L56) was third and James Rynes (18:07) sixth.
The meet was broken up into duals, with Field defeating both Lake 23-36 and Norton 25-33.
On the girls' side, the course record of 19:37 by Sammi Vaughan of Crestwood remains safe, but Field's Destiny Consentino nonetheless did excel with a time of 20:42 to finish first. Field's Rachel Salberg was third with a 21:08, while Kaitlyn Stayer (21:28), Abby Chasar (21:29) and Alexus Lowden (21:43) were fifth through seventh, respectively, for the Falcons. For Lake, Laura Tweedie (21:00) was second and Emily Criswell (21:26) fourth.
Team-wise, Field topped both Lake 22-35 and Norton 15-50.