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Firestone's Claude Christiansen-Diehl posted a time of 18:05 (5K) to win the overall City Series cross country championship and led the Falcons to the team title.

AKRON, Ohio -- It was a clean sweep for Firestone at the City Series cross country meet at Saturday at Goodyear Metro Park.

The Firestone boys, undefeated in the regular season, won their ninth consecutive City Series title.  The Falcons placed six runners in the top 10 as they easily defeated East for the City Series title.

“It means a lot to us,” Firestone coach Tim Carroll said. “The city kids really challenged us.  It was not easy.  The East kids really came after us.  They were on us the whole race.”

It was a cold, windy morning for the runners, but Carroll said his team was not intimidated by the conditions.

“We run in all kinds of weather.  The wind may have held us back a little bit, but the temperature was fine.”

Leading the way for the Falcons was senior Claude Christensen-Diehl, who posted a time of 18:05 for the 3.1-mile race.  Senior Arian Daneshvar was second, just 11 seconds behind.  East’s Kyle Stanley was third and Chaz Lewis was fourth.

“I loved the weather today,” said Christiansen-Diehl.  “I was ready for the race, though I was a bit nervous.  I felt strong going up the hill.”

Christiansen-Diehl took the lead about 1,200 meters from the finish line.

On the girls side, the Lady Falcons made it back-to-back City Series championships.  Leading the way was senior Sarah Meek, who captured her second individual championship, running a 19:53.  Finishing second was Kristi Kester of Ellet at 21.39.  Firestone’s Claire Hardman finished third.

“I wanted to run a bit faster” said Meek.  “It was difficult because of the cold and I had no one to pace after. My goal today was to focus and run at my own pace.”

Meek grabbed the lead about 600 meters into the race and stretched it out quickly.

Firestone girls coach Malia Tschantz called the championship “exciting.”

“Last year we won by only one point,” Tschantz said. “This year, they learned how to push through things.  They stayed confident and worked together as a team.”

Regarding Meek, Tschantz said: “Sarah has gotten a lot more confident and she understands the art of running now.”

AKRON CITY SERIES CROSS COUNTRY MEET

Boys Team Standings: 1. Firestone 22, 2. East 43, 3. Ellet 97, 4. Buchtel 110, 5. Kenmore 136, 6. Garfield 154, 7. North 185.

Boys Individual:  1. Claude Christiansen-Diehl (Firestone) 18:05, 2. Arian Daneshvar (Firestone) 18:16, 3. Kyle Stanley (East) 18:34, 4. Chaz Lewis (East) 18:42, 5. Jacob Petry (Firestone) 18:47.

Girls Team:  1. Firestone 28, 2. Ellet 38, 3. Buchtel 83, 4. East 103, 5. North 149, 6. Kenmore 155.

Girls Individual:  1. Sarah Meek (Firestone) 19:53, 2. Kristi Kester (Ellet) 21:39, 3. Claire Hardman (Firestone) 22:01, 4. Simone Green (Buchtel) 22:48, 5. Cayce Pasko (Ellet) 23:03.