MENTOR, Ohio – Caroline Sauers stood at the starting line of the Northeast Ohio Conference Valley Division cross country meet and saw familiar faces.

To the right was Solon’s Therese Haiss, a 23rd-place finisher at last year’s state meet.

On her left was Medina’s Anna Boyert, who finished fourth at state and was the meet’s reigning individual champion. And then there was Brunswick’s Selena Pasadyn, a 14th-place finisher.

Having finished sixth herself, Sauers knew what she was up against and knew – pardon the pun – this race wasn’t going to be a walk in the park.

What followed was a meet for the ages as the junior bested Boyert by one second, Pasadyn by 20 seconds and Haiss by 31 seconds.

Jockeying for position most of the race, Sauers’ win came with the stamp of approval, and – though it shocked her – served notice that she was ready for the three-week postseason stretch.

“She’s on a different plan than the rest of them,” said Explorers coach Ed Hoffmeier of Sauers, who led her team to its third straight NOC title. “She’s as good as they come.”

The course at Garfield Park might have made a pig or even a duck envious, but the murky conditions were just what Hudson needed in beating No. 1 state-ranked Brunswick 48-50.

While the Blue Devils placed Pasadyn (3rd), Loren McDaniel (7th) and Kristine Camper (9th) in the top 10, Hudson countered with top 15-place finishes from Sauers, Madison Hartline, Sarah Wolanske, Marissa Sinko and Casey Watson to win.

“This gives us so much more confidence going into regionals and state,” Sauers said. “I don’t like the mud, but I like the cold. We came in trying to win again, so to do so is great.”

The same can’t be said for Medina’s boys team, which lost its four-year reign at the top in the boys race to Solon, but that didn’t mean the Bees walked away scratching their heads.

While the Comets won their second meet in as many weeks, the squad looked at the big picture that includes a tough Strongsville District.

As strange as it sounds, the NOC meet might have been tougher with five teams ranked in the top 14 of the state coaches poll.

That means a disappointing fifth-place finish by Medina in the boys race amounts to little in the stretch run.

“The NOC battle-tests you,” Bees coach Milt Place said. “It’s the toughest conference in the state. There are the top three, four and five individuals here; if not the top four teams at the state meet. It hurts a little bit (to lose the title), but it’s all in the past now.”

The individual race for the boys was even better than the girls as Hudson’s Vince Moeglin topped Strongsville’s Mike Miller by four-tenths of a second with Medina’s Robert Robinson, who had the lead out of the woods, finishing third just .07 seconds behind the winner.

“This shows who the competition is,” Robinson said. “Now, we know who we can start targeting as a team to get better. It gives us more motivation.”

 

Northeast Ohio Conference Valley Division Cross Country Meet at Garfield Park

Boys

Team standings: 1. Solon 49; 2. Hudson 70; 3. Mentor 74; 4. Brunswick 90; 5. Medina 91; 6. Strongsville 131.

Individual results: 1. Vince Moeglin (Hud) 17:02.5; 2. Mike Miller (Str) 17:02.9; 3. Robert Robinson (Med) 17:03; 4. Nolan Reilly (Hud) 17:10; 5. Kevin Blank (Sol) 17:20.

Girls

Team standings: 1. Hudson 48; 2. Brunswick 50; 3. Medina 88; 4. Solon 92; 5. Strongsville 98; 6. Mentor 118.

Individual results: 1. Caroline Sauers (Hud) 19:36; 2. Anna Boyert (Med) 19:37; 3. Selena Pasadyn (Bru) 19:56; 4. Therese Haiss (Sol) 20:07; 5. Kinsey Robinson (Sol) 20:08.

For complete NOC Valley results CLICK HERE