ROMM PHOTOGRAPHY

Wadsworth senior Paige Szabat will continue her academic and athletic career at West Virginia University in Morgantown.

AKRON, Ohio -- The girls cross country championship came down to the wire in the Suburban League as the Wadsworth Grizzlies were the top team at Goodyear Heights Metro Park, but the newcomer Nordonia Knights edged Wadsworth for the overall league title – thanks to points Nordonia picked up for winning the league’s Super Duals event held last month.  The Knights officially held a 26-24 advantage over the Grizzlies.

That result didn’t dampen Wadsworth’s spirit or sense of accomplishment for outrunning Nordonia on Saturday.

“I was so proud of them,” Wadsworth coach Michelle Farr said.  “Throughout the race, they continued to move up and pack together.

“The last mile was our best mile.”

Senior Paige Szabat paced the Grizzlies with a time of 19:25 to win individual honors.

“She was wonderful,” Farr said of Szabat. “Paige likes Goodyear and its hills.  She kind of hung back for a while, and heading into the hill she took the race over.”

On top of having the Suburban League champion, Wadsworth maintained a strong pack as a quartet of Grizzlies finished between 10th-15th places.  Sophomore Cara Powell (10th, 21:50), freshman Kenzi Hines (11th, 21:51), senior Molly Priest (13th, 22:01) and junior Ally Malkowski (15th, 22:07) all finished within 17 second of each other.

Nordonia held off Green for second place in a battle that allowed the Knights to keep the title.  The freshman duo of Heather Ross and Leah Vasarhelyi finished back-to-back for Nordonia in third and fourth place, respectively.  Green senior Krista Roehlig was the Bulldogs top finisher in second place with a time of 19:58.

FOR FULL BOYS SUBURBAN LEAGUE MEET RESULTS, CLICK HERE

FOR FULL GIRLS SUBURBAN LEAGUE MEET RESULTS, CLICK HERE

In the boys race, Green placed six runners in the top 15 and seven in the top 20 to nip second-place Nordonia 41-42.  The Knights had four runners in the top 15 and five in the top 20.

Nordonia actually held the scoring advantage through the teams’ top four runners thanks to second- and third-place finishes by seniors Patrick Osborne and Alex Wilson, but Green’s fifth runner, senior Brad Gehring (18:06), finished three spots and seven seconds ahead of Knight senior Troy Mulhall.

Green seniors Brandon Simmons (17:28) and Jeremy Silvidi (17:30) rounded out the top five.

Copley senior Nick Pupino clearly outran the field, finishing the race in 16:06 – nearly a full minute ahead of Osborne (17:00).