Avon girls win first regional cross country title since 1988

For the first time since 1988, Avon’s girls cross country team is a regional champion. Competing in the Division I regional meet Saturday at Boardman High School, the Eagles easily won the race with 69 points to 99 for runner-up Perrysburg. Avon is ranked fourth in the state, and Perrysburg is ranked sixth. Avon has had a very successful season, usually using the formula of having Kaitlyn Reese up front and then a pack of six runners behind her who finish as close to one another as possible. The formula worked once again, as the pack established itself right from the opening gun and Reese battled Strongsville’s Hannah Jicha until the very end, finishing second with a time of 17 minutes, 50.1 seconds over the challenging 5,000-meter course. “I’m just very proud,” said coach Justin Carroll. “You know, win or lose, the goal today was just to start off strong mentally and physically. Watching that first 400 meters and seeing our pack already up there establishing themselves, knowing who’s in this race, was just such a joy. And then, seeing them stay together at every (kilometer) and moving up and maintaining. It’s just a very special day.” Following Reese to the finish line were Ava Melott (14th in 19:35.1), Madison Colaizzi (15th in 19:36.3), Olivia Pajak (16th in 19:36.6), Molly Suter (22nd in 19:45.7), Julianna Stein (26th in 19:52.0) and Jessica Pendleton (29th in 20:00.6). Reese and Jicha have waged monumental battles over the past few years, with each having won her fair share. On this day, Reese appeared to be the aggressor, often pushing the pace while attempting to open a gap. But Jicha held on and then surged in the final 600 meters, finishing a half-second in front of Reese in 17:49.6. “Watching Kaitlyn battle with Hannah was phenomenal, regardless of the result,” said Carroll. “Just to see those two together, you know, year in and year out, in track and cross country. That’s why we do what we do, right? Those two are always right there. Our strategy was just to let it fly. But Hannah hung on, and they battled and duked it out that whole race. We’ve tried a lot of things with Kaitlyn, and no matter what, I always know she gave it her all and that’s all I can ask for.” A pleasant surprise for Avon was the performance of Colaizzi, who was recently moved up to the varsity top seven and finished at as the team’s third runner at Boardman. “She had been our eighth runner, and we decided to plug her in,” said Carroll. “Just watching her do that was, you know, teary-eyed. It was just a beautiful day. The word would be joyful.” The state meet will be held at Fortress Obetz Saturday in suburban Columbus. The girls Division I race is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m.