Rockets Race as a Pack in Strong Boardman Invitational Showing
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Bay High School’s boys cross country team delivered a strong, competitive performance Saturday at the Boardman Invitational, executing its early race plan and continuing to battle through the middle miles. Liam Jager led the Rockets with a time of 17:22.1, while Gavin English finished close behind in 17:29.6. Adrian Ray gave Bay a third runner under 18 minutes, crossing in 17:46.0.
The Rockets wanted to establish themselves early, and the team responded with a confident start. Jager and English set the pace at the front of Bay’s lineup, finishing only 7.5 seconds apart, while Ray remained within 24 seconds of English. Sam McClellan followed in 18:39.8, and Carver Vovos recorded a 19:02.0 finish. Charlie Juratic added a time of 19:09.9, extending a solid opening group for Bay in mainly clear conditions and a race-time temperature of 67 degrees.
Pack running became one of Bay’s biggest strengths deeper in the lineup. Micah Bendoraitis finished in 19:41.9, Liam Loeffler came through in 19:42.6 and Adam Baltz crossed in 19:45.0, putting three Rockets within just 3.1 seconds of one another. Dan Buttrick posted a 19:54.9, and Anton Bekeny completed another closely grouped stretch in 19:59.7. That five-runner pack was separated by fewer than 18 seconds, a promising sign as the Rockets build toward championship season.
Bay continued to place runners together around the 20-minute mark. Freddie Steele finished in 20:07.9, followed closely by Mason Shah in 20:09.8. Athan Thanos recorded a 20:42.2, and Graham Dunstan was less than nine seconds back in 20:51.0. The close finishes reflected the team’s effort to keep competing through the middle and closing portions of the race rather than letting the field stretch out.
Jonah Bendoraitis completed the course in 22:00.4, Leo Krueger finished in 22:18.2 and Gerry Maloney followed in 22:35.5. Aden Davis and Lukas McGrew closed out Bay’s listed finishers with another tight pairing, recording times of 23:10.9 and 23:11.4, respectively. Returning runners showed substantial year-over-year improvement, while the many Rockets competing at Boardman for the first time handled the demanding experience well.
The performance gives Bay an encouraging foundation for the training block ahead of the conference championship meet. The Rockets will look to carry their strong starts, midrace competitiveness and pack discipline into a home meet against Gilmour at noon EDT on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026.
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