Future looks bright after 11th-place XC finish at Malone Districts
A year from now, the mascot for the Wooster High girls cross country team may be a Phoenix.
After qualifying for Regionals for the first time in school history in 2010, the Wooster girls were unable to replicate that feat Oct. 22 at the Division I Malone College District Championships. However, with six of its top seven runners scheduled to return for 2012, that look ahead may be the inspiration the Generals need as they head into their off-season training.
Led by sophomore Lauren Miller, Wooster placed 11th out of the 14 teams at Malone. North Canton Hoover won the meet with 82 points, followed by qualifiers Jackson (96), GlenOak (105), Perry (107) and fifth-place and final qualifier Louisville with 136 points. The Generals ended the day with 258 points.
A week’s worth of rain and overcast skies led to a Malone course that was “a swamp” in places on the 3.1 mile course, said Wooster coach Nikki Reynolds.
“The course was wet … and everyone’s time was off,” said Reynolds. “We were the third race of the day and the boys were the sixth, so it was even worse for them.
“We were ready to run. It just didn’t happen to be our day. We were running against some good competition – it was the old Federal League. We had some run the Malone course for a second time, and Lauren Miller had her season-best by a couple seconds. She (and sister Claire) were aiming for the top 20 … but Lauren would have had to run a personal best to do that. Twentieth place was 20:42. She was trying to pass at the end and being aggressive.
“All the girls were trying to be aggressive. Our pack was not as close to the front as we would have liked, but Vicki (Anderson) and Hannah (Doan) ran course PBs. We really wanted to run PBs. Not many did, but we ran with all we had. The course was slow for everybody, but even before the race we talked about places. That’s what this meet was about, but as athletes you hope for a good time.”
Lauren Miller cracked 21 minutes with a 20:57 clocking, which was good for 25th. Sister Claire, the lone senior among Wooster’s top runners, turned in a 21:24 and finished 37th overall in the race. Anderson and Kaitlyn Aukerman ran together as Anderson turned in a 22:30 (62nd) and Aukerman was right behind her by four seconds and four places.
Jackie White also broke 23 minutes with her 22:55, 71st-place effort. Doan (23:39, 76th) and Gabrielle Sibilia (24:07, 83rd) followed her in to the finish line.
A trio of other runners -- Becca Kreuzman (22:59), Helena Gastier (28:26) and Annissa Fee (31:55) -- had course PBs in their open race.
While the season came to an end without the results Wooster was hoping for, Reynolds had praise for her girls.
“It was a good season,” she said. “The kids dropped times and the team got along well and worked well with each other. It’s hard when you pass your teammates, but it helps the team when they do so. We had things we wanted to achieve but it didn’t happen.”
After qualifying for Regionals for the first time in school history in 2010, the Wooster girls were unable to replicate that feat Oct. 22 at the Division I Malone College District Championships. However, with six of its top seven runners scheduled to return for 2012, that look ahead may be the inspiration the Generals need as they head into their off-season training.
Led by sophomore Lauren Miller, Wooster placed 11th out of the 14 teams at Malone. North Canton Hoover won the meet with 82 points, followed by qualifiers Jackson (96), GlenOak (105), Perry (107) and fifth-place and final qualifier Louisville with 136 points. The Generals ended the day with 258 points.
A week’s worth of rain and overcast skies led to a Malone course that was “a swamp” in places on the 3.1 mile course, said Wooster coach Nikki Reynolds.
“The course was wet … and everyone’s time was off,” said Reynolds. “We were the third race of the day and the boys were the sixth, so it was even worse for them.
“We were ready to run. It just didn’t happen to be our day. We were running against some good competition – it was the old Federal League. We had some run the Malone course for a second time, and Lauren Miller had her season-best by a couple seconds. She (and sister Claire) were aiming for the top 20 … but Lauren would have had to run a personal best to do that. Twentieth place was 20:42. She was trying to pass at the end and being aggressive.
“All the girls were trying to be aggressive. Our pack was not as close to the front as we would have liked, but Vicki (Anderson) and Hannah (Doan) ran course PBs. We really wanted to run PBs. Not many did, but we ran with all we had. The course was slow for everybody, but even before the race we talked about places. That’s what this meet was about, but as athletes you hope for a good time.”
Lauren Miller cracked 21 minutes with a 20:57 clocking, which was good for 25th. Sister Claire, the lone senior among Wooster’s top runners, turned in a 21:24 and finished 37th overall in the race. Anderson and Kaitlyn Aukerman ran together as Anderson turned in a 22:30 (62nd) and Aukerman was right behind her by four seconds and four places.
Jackie White also broke 23 minutes with her 22:55, 71st-place effort. Doan (23:39, 76th) and Gabrielle Sibilia (24:07, 83rd) followed her in to the finish line.
A trio of other runners -- Becca Kreuzman (22:59), Helena Gastier (28:26) and Annissa Fee (31:55) -- had course PBs in their open race.
While the season came to an end without the results Wooster was hoping for, Reynolds had praise for her girls.
“It was a good season,” she said. “The kids dropped times and the team got along well and worked well with each other. It’s hard when you pass your teammates, but it helps the team when they do so. We had things we wanted to achieve but it didn’t happen.”
Published: October 27, 2011
