SHARPSVILLE - Talk about a busy Saturday morning.
Cross country runners from four county schools competed in the ultra-competitive Sharpsville Invitational Saturday at Sharon's Buhl Park.
The top team performances of the day were turned in by the Eisenhower boys and Warren girls - both of whom finished in 10th. In other boys competition, Youngsville was 29th and Warren 31st while the Youngsville girls placed a strong 12th.
The Ike boys were also responsible for the top individual showings of the day with teammates Devin VanGuilder and Anthony Amroski, finishing among the top 10. VanGuilder beat Amroski to the line this time, finishing eighth in 16:48 while Amroski was one second back in ninth.
Ben Perkins delivered a strong 69th-place run for the Knights in 18:20 with teammates Ben Morrison (123rd, 19:15), Matthew Jewell (138th, 19:27), Jacob McCool (216th, 21:12) and Jason Morine (232nd, 22:03) slightly further back in the pack.
"This was our third race in eight days and we had a hard workout during the week so I think our legs were pretty tired," said Eisenhower coach Darlene Beach. "That being said, I think we still had some very talented performances."
Aaron Hoover led a pack of 10 Youngsville Eagles with his 106th-place finish in 18:57. Next closest to Hoover were Collin Lehnen in 179th with a run of 20:17, Bobby Bower in 183rd with a run of 20:24 and Gregg Yost in 189th with a run of 20:33. Zach Ishman crossed the line virtually tied with Yost and was credited with 190th overall.
Also running for Youngsville were Chester Ciukaj (204th, 20:55), Andy Lalwani (223rd, 21:33), Nathen Carr (227th, 21:47), Ben Stover (241st, 22:28) and Collin Alekson (243rd, 22:35).
"Big improvements for the Eagles men this week," said Youngsville coach Ray Bennett. "We had five guys under 21 (minutes) this week. While that's a long way from being tops in the region it's important for this young team to continue building their sense of how good they can be."
Warren's Seth Johnson crossed the line first for the Dragons, finishing 150th in 19:35. Christian Olson wasn't far back of him with a 167th-place, 19:57 effort and Max Pierson and Mark Reiff finished 191st and 192nd with times of 20:34 and 20:35 respectively.
The Dragons' lineup also got strong efforts from Eric Zavinski (197th, 20:46) and Daniel Pierson (219th, 21:19).
Despite not having a full team, Tidioute's Hunter Proctor, Jonathan Buccardo and Gus Martin competed at the event. Proctor was 184th in 20:25, Buccardo was 211th in 21:50 and Martin was 258th in 25:23.
On the girls side of things, Warren's Ellis Beardsley delivered the strongest female performance, finishing 32nd in 21:23. Warren's top ten team finish was also helped by Amanda Castagnino in 62nd (22:16) and Anna Falvo in 78th (22:37).
Also competing for Warren were Deanna Hahn (96th, 23:10) and Alyssa Cumberland (130th, 24:17).
Like its boys team, Youngsville's girls team also had 10 runners compete in the event. Kellie Lindstrom was the first Lady Eagle across the line and was credited with a 50th-place finish in 21:58. Also factoring into Youngsville's team score were Katelyn Maiile (71st, 22:30), Piper Olsen (81st, 22:41), Abbie Swartzbaugh (101st, 23:14) and Mallory Eastman (112th, 23:34).
Youngsville's lineup also featured Lydia Swartzbaugh (116th, 23:40), Denise Devore (150th, 25:12), Samantha Tome (153rd, 25:22), Tori Alekson (177th, 26:37) and Suzie Rose (218th, 32:00).
"Our varsity girls ran very nicely today," said Bennett. "Kellie Lindstrom continued her climb, leading the girls this week. She had loads of ability and is racing smart and getting stronger and more confident with each race."
Despite not having enough runners to be scored, Eisenhower's girls team got a tremendous performance from Julia Bauer. Bauer finished 40th with a time of 21:36. Teammates Lacey Stanko and Kate Daugharthy finished 123rd and 124th respectively with runs of 24:01 and 24:04. Grace Thompson rounded out the lineup with a 145th-place finish in 25:00.
Tidioute's Lauren Slack was 216th in 31:04.
Youngsville and Warren return to action Tuesday, visiting Seneca while Eisenhower travels to Harbor Creek that same day.