Cross country: Keystone boys post best finish at Keystone Icebreaker; Avon girls finish fourth

CARLISLE TWP. — For the first time in a long stretch, Keystone's boys reaped dividends at Monday's 19th annual Keystone Icebreaker cross country meet. The Wildcats posted their best finish at their home invitational, finishing third of 24 teams with 76 points. Only Buckeye (60) and Rittman (73) were better. Amherst (142), Elyria Catholic (193), Firelands (236) and Oberlin (266) placed fourth, sixth, eighth and 10th, respectively. It was a huge improvement for the Wildcats, who finished sixth of 19 teams with 166 points last year. Senior Craig Stroud (16:51.17), sophomore Jamie Yuronich (17:01.23) and senior Eli McConoughey (17:20.37) led the way for the Wildcats, as the trio finished third, fourth and ninth, respectively. "My legs are gone. Tired," said Stroud. "I saw Jamie that last mile. I knew I had to get him." Stroud was coming off a road race win a day earlier at Sunday's Art Schumacher Memorial 5K in Valley City, where he defended his title with a time of 18:47.6. "I was just tempoing yesterday (at Valley City), because I wanted to run hard today," said Stroud. "I felt very good. I felt strong. I knew that Buckeye kid (Dimitry Pshonyak, 16:44.93) was going to beat us, so I had to pick up another spot to see if I could compete with him." Stroud (17:33.18) and Yuronich (18:02.7) finished only 16th and 27th, respectively, at last year's Icebreaker. Eli McConoughey missed last year's Icebreaker due to injury. "It was pretty tough," said Yuronich. "I just got back from vacation two days ago after 14 days in northern Michigan. Adapting has been pretty hard. I just need to get back into the swing of things. It was a PR for me so I'm very happy with that. When I get back to full strength I'll be a lot better. "I'm just happy that I can help my team. It's good to work with your teammates. Craig and I run at practice together. I'm very glad that he could do this well." Senior Roy Herbold (27th, 18:41.81) and 33 sophomore Sam McConoughey (33rd, 18:52.93), Eli's brother, rounded out the top five for the Wildcats. "I'm super happy with them," said Keystone coach Tom Habenicht. "I saw them compete well. I saw them pack well. Craig and Jamie have had a great summer of training and today it really showed. Solid start. Today was our best Icebreaker performance ever. We're super happy with that performance and with what they can do from here." The Amherst boys were a late addition. Senior Asa Nicely (14th, 18:03.43), senior Cale Miller (24th, 18:36.39) and sophomore Eli Nicely (26th, 18:39.89) led the Comets. "We were not originally scheduled to compete in the Keystone Icebreaker," said Amherst boys coach Rob Glatz. "Since our Obetz race (OHSAA Cross Country Early Season Invitational) was canceled while the varsity boys were on the line (due to Saturday's extreme heat). We asked Keystone to let us into their meet and they agreed. We are extremely grateful that they gave us the opportunity to compete. It was a great experience." Division III state qualifiers a year ago, Open Door junior Trevor Taylor (seventh, 17:16.97) and Lake Ridge senior Christian Gorny (13th, 17:54.25) finished in the top 15 in a field of 240 runners. A year ago, Gorny finished third at the Keystone meet in 16:35.6, while Taylor was 22nd in 17:53.5. "It went very well," said Taylor. "A lot better than last year. It was a big jump. I'm very happy. I didn't think that I was going to do as well, especially on this hard course." Gorny was frustrated. "From the get-go I was not feeling it," said Gorny. "I felt very, very dizzy for the entire race. Two miles in, I got into my own head. I couldn't see straight when I finished. Everything was spinning. I'm not sick and haven't been injured, but I didn't eat very much today. I don't know if that's it. I'm just going to try and not let it get to my head for future races." The Avon girls led local teams with a fourth-place finish out of 19 teams with 153 points. Rittman (24), Olmsted Falls (101) and Fairview (139) took the top three. Firelands (seventh, 177), Oberlin (ninth, 226) and Open Door Christian (10th, 227) were other local teams in the top 10. Brooklyn Fagan (17th, 22:27.03) and Peyton Schwanger (28th, 23:28.60) led the Eagles girls. "I'm very content," said Avon girls coach Justin Carroll. "Fourth out of 19 teams is a great start." Division III regional qualifiers last year, Open Door junior Claire Hepner (12th, 21:51.03) and Wellington senior Lauren Vannatter (16th, 22:17.62) were the top two local finishers for the second year in a row in a field of 160 runners. "I think it is a great course and we had great weather," said Hepner. "It was a little hard along parts of the course where we had crushed gravel. I'm very pleased with my quick finish. I finished very strong." "It went very well but parts of the race were rough," said Vannatter. "I struggled with the finish because the gravel was so loose. It was very gritty, especially the last 200 meters. I was very happy with my first two mile splits, but not so happy with my last one." A year ago Hepner was ninth (21:31.3) and Vannatter was 17th (22:22.5). Rittman senior Luke Snyder won the boys varsity race for the fourth year in a row with a time of 16:04.09. Snyder is two-time defending Division III state champ after taking second at state as a freshman. Rittman junior Annabelle Snyder, Luke's sister, took home the girls varsity title for the second year in a row with a time of 19:30.40. Annabelle Snyder, who took second at the 2023 Icebreaker in 19:51.80, led the Rittman girls to a third-place finish at the 2024 state meet and second-place finish in 2023.Luke and Annabelle are the children of Rittman coach Matt Snyder, who was a 1998 Elyria High graduate. Contact Paul Heyse at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Boys1, Buckeye, 60; 2. Rittman, 73; 3. Keystone, 76; 4. Amherst, 142; 5. Olmsted Falls, 178; 6. Elyria Catholic, 193; 7. Cloverleaf, 208; 8. Firelands, 236; 9. Norwalk, 247; 10. Oberlin, 266; 11. Fairview, 285; 12. Avon, 332; 13. Open Door Christian, 374; 14. Lutheran West, 389; 15. Lake Ridge Academy, 402; 16. Midview, 421; 17. Brookside, 477; 18. Lorain, 497; 19. Benedictine, 510Top 31, Luke Snyder (Rittman), 16:04.09; 2. Dimitry Pshonyak (Buckeye), 16:44.93; 3. Craig Stroud (Keystone), 16:51.17. Other top local finishers: 4. Jamie Yuronich (Keystone), 17:01.23; 7. Trevor Taylor (Open Door), 17:16.97; 9. Eli McConoughey (Keystone), 17:20.37; 13. Christian Gorny (Lake Ridge), 17:54.25; 14. Asa Nicely (Amherst), 18:03.43; 16. Austin Powers (Firelands), 18:10.61; 17. Luke Jones (Elyria Catholic), 18:11.11; 19. Dane Vanderpool (Firelands), 18:13.57; 21. Ian Pallardy (Elyria Catholic), 18:19.37; 24. Cale Miller (Amherst), 18:36.69; 25. Carter Woods (Firelands), 18:39.65; 26. Eli Nicely (Amherst), 18:39.89; 27. Roy Herbold (Keystone), 18:41.81; 28. Peter Caldwell-Kepner (Oberlin), 18:43.81 Girls1, Rittman, 24; 2. Olmsted Falls, 101; 3. Fairview, 139; 4. Avon, 153; 5. Cloverleaf, 162; 6. Norwalk, 173; 7. Firelands, 177; 8. Buckeye, 181; 9. Oberlin, 226; 10. Open Door Christian, 227; 11. Elyria Catholic, 312; 12. Keystone, 313; 13. Lake Ridge Academy, 314; 14. Wellington, 319; 15. Lorain, 346Top 31, Anabelle Snyder (Rittman), 19:30.40; 2. Saige Konik (Norwalk), 20:03.05; 3. Mia Russell (Olmsted Falls), 20:13.76. Top local finishers: 12. Claire Hepner (Open Door), 21:51.03; 16. Lauren Vannatter (Wellington), 22:17.62; 17. Brooklyn Fagan (Avon), 22:27.03; 20. Audrey Smith (Firelands), 22:48.02; 21. Amme Wilson (Keystone), 22:50.17; 22. Natalie Smith (Firelands), 23:06.48; 23. Dilynn Copley (Firelands), 23:06.49; 25. Emma Calkins (Lake Ridge), 23:14.95; 28. Peyton Schwanger (Avon), 23:28.60; 30. Sophia Morgan (Midview), 23:35.11