SETTING THE SCENE: The season opened for the MHS boys cross country squad at the Lakota East Fall Classic Invitational Saturday morning. Looking ahead, week two finds the team headed to Mason for the Xavier University Invitation at Kingswood Park.
A LOOK BACK: The boys cross country team opened their season at the Lakota East Fall Classic, held at Voice of America Park on Saturday. Due to the heavy rains a few weeks back, the Friday night Moeller meet had to be cancelled, so the field swelled to 14 teams among very humid conditions and high temperatures. Harris Craycraft finished a strong race for the Eagles, in 8th place in a time of 17:20, a 20 second improvement over last year. The next Milford finisher was Peter Kroeger, who finished 18.13, the exact same time as last season. Peter finished 36th, with Clayton Virzi (18.15) just behind in 39th. Sean Vonderhaar was numbers four for Milford, finishing in 18.25 in the crowded field. Freshman Luke Schneider made his varsity debut, finishing only 37 seconds behind Vonderhaar in 19.02. Joseph Kruse (19.53) and Brian Wang (20.41) rounded out the remaining top Eagles. Milford finished 9th of 13 teams; the ECC’s Loveland won the event, followed by fellow conference member Kings.
THE WEEK AHEAD: Milford will next hit the trails at the Xavier University Invitational, to be held at Kingswood Park in Mason. The race, scheduled for Sat., 9/3, is set for a 10:00 am start time for the varsity boys race.
Race Details:
- Kingswood Park
- 4188 Irwin Simpson Rd, Mason OH 45140
INSIDE THE ECC: Just one event into the season, Harris Craycraft’s time of 17.20 is good for fourth best runner in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference. Peter Kroeger is tied for 19th, followed by Clayton Virzi in 21st and Sean Vonderhaar at 26th. Luke Schneider’s debut run places him among the top fifty in the conference, at 38th.
POLL WATCH: Mason and St. Xavier maintained the top two spots in week one of the boys cross country area coaches’ poll. Elder moved up to third, and Loveland, previously unranked, entered the poll in fourth. LaSalle moved into fifth, while the ECC’s Kings fell to sixth, down from fifth the previous week. ECC schools receiving votes in week one include Turpin (25), Anderson (9), and Milford with one vote.