Thus far in 2014, Matt McGoey and Hunter Wharrey of North Allegheny have proven themselves very capable when steep hills aren’t the primary focus of a 5,000-meter cross country course.
The senior duo showed again they have speed to burn on Saturday against a quality Division I field at the overflowing Boardman (Ohio) Spartan Invitational. McGoey, who won the season-opening Red, White & Blue Classic in Pittsburgh, was second in the field of 332 finishers, while his teammate was right behind in third, leading the Tigers to fourth in the Division I team standings.
“It’s more flat than most of the courses we run in Pennsylvania, so it’s nice to get your legs over faster and (run) a faster time,” said McGoey, whose clocking of 15 minutes, 41.5 seconds was about a 20-second improvement over his eighth-place finish from a year ago. “It’s a lot like Red, White & Blue. There are a few uphills (but) mostly flat.”
The Division I race proved to be the fastest of the day as arguably Ohio’s best returning distance runner – Kyle Mau of Hudson – served as the early pacesetter. However, last year’s runner-up at 3,200 meters (9:03.07) on the track and No. 3 in cross country was not alone at the mile mark in 4:51 as the senior was leading a tightly bunched pack of six that included both North Allegheny standouts.
After another half-mile, the pack became single file as Mau led junior Luke Wagner of Cleveland St. Ignatius by a step and McGoey paced the others a few seconds back. The second time up Boardman Hill did little to change the things as Mau and Wagner were out front with less than a mile to go and primed for the mostly downhill run to the finish.
Mau held the top spot, crossing the line first in 15:34.2.
“I really like this course,” the winner said. “We have our regional here so I’m pretty used to it. I’ve run it about seven or eight times so I feel like I have good experience and that helps me out on this course a lot.”
In the closing stages of the race, McGoey and Wharrey were able to gather themselves for a drive to the finish that was beneficial to them and the Tigers’ team score.
“I thought that they could come back although they didn’t do themselves any favors (by getting separated from the leaders),” Neff said. “Perhaps if they go out a little bit harder, they get gassed. At this point, they are real smart racers. We have a meet plan, but at the same time, they have carte blanche to make changes on the fly if they need to.”
Wharrey noted that the top finishes in their opening invitationals is a good start but just a start.
“We just have to keep on working,” said the senior, who finished in 15:44.5. “Next week’s Foundation, so it will be a completely different course. There will be a lot more hills, a lot more people from our state.
“It will be nice to see the people there, but (today’s) a good stepping stone. We still have a lot more work to do throughout the season.”
Teamwise, the big school race featured the new No. 1 ranked Division I team in Ohio’s coaches poll – St. Ignatius – along with three others in the top 10 and Neff’s Tigers, who were the preseason No. 1 in Penn TrackXC’s rankings and the 2012 Boardman champs. Neither top-ranked squad was able to claim team honors, as Uniontown Lake – No. 9 in the Ohio poll – matched North Allegheny’s two in the top 10 overall and had a 1-5 split of just 63 seconds to finish with 103 points.
Ignatius was next with 113, while Louisville (Ohio #7) was third with 121 and North Allegheny fourth with 136. The Tigers had a 1:18 scoring gap.
“It’s really all about team for those guys,” Neff said of his senior leaders. “They have individual goals too, and they are willing to do whatever it takes to get there.”
Matching McGoey’s top finish by a Pennsylvania runner in the meet of almost 5,500 entrants was Riley Kwiatkowski of Greensburg-Salem. The sophomore was in the top 10 throughout the Division II girls varsity 5K and continued to work her way toward the front, eventually finishing second in 19:03.0.
“I feel great knowing that I am close to running under 19 minutes,” Kwiatkowski said. “Getting second at an invitational with 333 girls was truly amazing and a great experience.
“After running 19:03, I know what I'm capable of doing. I'm ready to get back on the courses with more confidence and get after it during the races. I am also really looking forward to running at states this year.”
Winner Grace Steimle of Grand Valley was one of the early leaders and set a tone of non-seniors dominating the race. Just a freshman, Steimle kept the field at a safe distance and won in 18:58.0 as only two seniors finished in the top 10 and seven of the top 12 were freshmen or sophomores.
In the Division I girls’ race, North Allegheny junior Maddie Davison did not defend her individual title as she was taking the ACT, but teammates Clara Savchik and Maddie Steiner cracked the top 20. A freshman, Savchik was 12th in 19:23.2, while sophomore Steiner was 17th in 19:51.3 to lead the Tigers to fifth in the 34-team field.
Taylor Allderdice fared well against a number of traditional northeast Ohio powers in the Division II boys race. Although the Dragons did not have a runner in the top 25 (senior Floyd Nichols was 22nd), they used a 53.8-second split to finish fourth with 239 points in the 44-team lineup, while Corry Area was seventh.
Individually, Noah Smith of Ringgold was fourth in 16:33.4, while Gateway’s Liam Connolly was 10th in 16:52.2.
In the second race of the day, North East put a pair of underclassmen in the top 10 overall to claim third for Division III girls with 113 points. Freshman Raechal White placed fourth in 19:21.3, and sophomore Kate McIntosh was sixth in 19:26.1 after having run together during part of the race.