VERMILION — Much-improved course conditions over last year groomed the Amherst Steele boys’ win at Saturday’s 34th annual Jim Obenour Memorial.
Josh Park was the catalyst for Amherst. The Comet sophomore won his first career varsity invitational in dominating fashion (15:44.31). Elyria sophomore James Hawks (15:54.05) outkicked North Olmsted senior Zach Kozik (15:57.23) for second place.
On the girls side, Open Door junior Gabrielle Neubauer won her ninth career invitational in a time of 19:16.91. She defeated North Olmsted senior Haley Reines (19:28.24).
Overall, the day belonged to the Amherst boys, who outdistanced North Olmsted 54-91 in an 18-team field. The Comets won the meet for the fourth time since 2006 but the first time since 2009 after back-to-back second-place finishes in 2010 and 2011. Last year, Amherst lost on a tiebreaker to Tiffin Columbian.
Park’s high-level performance this season is noteworthy because he missed outdoor track last spring with a left leg stress fracture from the indoor season.
“I knew that I could run with all the guys in the front,” Park said. “I didn’t think I would be able to outkick anyone so I tried to create as much separation as I could.”
Amherst won despite missing No. 2 runner Mike Kardos, a junior. Kardos was absent because of a twisted ankle suffered Sept. 22 at the Cloverleaf Todd Clark invite.
“Losing Kardos was obviously a little bit of a setback, but the past week the guys stepped up in practice,” Park said. “We really got things done.”
Park is the first Amherst boy to win the Vermilion invite since Miles Pittak in 2009.
Junior Joey Colon (seventh, 16:31.35), sophomore Evan Sergent (11th, 16:42.34), senior Andre DelValle (15th, 16:56.59) and senior Kevin Burgett (20th, 17:04.57) rounded out the Amherst boys top five.
“The goal was to try to get our pack inside the top 10-15 finishers,” Colon said. “We executed well. Sergent, DelValle and Burgett really picked up the pace.”
“The course today was nice,” Amherst coach Scott Snyder said. “Traditionally, this meet is a crappy weather-type day. Ironically, we also scored 54 points last year when we lost on the tiebreaker.”
Neubauer was ecstatic with her performance.
“Today was my most satisfying win,” she said. “My strategy was to really attack my first two splits (5:47 and 12:04). That second mile is always so hard. I really wanted to get after it so I would have some leeway for the last mile. It was a new strategy. Obviously, it worked. I kicked butt. I’m excited how I hit my goals and finished very strong.”
Contact Paul Heyse at 440-329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.
Boys
TEAM SCORES: 1. Amherst Steele (AM), 54; 2. North Olmsted (NO), 91; 3. Hopewell-Loudon (HL), 97; 4. Willard (WI), 100; 5. Westlake, 133; 6. Elyria (E), 149; 7. Clearview (CL), 193; 8. Firelands (FI), 235; 9. Vermilion (V), 243; 10. Open Door (OD), 296; 11. Wickliffe, 306; 12. Brookside (BR), 315; 13. North Ridgeville, 397; 14. Margaretta, 406; 15. Valley Forge, 411; 16. Garfield Heights, 413; 17. Andrews Osborne, 474; 18. Oberlin (OB), 484.
INDIVIDUAL TOP 5: 1. Josh Park (AM), 15:44.31; 2. James Hawks (E), 15:54.05; 3. Zach Kozik (NO), 15:57.23; 4. Matt Leis (WI), 16:21.86; 5. Mike Hollingsworth (CL), 16:27.31.
Girls
TEAM SCORES: 1. Westlake (WE), 43; 2. North Olmsted, 66; 3. Hopewell-Loudon, 97; 4. Open Door, 144; 5. Willard, 151; 6. Elyria, 156; 7. Wickliffe, 168; 8. Brookside, 235; 9. Valley Forge, 261; 10. Vermilion, 271; 11. Margaretta, 278; 12. Midview (MI), 280; 13. Firelands, 286; 14. Andrews Osborne, 371
INDIVIDUAL TOP 5: 1. Garbrielle Newbauer (OD), 19:16.91; 2. Haley Reines (NO), 19:28.24; 3. Robyn Hageman (WE), 19:47.30; 4. Breanna Mosley (WI), 19:58.25; 5. Tasha Miller (E), 20:02.67
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