Berton among area qualifiers for state meet - Monday, November 02, 2009 | Fostoria Review Times

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Monday, November 02, 2009

Berton among area qualifiers for state meet

By JAMIE BAKER

FOR THE REVIEW TIMES

TIFFIN -- A trio of area runners got the rock star treatment Saturday at Hedges Boyer Park.

St. Wendelin's Mark Berton, Hopewell-Loudon's Tyler Wise and Lakota's Kyle Babcock were all smiles while surrounded by coaches, teammates, family and friends. That's what happens when you qualify for the state cross country championships.

All three are state-bound after finishing in the top 16 at Saturday's OHSAA Division III boys regional meet.

In addition, Elmwood's boys team will be headed to Columbus for the second straight year after finishing fourth in the team standings.

The top four teams in each race and top-16 individuals not advancing with a team earned berths in next Saturday's championships at Scioto Downs.

Wise, a junior, earned his second straight state bid by placing ninth in 16:50. Berton was 13th in 17:02 and Babcock picked off the final state spot at 16th, as he crossed the finish line in 17:04.

It will be Berton's first trip to Scioto Downs.

Berton played a little less basketball, but did a lot more running during this past summer. And if his post-meet smile was any indication, all of the extra miles he put in during the summer were certainly worth it.

"I actually trained during the summer and didn't play basketball," he said. "I think that killed me last year because I hurt my ankle a little bit and never really recovered.

"There were some times during the summer I didn't want to do it, but I ran anyway. I knew if I wanted to make it to state I had to run and do as much work as I could to get better."

The St. Wendelin senior had enough left to put on an extra burst of speed over the final 50 meters to hold off a hard-charging pack of runners on his tail.

"It was close. I knew I wanted to make it. I was hoping my kick was good enough to get in the top 16, and it was," he said. "I have had friends make it the past couple of years, so I wanted to go down this year, too. I had to make it."

It certainly wasn't easy, but Elmwood's boys cross country team is headed back to state.

Junior Nick Goebel finished second overall to help the Royals end up fourth.

The Royals weren't able to defend their regional title, as Delta ran away from the field to win with 85 points. Hilltop (103) was second and Stryker nipped Elmwood 119-123 for third place.

For some teams, nothing short of a regional championship will do. But for Elmwood, just getting the chance to run another week was good enough on a cold, muddy and windy day.

"Survival. That's probably the word of the day," Elmwood coach Chris Hailey said. "I knew Delta would probably be untouchable and that Stryker and Hilltop would be stepping it up, and they did. Our pack was much better than it has been. We have to move the whole pack up next week, but I thought everyone ran well."

Goebel, a fifth-place finisher in the regional last season, crossed the finish line in 16:16, a little less than six seconds behind individual champion Colin Fisher of Delta.

While he didn't better last week's personal record of 15:52, Goebel was satisfied with his performance Saturday.

"As long as our team makes it, I'll be satisfied," he said. "I was hoping for first, but second is all right with me. I had enough left, so I know I can go faster. I was just a little tired in this race. For some reason, I just didn't feel good."

Teammates Dexter Lee (23rd, 17:23), Wes Lee (31st, 17:38) and Josh Boes (48th, 17:56) also finished in the top 50 to pave Elmwood's road to Columbus.

Division III

Team Standings

1, Delta 85. 2, Hilltop 103. 3, Stryker 119. 4, Elmwood 123. 5, Gibsonburg 155. 6, Coldwater 178. 7, Old Fort 203. 8, Liberty-Benton 224. 9, Sandusky St. Mary's 229. 10, Liberty Center 231. 11, Tiffin Calvert 261. 12, Ottoville 277. 13, Hopewell-Loudon 280. 14, New Riegel 291. 15, Archbold 294. 16, Fayette 391.

Winner & Area Boys Finishes

1, Colin Fisher (Delta) 16:11. 2, Nick Goebel (Elm) 16:16. 9, Tyler Wise (H-L) 16:50. 13, Mark Berton (FSW) 17:02. 16, Kyle Babcock (Lak) 17:04. 23, Dexter Lee (Elm) 17:23. 31, Wes Lee (Elm) 17:38. 47, Dominic King (Bett) 17:55. 48, Josh Boes (Elm) 17:56. 52, Nathan Schalk (NR) 17:59. 55, Daniel Arbogast (NR) 18:01. 57, Travis Wagner (Elm) 18:04. 61, Eric Wymer (VB) 18:07. 67, Drew Cassidy (NR) 18:12. 74, Martin Juarez (H-L) 18:19. 92, Trey Wilhelm (Elm) 18:33. 93, Aaron Lucius (H-L) 18:34. 95, Matt Painter (H-L) 18:35. 96, Robert Kniss (H-L) 18:36. 99, Jacob Welly (NR) 18:40. 106, Conlan Varty (Elm) 18:54. 108, Ryan Schalk (NR) 19:01. 118, Daniel Steyer (H-L) 19:27. 120, Nick Rumschlag (H-L) 19:35. 127, Andrew Mack (NR) 20:19. 130, Collin Snyder (NR) 20:49.

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