Fleet Feet Strongsville Cross Country Invitational

     On Sat. Sept. 21 the Lakewood Ranger Boys Cross Country Team competed in the Fleet Feet Strongsville Cross Country Invitational. Through the rain soaked morning on a very soggy and muddy course, the Rangers ran exceptionally well. Led by Senior Captain Nick Boatman, running a tactically smart race from the start, Nick finished 3rd overall in 16:33 amid a field featuring several state ranked individual runners. The Rangers Varsity Team finished 10th out of the very competitive field of 27 teams, which featured several state ranked teams as well. Also scoring for the Rangers were: Senior Nick LaCerva 52nd, Sophomore Jacob Gregory 64th, Junior Bely Stockman 69th and Senior Aidan Howells 90th.
      The Ranger JV Team was not hampered by the torn up muddy course, finishing 4th out of the 23 team field. Leading the Rangers was Sophomore Jimmy Toner with his 3rd place finish, followed by Freshman Ty'Saun Blevins 15th place, Freshman Gunnar Stockman 30th place, Senior Colin Levis 37th place and rounding out the scoring for the Rangers was Senior Andrew Gordon 44th place.
      "Ranger of The Week" goes to Nick Boatman. For the fifth week in a row, Nick has had a top 5 individual finshes(4- 3rd place finishes and 1-5th place finish) in each of his races. Nick has poised himself as one of the top runners in Northeast Ohio and continues to work hard toward qualifying for the OHSAA State XC Meet. One of three team captains, Nick is a fantastic leader on the team. Off the track, Nick is a strong solid role model as well to the young Ranger Cross Country Team.
      The Ranger Boys XC team will travel with 14 of their top runners to Rochester, NY where they will compete in the McQuaid Jesuit Invitational, one of the largest scholastic Cross Country meets in the nation with more than 7,000 runners from the USA and Canada who compete in 25 races on Sat. Sept. 29th at the beautiful Genesee Valley Park in Rochester, NY.

Good Luck Rangers!

“Running is a big question mark that’s there each and every day. It asks you, ‘Are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?’”– Peter Maher, Irish-Canadian Olympian and Sub-2:12 marathoner