Area cross country runners compete at state meet
High school athletes dream, as the saying goes, of one day "making it to state." For five area cross country runners, that dream recently became a reality.

On November 6, Clay's Megan Csehi and Erin Gyurke, Oak Harbor's Kia Frank, Woodmore's Lacy Nagy and Gibsonburg's Samantha Hoffman competed in the biggest race of their lives: the State Cross Country Meet at Scioto Downs in Columbus.

For these athletes, qualifying for the state meet, which attracts 13,000 spectators, is the culmination of everything they've invested in the sport throughout the years. It is the final chance for the runners to see just how much their hard work and dedication paid off, to see just how much the pain and suffering was worth it.

To qualify for the state meet, the runners must finish in the top-16 at their respective regional meet.

In the Division I race, Csehi and Gyurke finished 61st and 91st, respectively, competing against 146 of the best runners in the state. Csehi, a senior, who finally made it to the state meet after missing out by just one spot last year, ran a time of 19 minutes, 14 seconds. Gyurke finished in 19:33.

Csehi qualified for the state meet with relative ease, finishing sixth at the Pickerington Regional in 19:17. Gyurke, who is just a freshman, finished in 15th place in 19:37, making the cut by just 1.1 seconds.

At the Toledo City League Championships, competing against the likes of Notre Dame Academy and Whitmer, Gyurke finished second and Csehi was fourth.

Frank, the lone area runner competing in Division II, finished in 19:35, good for 48th place. For Frank, it was incredibly sweet and rewarding for her to not just qualify for the state meet, but to finish so well. She, like Csehi, also missed out on making it to the state meet last year by just one spot. Frank, the Sandusky Bay Conference champion, qualified by finishing 15th at the Tiffin Regional, the toughest region in Division II.

The Division III race saw two area runners fare quite well. Nagy finished 15th in 19:14 and Hoffman was 53rd in 20:00. At the regional meet, both qualified in comfortable fashion with Nagy finishing second and Hoffman coming in 12th.

In addition to making it to state, Nagy finished first at the Suburban Lakes League Championships. Hoffman was sixth.

In cross country, like any sport, the preparation begins far in advance of the actual event. Cross country runners sometimes run 50-60 miles per week in the summer, if not more, in preparation for the season. For many of them, the season begins once track is finished. All that hard work, all that effort, everything invested in June, July and August in the hope that one day in November, it will all come to fruition.

And for these five runners, it certainly did.

Ciesielczyk notches record
Ashley Ciesielczyk (Clay) has notched another record on her soccer resume. As a member of the Florida Gulf Coast University soccer team, FGCU recorded their first undefeated season while clinching the Athletic Sun Conference championship. FGCU honored their first group of four year players prior to the start of their final home game versus Stetson.

Ciesielczyk’s career in Northwest Ohio began when she was 4-years-old. She played for the Jerusalem/Oregon Recreation Swiss Baysiders, Then for Pacesetter and Clay High, mostly as a forward/striker setting school and state records. Suffering a season ending injury prior to the start of her freshman year in 2008, Ciesielczyk was red-shirted at FCCU.

In 2009 she played in all 19 contests earning two starting nods. This season she moved to defense. As a defender, Ashley started all ten conference games and was an integral part of FGCU’s back line recording a conference high eight shutouts while allowing only two goals. At defense she also recorded two goals and a team high four assists tallying eight points in conference play.

Although FGCU clinched the A-Sun conference title, they are still in the reclassification period for NCAA eligibility. Next season will be their first opportunity to move into tournament play. More importantly, Ciesielczyk has landed a spot on the A-Sun All-Academic Honor Roll.

Beck Coach of Year
Eastwood volleyball coach Jeff Beck has been named District 7 Division II Coach of the Year. Genoa coach Amanda Cichocki is runner-up in voting for D-III Coach of the Year,

Three of Beck’s players, senior Katie Primeau, senior Whitney Hoodlebrink, and junior Courtney Rolf, are first team.

Second team choices from Eastwood are senior Christine Foster and senior Victoria Bruning, and senior Jordan Frobose is honorable mention.

Clay junior Kristen Kayser was selected to the District 7 Division I second team. Local honorable mention D-I choices are Clay senior Torrie Reichart, Clay senior Alexis Morrison, and Waite senior Chelsea Smith.  

Local D-III first team choices are Genoa senior Brandi Schimming and Lake senior Kaysie Brittenham. Genoa senior Alyssa Meis is the only second team choice, and honorable mention are Woodmore senior Audrey Thorbahn, Gibsonburg senior Katey DuShane, Genoa senior Hannah Morrison, Woodmore senior Carly Pendleton, Lake senior Learen Densie, Lake senior McKenzie Whiteman, and Northwodo senior Sammie Brisbin.

The District 7 Volleyball All-Star Match will take place November 18 at 7 p.m. at St. Ursula Academy. Divisions I-II will play first with Divisions III-IV playing at approximately 8 p.m. All divisions will play two games to 25. The top 16 seniors in each division will participate in this all-star match.

Romstadt at state
As St. Ursula Academy’s volleyball team left for the state tournament last Thursday, so did one local resident. Arrow Emma Romstadt is from Northwood.

The 2010 OHSAA State Volleyball Tournament was held over the weekend at the Ervin J. Nutter Center at Wright State University in Dayton. One side of the Division I semifinals was a rematch of the 2009 finals, as defending champion and top-ranked Cincinnati Ursuline Academy (27-0) took on 2009 runner-up and third-ranked Dublin Coffman (26-1). The matchup on the other side of the bracket had second-ranked St. Ursula (26-1) against Brecksville-Broadview Heights (21-6).

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