Boardman High School’s Lady Spartans cross country team won their fifth straight Mahoning County championship meet title in a race held last week at Austintown Township Park.
      Lady Spartan sophomore Olivia Brady was crowned meet champ, besting a field of some 78 competitors with a time of 20:12.86, almost a minute ahead of second place finisher, Gabby Vennetti, of Boardman, who notched a time of 21:03.30.
      Boardman’s Lauryn Swantek placed fifth at the meet (21:22.46) and Lady Spartan Abbi Mihok was ninth with a time of 21:45.07.
      Finishng in the top-20 were Lady Spartans Moriah Doyle, 14th; Mia Brown, 17th; and Gianna Berardino, 19th.
      Competing for Cardinal Mooney High School was Martia Robinson.
      Boardman Boys County Champs
      The Boardman Spartan boys cross country team was crowned Mahoning County Champions for the second consecutive season following a dominant performance at Austintown Park.
      The Spartans placed ten runners in the top-15, led by senior David D’Altorio who raced to a first place finish with a time of 16:49. Spartan freshman Jacob Turek took fifth place (17:30), sophomore Dylan White was sixth (17;41.17), junior Dom Theodore was seventh, and junior Adam Nigro was eighth. Other Spartan finishers were junior Chase Moore in ninth, sophomore Jonathan Burgos-Perez in 12th, sophomore Tommy Sullivan in 13th, freshman Sam Moritz in 14th, and senior Drew Kornbau in 15th.
      “Winning this championship is always one of our four program goals each year,” said Spartan Head Coach John Phillips, “We take a lot of pride in being the best distance program in the area, and hopefully we can use this championship as a springboard into a successful post season.”
      Earning ‘Runner of the Week’ honors was Moritz.
      “Sam is an athlete that does everything right,” explained Phillips, “he has a great attitude and mindset, he puts in time in the weight room, he works hard at practice, and he has steadily improved as the season has progressed. He has a very bright future in this sport.”
      Glenwood Takes County XC Titles
      Glenwood Jr. High Schools girls and boys cross country both earned Mahoning Country championships.
      The Glenwood girls’ team was led by Kealia Bravo who placed second and Abby Marks who placed third overall in a field of 73 runners. The rest of the top runners for Glenwood included Matilda Mausteller (7th), Ella Walston (8th), Jemma Pavone (17th), Zara Harlan (26th) and Colleen Sullivan (33rd).
      Glenwood boys’ team was led by Evangelos Coutris who placed third overall in a field of 103 runners. The rest of the top runners for the Glenwood were Sammy Pickens (12th), Ben Papa (13th), Chase Walker (14th), Austin Gillin (20th), Ian Congo (21st), and Diego Salinas DeLeon (25th).