Lady Leopards Go Back-to-Back, Boys Place 2nd at NBC Meet – Cross Country
The Louisville Leopards Cross Country Teams competed at the Northeaster Buckeye Conference Meet Saturday Morning at Copeland Oaks. The Lady Leopards edged the second place Minerva Lions to claim their second straight NBC Title. The Louisville Boys placed second in their race behind the NBC Champion Salem Quakers.
In middle school competition, the Louisville Boys claimed the NBC Title with a first place finish while the Girls placed third overall.
Boys – 61 (2nd Out of 8)
Louisville was led by Miklos Hendricks who placed 2nd individually with a time of 16:58.6. Only Dylan Bailey from the Alliance Aviators finished with a better time of 16:51 to claim the individual championship.
The Leopards placed second despite finishing with 4 runners in the top 10. Scott Gronow placed 4th (17:34.3), Logan Ison took 9th (17:48.3), and Sebastian Hendricks finished in 10th (17:59.4). Other Louisville runners included Josh Schloneger (35th), Seth Gronow (36th), and Nathaniel Joseph (37th).
Salem earned their first NBC Title since joining the league in 2011 as the Quakers finished with 5 runners in the top 17. The second place finish snaps the Leopards string of 11 consecutive league titles (2006-2016), but they still finish with the most in Northeastern Buckeye Conference history with 12 overall.
TEAM RESULTS: 1. Salem 46, 2. Louisville 61, 3. Minerva 88, 4. Carrollton 91, 5. Alliance 128, 6. West Branch 135, 7. Marlington 144, 8. Canton South 211
Girls – 50 (1st Out of 7)
The Lady Leopards were led by Morgan Cole who won the Varsity race individually with a time of 19:26.3. She breezed by Minerva’s second place Mackenzie Scott (19:43.4) by 17 seconds. Louisville’s Cassidy Kiko also had a strong performance to take third place with a time of 19:51.5.
Rounding out the Leopards top five were Grace Collins who placed 14th (21:32.3), Nicole Israel who took 15th (21:37.6), and Caitlyn Gatta who finished in 17th (22:05.7). Other Louisville runners included Iris Menegay (18th) and Elena Eimer (24th).
This is the Lady Leopards second consecutive conference title and 7th NBC Title overall since their first back in 2007. Only the Marlington Dukes finish with more having won 13.
TEAM RESULTS: 1. Louisville 50, 2. Minerva 52, 3. Salem 68, 4. Marlington 81, 5. Carrollton 112, 6. West Branch 153, 7. Alliance 208
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UP NEXT: The Leopards will next compete at the DI Canton District Meet at Malone University on Saturday, October 21.
Cover Photo Courtesy of Brian Ison