Girls district cross country championships: Clute, Peer run away from the crowd

In a surprise to no one, the girls Division I district championship race came down to Olmsted Fall’s junior Katie Clute and Westlake sophomore Sarah Peer.

Clute finished in first place with an impressive time of 18:17.6. Peer was right behind her and finished in 18:20.7. They were the only two girls in the race to break 19.

“It was a very good race,” Clute said. “Sarah and I really pushed each other a lot. Lots of mud but that just made it more fun.”

Peer had some trouble pre-race, having to makeshift a way to keep her wrap on her ankle right before the gun went off. However, she can thrive in a little bit of chaos.

“I do tend to do better when I am freaked out so I went out there and had a plan to stay with (Katie) closer than I have been, especially at the two mile when she tends to take off. That was when I decided to stay with her and that I had it in me.

“It was a good race,” Peer added. “It was more back and forth. I didn’t feel intimidated by her, I felt like we were running the race together.”

Clute and Peer have been two of the best runners in the state all season and Saturday just further proved that point.

Another runner with state ambitions is Samantha Coleman from Rocky River, who finished in 19:23.4, good for a sixth place finish.

“To be honest, it wasn’t my best race,” Coleman said. “Mentally, I felt a little bit out of it but in the second half I picked it up. It is a mentally tough course but I am glad I didn’t give up and stuck through it even though I didn’t feel great.”

Coleman was surrounded by familiar faces, as Lillie Katsaras of Olmsted Falls finished in seventh, Ellie Irwin of Westlake finished in eighth and Avon’s Maddie Harrington rounded out the top 10.

“I feel like in Northeast Ohio, distance running is insane right now and it is nice to know who everyone is and pick great targets to run with,” Coleman said.

For Clute and Peer, their work is yet to be finished.

“It feels good knowing that I am right up there,” Peer said. “It is still shocking to me that I can run that fast or that I am with the top girls so in the races I can stay with them.”

Peer added “running more with Katie as well because I look up to her as an amazing athlete in Ohio and it is nice running with her knowing that she is someone that I look up too.

“That’s how you get better,” Clute said. “By racing someone and pushing yourself and I think we made each other better today.

“I just want to keep the momentum going into the postseason and going forward and just keep moving forward,” Clute added.

“Just mentally prepare myself and even if I am not feeling the best just it pick it up for my teammates,” Coleman said.

In the girls Division II district championship race, Brookside’s Madison Palmer finished in eighth place, qualifying for regionals once again.

In the girls Division III district championship race, Columbia’s Madeleine Finton finished second early in the morning.

“I am a little disappointed with today just because I felt like I was going through the motions and not in the mentality to win it, even though I wanted to win it,” Finton said.

“Around the first mile I didn’t match a surge,” Finton added. “I was matching and matching and I didn’t match that one. A little soft course today but not terrible but that played a part in our times a little bit.”

Even not on her best day, Finton still finished runner up to one of the better runners in the state.

“It’s second, I’ll take it,” Finton said. “Regionals is probably the thing I have to work for and I think honestly it is anyone’s race there and you have to come in and be ready to race that day,” Finton said.

And as always, every race is a new lesson to learn.

“Don’t let go of people,” Finton said about what she learned. “Always stay in contact because at the end of the day you have to leave it all out there. You really only have one shot.”