Passing opportunities were plentiful when runners took to the course for the Madison U Wanna Come Back Invitational.
A district preview for a plethora of teams, it allowed for them to see what they need to work on before the meet in three weeks time.
One runner who didn’t need to take advantage of those opportunities was West Geauga’s Daniel Kearns. He led from start to finish and only increased his advantage over second-place Chris Turner of Nordonia.
The race win is Kearns’ fourth in a row and fifth top-two finish of the season.
Kearns crossed the line with a 15:39.67, 18 seconds clear of Turner. While 10 seconds slower than his time a week ago at Cardinal, Kearns was confident in his strides no matter how the conditions varied on the course.
All Daniel Kearns does is win. The @WestGAthletics senior rattled off his 4th straight win on the season and talked about being able to gradually increase his lead #NHXC pic.twitter.com/01KohZdbsl
— Ben Hercik (@BHercikNH) October 1, 2022
“I didn’t really focus on the mud like some of the other runners did, I just focused on my own race,” Kearns said. “I normally try to speed up in the portions that do have less mud. That way, I can focus on keeping that same pace rather than worrying about the conditions.”
Madison’s Alex Kollhoff did make up a pair of spots between the first and second mile but couldn’t find a way past Stow’s Zachary Shawala to crack into the top four. That was until the final 200 yards.
Kolloff kicked it into another gear with Coach Jeremy Verdi coaching him up and moved past the Bulldog runner to claim fourth with a 16:22.90, 12 seconds faster than his prior season’s best.
After his win at the Valley Forge Invitational a week ago, he settled into the front pack at his home meet, but Kollhoff knew he didn’t want to be with the trio that was ahead of him.
A fantastic kick saw @MHS_BLUESTREAKS Alex Kollhoff take 4th at his home meet. He talks about the finish and what he did to stay in touch with the leaders #NHXC pic.twitter.com/4NznugZ4ST
— Ben Hercik (@BHercikNH) October 1, 2022
“In that last 200, I know I can’t let my coach down,” Kollhoff said. “I have my own goals, but they line up with his goals for me as well. Races like today really help boost my adrenaline. I led the entire time last week, but that really messed with my kick at the end. I didn’t have that target of a runner to catch, just the finish line.”
Also in the top 10 was NDCL’s Anthony Ciecierski, who placed eighth with a 16:33.12, and West Geauga’s John Mikes in 10th with a 16:49.18.
On the girls side, there was plenty of movement during the race, and Riverside senior Taylor Jasinski was at the forefront of it. After the first mile, she found herself in 13th place but with a pack of over 20 runners.
But she methodically picked her way through the field in the remaining 2.1 miles before she crossed the line in fifth with a 19:31.66.
Being a back portion of the race runner, Jasinski knew that favored her at a course like Madison. The flat course provided ample chances for her to make up positions late, rather than needing to have a big start.
It was a big move late in the race for @girl_riverside Taylor Jasinski, but she came home in 5th with a 19:31.66. She talks about being able to pick up some spots late in the race #NHXC pic.twitter.com/Y9USAaUVWx
— Ben Hercik (@BHercikNH) October 1, 2022
“It’s really hard to start out slow at a meet like this with how good the competition is, but I was able to keep my pace,” Jasinski said. “I know that if I went out too fast it would affect my race, so I tried to go out fast while still conserving some energy for the last legs of the race.”
Her finish helped propel the Beavers to a second-place team finish with 129 team points. Shaker took first (48), and Chardon was third (159).
Another runner who battled their way forward was Mayfield freshman Makena Bremec. She had a little more work to do than Jasinski as she crossed the first mile in 21st, toward the back of the first chase pack.
But by the second mile, she had already nabbed 11 positions to cross that timing loop in 10th, which had her ahead of Jasinski. Bremec wound up finishing ninth with a 19:36.36, a PR by over a minute.
It was her fourth top-10 finish on the season, and coupled with being in the chase pack, the freshman knew she would have a strong finish.
It was a ninth place finish for @MayfieldSports freshman Makena Bremec. She also picked up a large number of positions and set a new PR by over a minute #NHXC pic.twitter.com/WgsmlDwqMp
— Ben Hercik (@BHercikNH) October 1, 2022
“It’s a really good course for me,” Bremec said. “It’s flat and not a ton of mud that some of us thought there might be. Add in the weather, and it set up some really nice conditions. In the back half of the race with half a mile left, I just tried to keep going and get as many positions as I could before the end.”
Also posting strong results was Lake Catholic’s Kelly Ward (12th, 19:43.99), West Geauga’s Taylor Deets (13th, 19:50.25), Riverside’s Gabby D’Amico (15th, 19:53.05), Madison’s Taylor Hennessey (16th, 19:53.76), Perry’s Grace McKoon (18th, 19:55.52) and Chardon’s Cate Dawson (20th, 20:04.23).
