Boys Cross Country Team Competes at Spartan Invitational

The Steele boys cross country team competed in the Spartan Invitational in Boardman, Ohio on Saturday, September 13th, one of the largest meets in the state with over 4,000 athletes racing across multiple divisions.

In the varsity race, senior Matthew Walker led the Comets with a strong performance, finishing in 65th place with a time of 18:01.8. Freshman Jackson Strawn continued to impress, clocking 18:18.5 for 90th place, followed closely by senior Asa Nicely in 18:29.7 for 105th. Sophomore Cale Miller rounded out the team’s top four with an 18:37.3, good for 115th place. Freshman Carter Banyas (19:38.5, 196th), junior Nicholas Lauer (19:55.4, 212th), and senior Paul Cherney (20:10.3, 218th) completed the scoring lineup, with sophomore Nolan Cislo and junior JJ Gedling just behind. As a team, Steele placed 27th out of 38 schools, facing deep competition in a field of 327 runners.

In the open race, sophomore Zyden DeMercurio turned in the standout performance of the day, finishing 34th in 20:22.7, a 40-second improvement from last week, earning recognition as the team’s most improved runner. Juniors Chase Lahetta (21:24.6, 82nd) and Elijah Bonilla (21:46.6, 97th) ran well, while freshman Owen Cooksey (23:03.3, 153rd) continued to gain valuable experience.

The Comets will return to action on Saturday, September 27th at the Vermilion Invitational, looking to build on their strong efforts from this weekend.