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Gilmour boys win Primeau Invite
(by Tony Lange - October 04, 2012)
Gilmour boys win Primeau Invite
By TONY LANGE
The host Lancers kicked off the 53rd annual Gilmour Paul Primeau Cross-Country Invitational last Friday with a first-place team finish in the boys blue race - Division II and Division III varsity runners.
University School standout runner Jakob Weisblat led his team to a sixth-place finish in that race, which included 14 teams and 110 runners.
In the boys grey race - Division I varsity runners - Solon's Grant Behnke led the Comets to a seventh-place finish, while Kenston was 10th and West Geauga 12th among 17 teams and 141 runners.
Blue race
Finishing sixth out of 110 runners, Gilmour's Alex Clapacs, a junior, led the Lancers to first-place team finish with his time of 17:26 in the 5-kilometer race.
"It's awesome, because we're always practicing out here, so we know all the ups and downs, where it's less footing, where it's muddy, that kind of stuff," he said. "So it's always good having that kind of experience, and it's fun, because people from your school come out and support us."
His junior teammate John Brett finished eighth overall and second for the Lancers in 17:33.
"I didn't run that well today, but it was still good to get a comparison time to other courses," he said.
While the Lancers practice on their home grounds all season, the Paul Primeau Invite is the only time they ever race the specific course that was marked off for last Friday's oldest cross-country meet in Ohio.
"It's just really fun, because everyone's coming out, and everyone is cheering us on, because they know what a big event this is," Brett said. "It feels kind of like a big party out here."
Also adding to Gilmour's top-five score, junior Alex Ulatowski finished ninth overall in 17:36. Sophomore Brandon Phillips finished 16th in 18:10. And junior Paul-Henry Schoenhagen finished 27th in 18:23.
That team score added up to 66 points, which enabled the Lancers to best runner-up Rocky River, which scored 75 team-place points.
University School, meanwhile, finished sixth in the team standings with junior Jakob Weisblat finishing in fifth place overall with a time of 17:25.
"I think it's pretty good for the course. I've run 40 seconds faster, but I was happy," he said. "It's nice, because it's a flat, well-marked race. I'm hoping to get down to 16:30 this season and go to states, so there's more work to be done."
Rounding out the Preppers' top five, sophomore Brad Tramer finished 17th in 18:11, senior Adam Meisler was 41st in 18:46, junior Walker Chieffe was 47th in 18:58, and junior William Gorman was 48th in 19:11.
Independence's Kyle Polman won the blue race in 16:09.
Grey race
In the Division I grey race, Solon senior Grant Behnke led the Comets with his fourth-place finish in 16:56 out of 141 runners.
Solon was seventh among 17 teams with 192 points.
Avon and Avon Lake went one-two in the team finishes with scores of 54 and 66.
Rounding out Solon's top-five point contributors, junior Kevin Burns finished 11th in 17:59, senior Dan Arters was 27th in 18:04, junior Jacob Pearlman finished 36th in 18:18, and senior Andy Li was 102nd in 21:17.
Despite resting it's "A" runners, Kenston finished 10th overall with 243 points.
Top-five runners contributing to that team score were junior Tyler Lance, who finished 40th in 18:21, junior Kyle Dobies, 43rd in 18:28, senior Nick Plewacki, 44th in 18:28, sophomore Kevin Ward, 56th in 18:47, and freshman Drew Sanders, 60th in 18:50.
Meanwhile, West Geauga finished 12th with 339 points.
Top-five Wolverines contributing to that team score were senior Gabe Mihacevich, who finished 41st in 18:23, junior Joey Rains, 67th in 19:03, senior Mike Girbino, 71st in 19:07, junior Jason Rains, 78th in 19:23, and senior Colton Crowl, 82nd in 19:29.
Avon's Austin Fasciana won the grey race in 16:49.
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