ARCHBOLD WEATHER

PHS Boys Cross Country Advances To Regional





Alex Frey led Pettisville with a third-place finish at the district meet. The Blackbird boys finished third as a team and advanced to this week's regional meet in Tiffin.-  photo by Collin Wagner

Alex Frey led Pettisville with a third-place finish at the district meet. The Blackbird boys finished third as a team and advanced to this week’s regional meet in Tiffin.- photo by Collin Wagner

The Pettisville boys cross country team advanced to regional competition for the fifth straight year by placing third at the Division III district meet, Saturday, Oct. 20, in Ottawa.

The top four teams and any individuals in the top 16 advanced.

The girls team ended their season at districts, where they just missed advancing to regional competition by six points, taking fifth place.

Boys

The Blackbird boys team scored 94 points. Hilltop won with 70 points; Fairview took second with 90.

Pettisville placed three runners in the top 10. Alex Frey led the way with a third place finish in 16 minutes, 32 seconds. Austin Borton crossed the line at 16:41 to take fifth, and Lincoln Frey captured ninth in 17:14.

Brandon Hamilton took 35th in 18:43. Josh Villalovos finished the scoring for the Birds, placing 46th in 19:07.

Josh Bruner placed 52nd in 19:18, and Trevor Lantz placed 67th in 20:07.

Both Frey brothers posted new personal record times in the race, as did Villalovos and Bruner.

“The team had an overall good day, with strong performances across the board,” said Tom Wagner, PHS coach.

Girls

Fayette won the girls race with 27 points. Individually, the Eagles’ Erica Goeltzenluechter won in 20:29.

Pettisville’s Rachel Beck just missed advancing as an individual runner. She placed 17th in 22:36.

Emily Short was second for the Birds, grabbing 23rd in 23:01.

The next four Blackbird runners followed each other into the chute with less than five seconds separating their finish times.

Hannah Beck led the pack with a time of 23:43 to take 29th; Jackie Morrill crossed the line at 23:44 for 30th; Rachel Giovarelli was 31st in 23:46; Alisha Rupp was 32nd in 23:48.

Morgan Lantz was 43rd in 24:41.

Giovarelli, a senior who’s competed since junior high, posted a career-best time in her final race.

“The girls did a wonderful job this year,” said Wagner. “It was a great group of girls, and we had a good year with a lot of fun.”

The regional meet is Saturday, Oct. 27, in Hedges Boyer Park, Tiffin. The Blackbirds are scheduled to run in the Div. III boys race at 1:20 p.m.

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