Grudi, Linderman make it a C-M sweep at county meet
Canon-McMillan’s Morgan Grudi makes her way through the Mingo Park course of the Washington County Coaches Cross Country Meet Monday. She won the girls’ event with a 19:36.6.
Canon-McMillan’s Ethan Linderman crosses the finish line in 16:14.7 to win the boys’ event at the Washington County Coaches Cross Country Meet.
MONONGAHELA – To some, it’s called Killer Hill, the stretch of earth that ascends seemingly into the heavens.
That’s the difference-maker along the 3.1-mile cross country course at Mingo Park.
That’s also where Morgan Grudi finally caught, and passed, Chloe Grzyb of Peters Township on her way to victory in Monday’s Washington County Coaches Cross Country Meet.
Grudi, a sophomore, crossed in 19:36.7 and was the only female to break 20 minutes. Grzyb, a junior, finished in 20:11.5 and Kirsten McMichael of Ringgold, who won the girls title last season, was third in 20:14.9. McMichael is making her way back from injury problems.
Ethan Linderman, a senior at Canon-McMillan, won the boys title with a 16:14.7. Noah Smith of Ringgold was 10 seconds back and took second and Nick Wolk of Peters Township was third in 16:29.
Canon-McMillan won its third consecutive boys title and 10th since 2001 by beating Peters Township by 21 points. Joining Linderman on the winning team were Matthew Mansfield (4th), Michael Strosko (5th), Jonas Wudkwych (7th) and Michael Cappelli (8th).
Trinity won boys Class AA with 50 points. Ringgold was second with 71.
In the girls team results, Peters Township beat out Canon-McMillan by 14 points and Washington nipped McGuffey by five. The top five times counted for the team scores. Teams that competed with fewer than five runners did not accumulate a team score.
The race is a good tune-up for the WPIAL Championships, which will be held at Cooper’s Lake near New Castle, Thursday, Oct. 23. The state event is Saturday, Nov. 1 in Hershey.
Grudi trailed Grzyb early but caught her on the uphill climb. She kept Grzyb at bay over the final portion of the course. McMichael closed the gap on Grzyb but ran out of time.
“I stayed behind her early,” Grudi said. “I passed her on Killer Hill. That’s a tough spot.”
The win was especially satisfying because Grzyb defeated Grudi in last week’s Mingo Classic and also holds on the Mingo Park course.
“I just didn’t have too good of a day,” said Grzyb. “I like this course. Killer Hill is tough to climb.”
Grzyb turned in a 19:45 at the Red, White and Blue Classic at Schenley Park in Pittsburgh last month and Grudi was in at 20:10 for 23rd place, seven behind Grzyb. Grudi won her division at the Maymont (Va.) X-Country Festival in late September with a time of 20:12.
“Chloe is an outstanding runner,” said Grudi, who like Grzyb is a distance runner on the track team.
Grudi failed to qualify for the state championship last year, slowed by an oppressive 81-degree sunny day after a season’s worth of events held in 50-degree temperatures.
“I want to make it to states,” Grudi said. “That’s my goal.”
Linderman was second at the county meet last year but found the secret to winning this year.
“The night before this race, our team got together and ate pasta,” he said. “It was team pasta night. We do it before each meet”
It worked.
Linderman followed the same routine before the Mingo Classic and turned in a 16:06, the third-fastest time in the event’s history.
“I like this course a lot,” said Linderman, a senior who is being recruited by Pitt and Ohio Northern. “It’s similar to my home course (at Wylandville). It’s so well kept and the grass is nice and short.”
Linderman qualified for the state tournament last year with a 16:48 time in the WPIAL finals, good enough for 16th overall. That also helped the Big Macs to a fourth-place finish in the team standings.
“I want to medal at the states and WPIALs and break 16:00,” Linderman said.
Like most of the runners in this event, Linderman put in long workouts – going about 60 miles a week in the summer – before tapering off as the cross country season winds down.
“Noah and I have been friendly rivals since my freshman year,” Linderman said. “He’s a great runner and so is Nick. When you get on the course, you think about winning.”
Emily Stofan of Washington had the best girls Class AA time of 23:10.8, which put her 19th overall. Cody Divecchio led all Class AA boys with a sixth-place finish and a 17:15.2 finish.