Norwalk's Konik, Leavitt finish 1-2 at SBC meet

TIFFIN — Norwalk's Saige Konik and Olive Leavitt went 1-2 among 45 runners at the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division cross country championship meet on Saturday. The sophomore and freshman helped the Truckers finish just three points out of first place with 53 total, just behind host Columbian (50) at Hedges-Boyer Park. Konik crossed the finish line in 19:26.87, while Leavitt finished in 19:45. Also for Norwalk, Grace Norris finished 10th in 21:25.79, and Raelyn Konik was 15th in 22:55.32. Rounding out the scoring for the Truckers included Allison Konik (23:59.74) in 26th; Maddison Trenor (24:48.28) in 33rd; and Anna Whaley (24:51.34) in 34th. In the boys race, Columbian also won with 32 points ahead of Perkins (49) and Norwalk (51). Nolan Jones (17:33) was fifth overall and Casey Kromer (17:53) was seventh for the Truckers. Clay Heyman (18:03) was 12th, followed by Jason Cruz Segovia (18:08) in 13th; Alex Christophel (18:20) in 14th; and Tristan Biddinger (18:20) in 15th. Caiden Schmidt (19:09.07) rounded out the Norwalk scoring in 23rd. In the Bay Division, Edison won the team title in the boys race on a tiebreaker over rival Huron. Kellen McDonnell (17:05) was fourth, Mason Leber (17:16) was fifth, and Logan Facemire (18:09) was ninth to give the Chargers three runners in the top 10. Caleb Jeremay (18:22) was 11th, followed by Liam Chase (18:24) in 12h and Colin Butler (18:32) in 14th for Edison. Noah Schoenherr (18:46) was 16th to round out the team scoring for the Chargers. For Willard, DreamMills (18:12) was 10th overall. Lucas Winans (19:58.55) was 21st and Riley Branham (20:23.43) was 25th. In the SBC Bay girls race, Edison (67) was a distant second behind powerhouse Huron (15). Claire Michaelis (21:04) was ninth, followed by Lily Risner (21:30) in 11th, and Aili Corfman (21:58) in 13th for the Chargers. Also for Edison, Ava Gardner (22:32.74) was 19th. Willard was four points behind the Chargers in third with 71 points. Keilly Hernandez Rojas was eighth in 21:03, while Kaylee Tenore (22:01) was 14th and Helen Acosta (22:06) was 15th. Genesis Arce (23:09) was 21st for the Flashes, followed by Salaeyah Odom (23:17) in 23rd, Audrey Yonley (23:49) in 26th, and Ava Deel (24:01) in 29th. New this season is a fourth division in the OHSAA state cross country tournament. Norwalk will compete in Division II at 11:40 a.m. and 12:20 p.m. on Saturday (Oct. 18) at Owens Community College in Findlay. Edison and Willard will compete at 11:30 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. in Div. III at Galoin's Amann Reservoir Park.