The district cross-country meet took place at Madison High School in Madison, Ohio. The course was described as flat and fast, featuring some turns and hills. The weather on the day of the race was sunny and cool, with a temperature of 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Nordonia Knights boys’ cross country team participated in the OHSAA Division 1 District—Madison 2023 on Saturday, October 21, 2023. They secured the 13th position out of 22 teams in the 5K race, with a team average time of 17 minutes and 52 seconds. The Knights accumulated 349 points in the competition.
The top five runners for the Knights were Andy Cundra (clocking 17 minutes and 24.53 seconds), Aiden Flynn (17 minutes and 43.64 seconds), Ethan Mellott (17 minutes and 58.40 seconds), Logan Purcell (17 minutes and 58.95 seconds), and Justin Roberts (18 minutes and 15.15 seconds).
Despite their efforts, the Knights did not qualify for the regional meet, which required either a top-six team finish or a top-24 individual finish. The closest Knight to qualify individually was Andy Cundra, who secured 48th place overall. He trailed the 24th-place runner, Nathan James from Warren G. Harding, by only 39 seconds. James recorded a time of 16 minutes and 45.10 seconds.
The Knights faced fierce competition from some of the state’s top teams and runners. The team champion was Mentor, scoring 57 points and maintaining an average time of 16 minutes and 16 seconds. The individual champion was Billy Dennison from Mentor, who completed the race in a remarkable time of 15 minutes and 33.21 seconds. Peter Spellacy from St. Ignatius secured the second position with a time of 15 minutes and 38.95 seconds. The top three teams that qualified for the regional meet were Mentor, Chardon, and St. Ignatius.
The Knights demonstrated improvement by reducing their team average time by 19 seconds compared to their previous meet, the Suburban League Championship, where they finished eighth out of eight teams.
The Knights had a relatively young team during this season, with just four seniors among their top seven runners. These seniors, including Andy Cundra, Kaleb Rayle, Justin Roberts, and Logan Purcell, are part of the class of 2024. The rest of the team consisted of juniors and sophomores who aimed to build on their experience and enhance their performance in the coming year.
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