Perkins' Duffield earns All-Ohio honors; SMCC's Pudloski finishes career strong

HEBRON — For a mile, Perkins' Joel Duffield was right up front.Sitting second at 4:51.0, only Buckeye Valley's Zach Kreft was in front of him at the start of Saturday's Division II state cross country championships.But in a race full of talented college-level runners, Duffield had a tough time holding off those just behind him. He was sixth after two miles, before finishing 11th overall at 16:10.4.However, Duffield's effort was still good enough to earn the Pirate senior All-Ohio honors.The top 16 individuals all made it on the state podium as first-team All-Ohio honors. Places 16-25 made up the second team."Going in, I was ranked seventh and I was feeling pretty confident," Duffield said. "Last week at regionals, I beat the No. 5-ranked guy in the state, so I felt I could place high."I didn't expect to be that high up in the field after a mile, but then we came to the the two-mile mark and I was starting to feel it. Then the third mile was pretty tough," he added. "But with the way things went last year, not making it out of regionals after being seeded 11th in the region, I was pretty happy with my performance and with my teammate, Parker Brown's performance."Duffield, who will run next year at Eastern Michigan University, was making his second state appearance and first since 2015 when he ran 75th, nearly a minute slower than his time Saturday."That sophomore year was really fun. That's probably still one of the big highlights of my career even though I didn't place high," Duffield said. "But having the failure of last year, a year I was really confident and running well towards the end, until failing at the regional meet, that really pushed me to work hard this year."Perkins junior Parker Brown, making his third state appearance, finished 25th to earn second-team All-Ohio honors. His run of 16:32.3 earned him 25th in the race won by Kreft in 15:20.6.Lexington slipped past Sheridan 97-101 for the overall team championship.Brown was 80th as a freshman and 75th as a sophomore, gaining 50 spots from the year before.It was Brown's quickest time of the season, beating out the 16:32.53 he had in a seventh-place run at districts."Running there last year by myself, going with just (Oklahoma State University runner) Owen (Krewson) was so much different, than when we made it as a team two years ago," Brown said. "The only real letdown I had this year was time-wise. I know today wasn't a PR, but I'll take not getting my PR this year, so I can earn my first cross country All-Ohio honor."I ran a really odd race compared to what I usually do. Usually, I go out quite faster than most do, but I sat back today," he added. "I came through the first mile in 43rd or so, then the two-mile at 31st. I just didn't let myself get sucked up with the pace, which is what my good friend Nick Corso used to do when he ran for us."Running at state for the second time in as many years, Edison sophomore Daniel Lambert moved up 37 spots from where he was a year ago, finishing 41st with a time of 16:50.30."I talked to Dan afterwards and told him, 'I knew you had big goals and didn't really do what you guys wanted to do this year, but they had to keep their heads up.' Edison has a great team," Brown said. "That feeling sucks when you have huge individual goals and team goals and you come up short."Lambert had just three sub-17-minute 5Ks as a freshman, but finished with eight in nine events during the 2017 campaign.Edison girls place 15thAbby Lesniak continues to shatter her own personal marks.Three weeks after breaking her personal record by more than a minute in a first-place effort at the Sandusky Bay Conference Bay division championship race, and two weeks after nearly taking another minute off in district championship effort, she ran a new PR of 19:16.20 on Saturday in the Div. II state race.Her effort earned her a 27th-place finish in the race won by Chagrin Falls' Annie Zimmer (18:13.5).Edison scored 346 team points to place 15th overall. Lexington won with 137 points.Also for the Chargers, Ashley Sneider was 97th (20:26.6), Isabel Chasney was 138th (21:09.7), Grace Kromer was 155th (21:40.6), Catie Houser was 166th (22:27.1) and Aliyah Caporini was 176th (23:35.2).SMCC's Pudloski finishes in top 40 in state debutIt might not have been the race of her life, but the experience of running in Saturday's Div. III girls state cross country championships definitely ranks at the top for St. Mary Central Catholic senior Lexie Pudloski."I can't describe it. It was literally the coolest experience ever," said Pudloski, who was making her state debut. "I'm use to having a few people cheering us on at the start, but not as loud to the level this was. I literally couldn't hear myself think from the second I started to the second I finished. It was like I was in a giant arena. There was just roar in the background the whole time."Pudloski ran a time of 20:00.6 — the third-quickest time of her Panther career — to place 39th overall. It was her second-fastest race of the season to her 19:59.96 time at the district meet.Minster's Emma Watcke was the individual champion in 18:38.4, as her team won the state title (34 points) by a record margin."I'm really happy with that finish," Pudloski said. "It wasn't All-Ohio, but I stayed pretty consistent with my time, despite falling before my first mile. Then I made sure to take in the finish because I knew it was going to my last time in a Panthers' uniform, which was bittersweet."Pudloski dropped back to 50th-place at the first mile, running a split time of 6:05.2, before climbing to 32nd by the second mile at 12:41.8."The first mile was rough, lots of pushing and shoving," Pudloski said. "Once everyone settled in and the race started breaking apart by the mile, it was a lot easier to find my pace and get comfortable."Huron's Grace Moser was 54th at the second mile, and worked her way up two spots before the finish, placing 52nd (20:15.3) in her second consecutive state appearance.Panther boys place 20thLed by Carlos Torres' run of 17:18.0, the SMCC boys placed 20th in the Div. III boys race.Torres was 83rd of 183 total runners."Carlos did well, Brett Reed stepped it up," SMCC coach Ron Leech said. "We knew we weren't going to win the meet. Just making it there was a big deal. But the guys were happy with the results they had.Michael Bourne was the Panthers' No. 2 runner, finishing 103rd (17:34.7), followed by Brett Reed in 140th (18:17.0), George Kaftan in 143rd (18:19.5), Luke Dudenhoefer in 159th (18:46.5), Dan Gyurke in 165th (18:52.8) and Christian Maple in 173rd (19:12.8).[gallery]Perkins' Joel Duffield competes in Saturday's Division II state championship race at National Trail Raceway in Hebron. Duffield finished 10th of 180. Edison's Ashley Sneider competes in Saturday's Division II state championship race at National Trail Raceway in Hebron. She finished 97th out of 179. SMCC's Lexi Pudloski takes on the last stretch of Saturday's Division III state championship in Hebron. Pudloski finished 39th out of 183. Edison's Daniel Lambert races alongside a competitor during the Division II state championship at National Trail Raceway in Hebron on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017. SMCC's Carlos Torres pushes through discomfort toward the Division III state championship finish line at the National Trail Raceway on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017. Torres came in 83rd of 183. Huron's Grace Moser leads a pack into the last stretch during Saturday's Division III state championship race at the National Trail Raceway in Hebron. Moser finished 52nd out of 183 runners. Edison's Carlie Shover runs the course at the National Trail Raceway in Hebron for the Division III state championship race on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017. Shover finished 91st out of 179 runners. SMCC's Michael Bourne passes others as he sprints toward the finish line at Saturday's Division III state championship race in Hebron. Edison's Abby Lesniak takes on the section of the course at the National Trail Raceway in Hebron on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017 during the Division II state championship race. Lesniak finished 27th out of 179.