The Gilmour Academy girls cross country team opened its 2021 season this past weekend as they made their program debut in the Frank Gibas Invitational on a warm, muggy morning at Kenston High School.
The Lancers placed third in the 11-team field with a total of 96 points. After placing fifth in the Division III state championship last season, Gilmour's first showing of the new season demonstrated it could be primed for another top finish come November.
The field at the Gibas meet was a strong one, especially for an opening meet, as seven of the 11 teams competing were listed in Cleveland.com's preseason listing of the area's top-20 teams. Four of the squads were among the top 10, and Gilmour ended up placing ahead of three of those four schools. Additionally, the Lancers were the only Division III school competing in the meet.
In her first-ever cross country race, Clare Valenza '23 finished in fourth place overall, stopping the clock in 19:39.0. For her strong performance, Valenza was subsequently named as a News Herald Athlete of the Week.
Amy Weybrecht '24, fresh off winning the 800-meter state title during track and field season, was close behind Valenza and took sixth place overall (19:48.7).
Mary Lombardo '22 posted a top-20 showing (20:43.5) while Mia Polisena '22 finished among the top 30 (21:14.3). Kaitlin Rulison '23 rounded out the scoring contingent for GA by finishing in 21:39.8.
While she did not factor into the team's original score total, Gia Rosko '24 proved to play an important role as the Lancers' sixth runner (22:12.1). With Gilmour and Revere High School tied in the team score, Rosko finished ahead of Revere's sixth-fastest runner, allowing Gilmour to win the tiebreaker and claim sole possession of third place.
Anna Grossner '24 (22:18.6), Ava Moe '22 (22:56.5) and Kaleigh McNamara '22 (24:25.4) also competed in the event for Gilmour.
The Gibas event was the first of seven regular-season meets for the Gilmour varsity squad. The Lancers will next be in action at Avon Lake High School's Early Bird Invitational, held at Lorain County Community College.
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