Girls Cross Country

Olmsted Falls High School senior Samantha Goodnough was named the 2023 Southwestern Conference Girls Cross Country Most Valuable Runner following the conclusion of the SWC Girls Cross Country season.

Avon High School Head Coach Justin Carroll was selected 2023 SWC Coach of the Year.

The top eight runners at the SWC Championship earned first team honors while the next eight finishers garnered second team recognition. Each school also gets two honorable mention.

2023 SWC MVP
Samantha Goodnough, Olmsted Falls

2023 SWC Coach of the Year
Justin Carroll, Avon

2023 All-SWC First Team
Samantha Goodnough, Olmsted Falls
Kaitlyn Reese, Avon
Ava Melott, Avon
Kylie Bennington, Avon Lake
Katherine Low, Amherst Steele
Rachel Delap, Olmsted Falls
Olivia Pajak, Avon
Alaina Alflen, Amherst Steele

2023 All-SWC Second Team
Aubrey Prada, Olmsted Falls
Carolina Reed, Avon
Bailey Bechtel, Berea-Midpark
Rosalie Kapalin, Amherst Steele
Winter Carrell, Amherst Steele
Anna Argabright, Avon
Nora Darkow, Amherst Steele
Eloise Gravel, Berea-Midpark

2023 All-SWC Honorable Mention
Liana Del Valle, Amherst Steele
Sophia Pecora, Amherst Steele
Sarah Pomfrey, Avon
Anika Singh, Avon
Kelsey Sheehan, Avon Lake
Cassidy Valerino, Avon Lake
Emma Garr, Berea-Midpark
Harper Johnson, Berea-Midpark
Tori Bell, Elyria
Erin Crouse, Elyria
Grace Burdorff, Midview
Reagan Henely, Midview
Alexandrea Cicerachi, North Ridgeville
Veronica Scialabba, North Ridgeville
Kendall McCray, Olmsted Falls
Abby Thompson, Olmsted Falls

The Southwestern Conference released its Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Week for October 9-14 this afternoon. Below is this week’s honoree:

Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Week
Alaina Alflen
Amherst Steele
Freshmen

Alaina finished 8th in the SWC Championships Saturday, helping lead her team to a runner-up finish. Alaina ran over 2 minutes faster – and finished 24 places higher – than she did in last year’s SWC Meet.

ELYRIA, Ohio – Avon High School captured the 2023 Southwestern Conference Girls Cross Country Championship Saturday (October 14) on the campus of Lorain County Community College. It is the Eagles’ third straight league title. [Complete Results]

Olmsted Falls senior Samantha Goodnough captured the SWC individual title with a time of 18:41.13.

For the second straight year, Avon’s sophomore Kaitlyn Reese took runner-up by crossing the line in 18:46.97. Four of her teammates finished in the top 14 to help the Eagles compile a league-best 36 team points. Freshmen Ava Melott (19:54.41) placed third, sophomore Olivia Pajak (20:59.23) was seventh, junior Carolina Reed (21:06.83) finished 10th and senior Anna Argabright (21:20.97) took 14th.

Amherst Steele High School placed second as a team with 53 points, while Olmsted Falls finished third with 67 points and Avon Lake was fourth with 92 points.

Avon Lake senior Kylie Bennington (4th / 20:16.02), Amherst junior Katherin Low (5th / 20:36.30), Olmsted Falls senior Rachel Delap (6th / 20:44.40), Amherst sophomore Alaina Alflen (8th / 20:59.49) and Olmsted Falls sophomore Aubrey Prada (9th / 21:04.92) rounded out the top 10 finishers.

Team Results
1. Avon – 36
2. Amherst Steele – 53
3. Olmsted Falls – 67
4. Avon Lake – 92
5. Berea-Midpark – 118
6. North Ridgeville – 187
7. Elyria – 189
8. Midview– 210

The Southwestern Conference released its Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Week for October 2-7 this afternoon. Below is this week’s honoree:

Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Week
Carolina Reed
Avon
Junior

Carolina finished 24th out of 176 runners at the Milt Place XC Festival, with a 5K time of 19:59.83. As the #5 runner, Carolina helped solidify her team’s first place finish out of 21 teams.

The Southwestern Conference released its Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Week for September 25-30 this afternoon. Below is this week’s honoree:

Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Week
Katherine Low
Amherst Steele
Senior
Katherine ran a lifetime best of 19:31 to place 13th at the Madison Invitational, leading her team to a 3rd place finish out of 33 teams

Anna Argabright (Senior), Avon
Finished sixth out of 65 runners at the Gilmour Academy Paul Primeau Invitational. She posted a 5K time of 20:32.40, helping her team finish runner-up among seven teams.

The Southwestern Conference released its Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Week for September 18-23 this afternoon. Below is this week’s honoree:

Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Week
Ava Melott
Avon
Freshmen
Ava finished 35th among 223 runners (19:36.68) to help her squad finish third out of 28 teams at the Strongsville Fleet Feet Invitational.

Other Notable Performances:

Rosalie Kapalin (Freshmen), Amherst Steele
Ran a season best of 20:25 to finish as the Comet’s #2 runner at the Strongsville Invitational.

The Southwestern Conference released its Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Week for September 4-9 this afternoon. Below is this week’s honoree:

Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Week
Anika Singh
Avon
Junior

Anika finished 9-of-74 runners at the Pat Ritchie Walsh Jesuit Invitational. She finished with a 5K time of 20:04.85, helping her team finish first among 10 teams.

Other Notable Performances:

Katherine Low (Junior), Amherst Steele
Ran 20:00 to finish 32nd at the Wooster Invitational

The Southwestern Conference released its Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Week for August 28 – September 2 this afternoon. Below is this week’s honoree:

Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Week
Maddie Harrington
Avon
Senior

Maddie finished 8th out of 149 runners at the Hilliard Hot Summer Bash, with a 5K time of 19:08.30. She helped her team finish runner-up among 18 teams.

Other Notable Performances:

Alaina Alfen (Sophomore) Amherst
Ran a 47-second lifetime PR (20:34) to finish 17th out of 362 girls at the BGSU Invitational. She helped the Comets place second out of 31 teams.

The Southwestern Conference released its Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Week for August 21-26 this afternoon. Below is this week’s honoree:

Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Week
Samantha Goodnough
Olmsted Falls
Senior
Sam won the individual race and helped her team earn the title at the Keystone Icebreaker Invitational on Monday. She ran a personal record time of 18;40.40 on the 5K course at the Lorain County Equestrian Center.

Other Notable Performances:

Carolina Reed (Junior), Avon
Finished 14th out of 213 runners (20:54.20) at the Riverside Kickoff Classic NIGHT Invitational, to help lead her team to a first place finish out of 24 teams. It was the seconds straight year Avon won the event.

The Southwestern Conference released its Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Week for August 1-19 this afternoon. Below is this week’s honoree:

Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Week
Kaitlyn Reese
Avon
Sophomore
Kaitlyn finished sixth out of 348 runners in the Division 1 race at the OHSAA Early Season Invitational. She led her team to a third place finish out of 38 teams with a 5K time of 18:38.93. .

Other Notable Performances

Nora Darkow (Junior), Amherst
Nora took 67th in OHSAA Early Season Invitational. She finished over 30 places and 50 seconds better than she ran in the preview a year ago.