Both the Cleveland men’s and women’s varsity cross country teams ended the season on an successful note by winning their district races and competing in the state race.

State was a completely different experience for both teams. “There were more people than I have ever seen at that race. It was the hardest course we ran this year; there were two big hills that killed us,” said Zoe Ballering.

At state the women’s team was led by sophomore Corey Ventres-Pake finishing the race 40th with a time of 21 minutes and 14 seconds. She was followed closely by senior Elena Sipe and Ballering, a junior. The team finished 10th overall at the 5A level.

Leading the men’s team at the state race was junior Keegan Heron finishing the race 24th with a time of 17 minutes and seven seconds. He was followed by teammates Brandon Kohler and Casey Wall. The men finished in ninth place overall at the 5A level.



Individually Ventres-Pake won the women’s district meet with a time of 21 minutes and 11 seconds.

One low point for the women’s team was never having a full team. For state they only had five runners as opposed to the seven runners allowed to run.

For next season each team wants to recruit more runners for their teams. “It is an amazing time, an amazing sport. I recommend it,” said Ballering, the captain.

The men’s team would like their top four runners to advance to state individually. The women’s team would like to again go to state, recruit more runners and keep improving every time they run.

“One of my favorite races this season was our race at Seaside. It was a weekend of bonding and dance parties. It was a great time for our team,” said Heron. In much of the team’s opinion, this season was the best ever. “The team bonded more than ever,” Heron said.

For next year both teams hope to have a larger turnout for what will be an even more successful season than this one.