Photo by Kerry Patrick Marietta’s Ava Gebczyk completes the first mile of the girls race at the Warren Scenic Hills Invitational Saturday in Vincent. Gebczyk won the race in a time of 21:13.

VINCENT — Of all the terrain runners faced during Saturday’s Warren Scenic Hills Invitational cross country race, Marietta’s Ava Gebczyk used the cumbersome track surface inside the high school football stadium to her advantage.

The junior covered the 5K course in a time of 21:13 and finished 17 seconds ahead of runner-up Katie Rutherford from Parkersburg High School.

“Running around the track was great,” Gebczyk said. “I really like racing on the track because it reminds of track season. And it’s fast-paced.”

In her first varsity experience on the Scenic Hills course and Marietta’s second meet this season, Gebczyk establish an early lead by the one-mile mark, slipped behind the lead runner until she approached the stadium and the final lap on the track.

“The course was kind of hilly, but flat and open,” Gebczyk said. “When I fell behind I kind of slowed down but toward the end I picked it up again. I actually did look back a few seconds during the middle of the race because I needed to know who was behind me. It made me go faster.

“It’s not my best time. I want to get under 20 minutes. It’s hard for me to do, but I definitely want to keep it under 21. Going forward, I need to keep my pace going throughout the whole race because sometimes I slow down on my second mile.”

The girls field featured 30 runners and three full varsity teams. By placing four girls in the top 10, the Big Reds won the team title with 26 points.

Warren, led by Hollyn Reed’s fifth-place showing (22:13), finished second with 40 points.

Joining Rutherford in that elite individual group of placewinners were teammates Aubrey Lantz in fourth place (22:02), Ellie Hines in sixth (22:37) and Alyssa Barker in seventh (23:05).

After the first mile, Rutherford maintained third place with two teammates close behind.

“I was thinking we are almost done — you are in pain , it doesn’t hurt that bad to quit so just keep working through it,” said Rutherford, who is part of a youth movement for the PHS girls where Saturday’s seven varsity runners consisted of two juniors, two sophomores and three freshmen. “I actually felt pretty good out there today. Calves started to cramp a little bit around the last half mile, but I just ran through it.

“This course is a little flatter than we are used to, but that hill around the first mile was kind of short and steep. Staying in that pack with my teammates was kind of in the plan. By doing that, we figured we could do this together because we are strong.”

Some scary moments occurred in the quest for the top male runner in the second race of the day. With 100 meters remaining, Marietta’s Ezra Minard owned a slim lead over Eastern’s Connor Nolan. As the two individuals approached the finish line, Minard gave a quick glance over his shoulder, stumbled and fell to the ground. Nolan won the race in a time of 16:24, while Minard was able to pull himself up long enough to get himself across the finish line for a second-place medal (16:32), Minard, however, fell to the ground again and was treated by medical staff for exhaustion for a lengthy period of time.

Of the 44 runners in the field, Minard’s teammate Kasy Science followed in fourth place (16:56) and thanks to another pair of top 10 finishes by Ben Bauserman (eighth, 18:32) and Isaac Lough (10th, 18:38) the Tigers captured the team title with 44 points.

Science gave the fans in the stands quite a show as he finished the final 200 meters in a dead sprint.

“I’m pretty good at finishing out on the track,” Science said. “Our first mile was pretty fast then I was cruising the rest of the way and saving it for the track. This course, I just ran it. I wasn’t used to the course because I never ran it.

“My best race this year was on our home course. It has a couple of good hills then the rest is just flat, so I’m more of a flat runner. As for the rest of the season, I need to work more on hills, definitely.”

Jack Mills, the lone junior and the elder statesman on the PHS boys roster, paced the team with a fifth-place finish (18:18), while Ricardo Salazar crossed the line as the seventh fastest runner (18:26). The Big Reds gave the Tigers all they handle after scoring 55 points for second place in the team standings.

“I’m happy with this finish because it’s the best I’ve had in my career,” Mills said. “I liked this course, but it was definitely new to me. I tried making a push for the lead group. I tried catching them, but I guess it was in vain.

“I need to build on sustaining that pace and keeping myself in the race. I definitely feel like I settle into the race too much and whether to stay with that lead pack or not.”

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com

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