Boardman High School Cross Country will be well represented at this weekend's OHSAA State Cross Country Championships, with the Lady Spartan girls team qualifying for the second consecutive year and senior Dylan White earning his third straight individual state appearance.
The Lady Spartans secured their place at the state meet with an eighth-place finish at last week's OHSAA Northeast Regional Championship, hosted at Boardman High School. The qualification marks the third full-team state appearance in program history and, for the first time, the girls have advanced to the state meet in back-to-back seasons.
Representing Boardman at the state championship will be seniors Olivia Brady, Moriah Doyle and Jordyn LaCivita; juniors Haley Bero and Mia Duble; sophomore Kealia Bravo; and freshmen Abby Marks and Rylie Pavone. Brady led the team at regionals, earning First Team All-Region honors with a seventh-place individual finish.
Senior Dylan White will also represent Boardman at the state championship, marking his third consecutive trip to the OHSAA State Cross Country Meet. White qualified with an 18th-place finish at the Northeast Regional Championship.
White has enjoyed an outstanding senior season, earning American Athletic Conference (AAC) Athlete of the Year honors and capturing the Mahoning County individual championship. He also finished as runner-up at the 41st Annual Spartan Invitational. White has helped lead the Spartans to four consecutive Mahoning County and AAC team championship titles.
With a career-best time of 15:25, recorded earlier this season at Olentangy Berlin High School, White currently ranks second all-time in Boardman boys cross country history. He will look to earn All-Ohio honors this weekend, which requires a top-48 overall finish. Achieving that distinction would make him the 16th All-Ohioan in Boardman High School cross country history.
The OHSAA State Cross Country Championships will take place Saturday at Fortress Obetz in Columbus. The Lady Spartans are scheduled to compete at 11:50 a.m., while White will compete in the boys race.
Congratulations to our Lady Spartan Cross Country Team, Dylan White and their coaches on an outstanding season. Best of luck as they represent Boardman at the state level. We are Spartan Proud!