Region 2 Regional Recap

The Region 2 cross-country meet saw fierce battles for individual and team honors, with standout performances from Anthony Clark and Ava Beeks, who claimed their respective individual titles. Anthony Wayne took the boys' team crown, while Perrysburg’s girls dominated, setting the stage for an exciting state championship next weekend.

Boys:

Individual Champion: Anthony Clark (Perrysburg)

Team Champions: Anthony Wayne Generals

Team Qualifiers: Anthony Wayne and Toledo St. Francis

The race for both the individual and team titles was fiercely competitive in the boys’ division. Perrysburg’s Anthony Clark claimed the individual championship, finishing in 15:34 and edging out Anthony Wayne’s Jacob Proctor. On the team side, Anthony Wayne narrowly defeated Toledo St. Francis by just 8 points to secure the team title.

This region only advances two teams to the state competition each year, with Anthony Wayne and Toledo St. Francis consistently taking those slots. Anthony Wayne's score of 48 points, compared to Toledo St. Francis’s 56, was primarily due to their top-heavy scoring, placing three runners within the top 7, while Toledo St. Francis had none. However, St. Francis countered with a tightly packed top 5, finishing 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, and 14th, separated by just 13 seconds—an advantage that could serve them well at states. Perrysburg and Bowling Green were also in contention, each scoring 65 points, but neither team matched the front-end strength of Anthony Wayne or the tight pack of Toledo St. Francis.

In the individual competition, Clark’s stamina helped him edge out Proctor at the line. With only two team qualifiers, just eight individual slots were available. Two of these went to runners advancing with their teams, with Benjamin Gasiorski also qualifying from Anthony Wayne. The other qualifiers included Findlay’s Adrian Stetchschulte, Sylvania Northview’s Mamdouh Abukaram, Bowling Green’s Landon Fry and Erek Kendrick, and Waite’s Elias Valdez.

Girls:

Individual Champion: Ava Beeks (Perrysburg)

Team Champions: Perrysburg Yellow Jackets

Team Qualifiers: Perrysburg, Bowling Green

Unlike the boys' race, the girls’ competition saw Perrysburg dominate both the individual and team battles. Ava Beeks claimed the individual title with a commanding lead of over a minute ahead of the second-place finisher, and her team easily secured the team title.

Similar to the boys’ region, only two girls' teams advance to states. Perrysburg secured one of those spots with a low score of 20 points, nearly sweeping the competition. They stand as the region's top contender for the state meet. The second team qualifier was Bowling Green, who scored 70 points, led by freshman standout Lilly Downey, who finished 4th overall. Bowling Green’s top five performance helped them outpace strong teams like Columbian and Toledo St. Ursula Academy.

Ava Beeks led the pack with her teammates Lexi Schultz, Kaelyn Becken, and Brayleigh Becken, all finishing in the top 8 and collectively securing half of the individual qualifying spots. With Bowling Green’s Downey in 4th, the remaining three individual qualifiers went to Whitmer’s Lily Good, Springfield’s Autumn Sowinski, and Columbian’s Grace Blonde.

As these teams and individuals head to states, Anthony Wayne and Perrysburg carry the momentum from their regional wins. With closely matched competitors and packed qualifiers, the state meet promises to deliver thrilling races and intense rivalries.