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Cunningham caps stellar career

HEBRON — The tears were flowing before her final cross country race, but East Palestine senior Alexis Cunningham’s performance was nothing to cry about.

“I knew I was going to do really well or really bad because I was crying before the race,” she said.

Cunningham did really well as she placed 18th in the Division III girls race at the state cross country meet Saturday, the highest finish by an East Palestine cross country runner.

“She was getting emotional before the race because she was realizing this was her last race,” said East Palestine coach Andy Cunningham, Alexis’ father. “I know she had a rough sleep last night.”

Alexis Cunningham got off to a fast start and was in eighth place after the first mile.

“I told her I didn’t care if you run a 5:10 first mile, I just want you to go out and there and have some fun,” Andy Cunningham said.

The real fun came at the finish as she had a personal best by 13 seconds. She completed the 3.1-mile course at National Trail Raceway in 19 minutes, 19.4 seconds.

“I started out faster than I did last year and it paid off,” Alexis Cunningham said. “Here there is a whole different strategy.”

“She just kept her stride,” Andy Cunningham said. “I knew she could. She hasn’t dug deep the last two years because she’s always been on top. We urged her to dig deeper.”

Alexis Cunningham bested her time of 20:36 at state last year and her personal best of 19:32.

“She smoked that,” Andy Cunningham said. “The year of experience really helped her.”

“It’s definitely worth it,” Alexis Cunningham said. “It will be something I’ll never forget.”

Alexis Cunningham earned a place on the podium. The top 20 now stand on the podium after the field was expanded last season.

“It felt pretty good,” she said. “My goal was top 20, but I didn’t really know until this week the top 20 got on the podium.”

No one was prouder of Alexis Cunningham than her parents, who coach East Palestine’s cross country program.

“To have a senior daughter do this kind of running, it’s awesome,” Andy Cunningham said. “As a dad, you wonder if she’s great (in your mind) because she’s your daughter. It’s fantastic whenever she legitimizes herself in these events.

“It’s not only this, but what she does for others. The entire varsity team made the trip down here with their families to support her. So there was a sense of team.”

In the running

In the Division II boys race, Minerva junior Joey Stafford was 108th (17:25.5) and South Range senior Ian Pierson was 112th (17:31.0).

“It was pretty rough,” Pierson said. “I went out real fast, but didn’t expect it to be this fast. It’s so hard to pass people. Everyone was fast.”

Pierson couldn’t duplicate last week’s run when he finished eighth at the Boardman regional, but the trip was worth it.

“It was a good experience and a lot of fun,” Pierson said. “It didn’t end the way I expected.”

Running in the state meet was like no others for him.

“I took it all in,” Pierson said. “Not a lot of people get this chance.”

Meet notes

¯ Alexis Cunningham will take a short break before starting to train for track season.

“I’ll take three to four days off and then I get back at it,” she said. “My dad said I look that much better doing track. It comes naturally. But I like cross way much better.”

Why? “Because I don’t have to start fast,” she said.

¯ She was the fourth senior in the Division III girls race Saturday.

¯ With Alexis Cunningham’s success, the East Palestine cross country program has been on the rise. Two weeks ago the East Palestine girls captured the school’s first district cross country title.

“When my parents took over four years ago, we had only 18 runners total (high school and junior high),” she said. “It’s easier now.

“My sister and all her friends come out. That’s all they talk about at lunch.”

¯ The East Canton and McDonald boys made up a lot of places on the way to a one-two finish in the Division III race with 119 points and 141 points, respectively.

After the first mile, East Canton was in sixth place and McDonald in eighth place.

They also took the top two spots at the Boardman regional last week.

¯ It has been a banner year for the East Canton boys. They won their first state title since 1998 Saturday after winning their first state track team title in June.

¯ The McDonald boys have won six state cross country titles and have been runners-up eight times.

¯ There were 546 boys and 535 girls running at the state meet Saturday.

¯ Always busy at the state meet is the stand selling event apparel. T-shirts were going for $23 and hoodies $47.

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