Salem’s (from left) Cooper Barth, CJ Siembida, Jackson Dowd, Colton Hall, Sam Yakubek and Luke Stephens compete in the Columbiana County Cross Country Meet on Tuesday at Columbiana High School. (Photo by Ron Firth)

COLUMBIANA — Salem is the head of the class at the Columbiana County Cross Country Meet.

The Quakers swept the county meet for the 11th straight year Tuesday.

“We know we’re good,” Salem junior Luke Stephens said. “The other runners in the county are good, too.”

The Salem boys had five of the top eight finishers at the Ward Athletic Complex for 23 points. Beaver Local was second with 57.

The Salem girls won for the 12th year in a row and the 22nd time in the last 24 years. The Quakers had five of the top seven finishers and also scored 23 points. Columbiana was second with 61.

“They came in and wanted to do well with big goals,” Salem coach Ted Yuhaniak said. “They did and are celebrating. Momentary gratification for today, but bigger goals down the road.”

“Everyone has good competition,” Salem senior Laura Hovorka said. “We haven’t seen a lot of the teams in a while, so you don’t know what they bring to the table.”

Everyone knows what Salem brings.

“We just wanted to run Salem’s race and keep the gaps down,” Yuhaniak said.

The Salem girls are reloading after graduating stalwarts Maggie Hall and Maggie Hopple, who led the Quakers to four state cross country appearances.

They had a balanced effort with freshman Addison Hopple in second, Hovorka third, junior Cassidy Wallace fifth, freshman Chaya Murray sixth and junior Emily Sinsley seventh.

Horvoka and fellow senior Paige Menough are making this their team.

“They love the challenge,” Yuhaniak said. “They have to prove they could do it without those seniors.”

“We’re all strong,” Hovorka said. “Our top five is very strong. We’ve stepped into their shoes. We’ve been working hard and coach thinks we’re on our way to state.”

Salem also showed its strength in the boys race — with Stephens in second, junior Sam Yakubek third, sophomore Alex Rea fourth, sophomore Colton Hall sixth and senior Cooper Barth eighth.

Another county title is just the start for the Quakers.

“Our team is in a great spot. I couldn’t be part of a better program. We’ve been so close the last two years, missing state by five and six points.

“If we can put it all together, we can do something special. I think we have five guys who can run under 17 (minutes). We have a shot.”

Meet notes

¯ Salem plans on taking the junior varsity to the Youngstown State meet Saturday across from the Canfield Fairgrounds.

Then the Quakers will compete in the Legends Meet at the Trumbull County Fairgrounds on Oct. 4 and the loaded Eastern Buckeye Conference Meet at Marlington on Oct. 11.

¯ “The EBC is always loaded with Minerva (the girls state champion three of the last four years),” Yuhaniak said. “I think the girls can win state again and their boys can be up there.”

The Salem boys see this as an opportunity.

“We see their times,” Stephens said. “We look up to them. This year we can go with them. They train hard. We train hard. They have put it together the last couple of years. This year we are putting it together.”