Junior Nate Kawalec led the Hilltoppers to a 3rd place finish among 22 teams by finishing 3rd overall himself with a new 5k PR of 16:19.8  This is the 3rd fastest season opening time by any Hilltopper, behind only Emil Heineking's 16:11 in 2005 and Nick Elswick's 15:55 in 2013.  The two runners who finished ahead Nate are the 10th and 11th fastest returning runners from the Division I State Championship last fall.

Freshman Tucker Keeney had a breakout race.  His 5k time of 17:33.9 is the 2nd fastest season opening time for a Hilltopper freshman, behind only Emil Heineking's 17:27 in 2003!

Top 10 Teams:

The top 5 scorers for the Hilltoppers were Nate Kawalec (Jr), Tucker Keeney (Fr), Brian Horton (So), Ryan Connolly (Sr), and Henry Martin (Sr).

The team's next meet is at Mentor's Garfield Park on Saturday (9/3) morning.  Varsity runs at 9:35 am and JV runs at 10:50 am.

** A special thank-you goes from the team to the Chardon Athletic Boosters for our new jerseys!