BOARDMAN — Kirtland was right on the border of team advancement at the Division III Boardman Regional on Oct. 26 and needed every point. They knew Izzy Copeland would be at the state meet with her 16th place finish and a 19:50.10. But even she had to see with team scores. “I knew that every place counted,” Copeland said. “I wanted to stick to the 15th to 20th area. I didn’t push too hard and worked with the girls ahead of me to keep my place through the meet.” While Copeland was safe, Kirtland was right there for the fifth and final team advancement. Three runners were in the top 40 for the Hornets. But Maplewood and St. John were also right there. The difference maker was going to be a midpack runner. That’s where Kylie Sayle came in, the Hornets’ fifth runner. The freshman was 63rd and beat St. John’s Olivia Knight and Maplewood’s Torri Shipman, both teams’ fifth runners. Kirtland took fifth with 148 points to Maplewood’s 150 and St. John’s 154 The advancement marked the team’s first since 1986. “I told them, I don’t think it’s hit me yet,” Coach JP Moran said. “It’s been our dream, we’ve been to regionals five years in a row, just short of team bids. We told ourselves the hammers have to hammer and wolves gotta eat. It’s the most amazing group of kids.” Sayle added: “I knew that every person counted and we only got through by two points. I knew I had to get whatever I could and put it all out there.” Chagrin Falls freshman Gabby Byrne continued her hot streak, finishing third in the Division II race. After back-to-back wins, she was among a front breakaway pack of seven through the first mile. While Hathaway Brown’s Anna Prusak and Marlington’s Irelyn Johnson broke away, Byrne kept tabs on them all meet. She knew two runners from Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary were pacesetters. But she needed to focus on her tempo rather than going off with the leaders. Instead, she learned from them as the meet went. “It was really good to know since I ran against those girls before,” Byrne said. “I knew that I could push it in the next miles. So I needed to stay with them. I knew they were strong runners and I needed to stay with them. It was all about getting the best time today.” Byrne led a quintet of qualifiers with Kenston’s Brianna McIvor (12th), Perry’s Holly Vis (14th), Hawken’s Brielle Collins (16th) and Beachwood’s Sasha Kheyfets (17th). Kheyfets was a D-III All-Ohioan a season ago. This year, Bison junior had a wrinkle thrown into her season when Beachwood jumped to D-II. She said she needed to attack the course differently and was ready for the challenge. “It was really scary at first,” Kheyfets said. “But then I remember the boys are D-II and I train with them so I knew I could run with them. It was stressful because I heard a lot of different positions yelled at me all race. I was 19th, 24th and 30th all at once. But I had two girls I made friends with and I knew if I stuck with them I would be safer.” Chardon junior Briella Hewitt came through the first mile of the Division I race in the high 20s but knew she needed more. On the second loop, she dug deep and entered the woods 12th and had a cushion for advancement. Rather than not have a kick, the Hilltopper runner continued to push and maintained her place with a 13th-place finish with a 19:28.03. Coming down the final stretch to the line, Hewitt couldn’t focus on place, time or all the cheering. She just knew get to the line and claim her ticket to Obetz. “I just knew I had to stay with the pack,” Hewitt said. “The past couple of weeks I feel like I’ve been running on my own. So I needed to keep my eyes forward and that really helped. I knew that I would be close at the end so I had to hold on. I had a lot of adrenaline at the end and had to hold onto that.” Riverside’s Megan Sullivan had to kick early and was in an advancement spot before the downhill to the finish. She wraps up her career with the Beavers with a 30th (19:48.38) in the meet.