Central boys nip Discovery in exciting City Championship meet

  The hilly terrain of Cass Benton Park proved to be no match for the 145 runners who participated in Tuesday's Plymouth-Canton Community School's Middle School Cross Country Championship.

  Central defended its title by running away from the competition, compiling just 27 points to runner-up East's 60. Discovery placed third with 79, Pioneer was fourth with 96 and West placed fifth with 111.

  Ammar Chishti won the event in 11:53.81, finishing four seconds ahead of Central's Noah Engerer. The top five spots were filled out by Central's Paul Vander (12:00.03), East's Johnny Dalton (12:00.60) and Pioneer's James Gibbs (12:05.39).

  The course was 3,200 meters in length. Each school's top seven runners counted in the scoring.

  (NOTE: Results are listed below photos.)

Pioneer's James Gibbs and Central's Paul Vander ascend the final hill. (Ed Wright photo)

Pictured (from left) are Discovery's Kyle Arnold (492), West's Andrew Shattuck (743), Central's Brad Visel (466) and Discovery's Nate Yackle (528).

Runners climb the 2,000-meter course's final hill. (Ed Wright photo)

Runners hit the one-mile mark in stride. (Ed Wright photo)

Pioneer's Adam Marcero closed strong as he ascended the final hill. (Ed Wright photo)

FINAL STANDINGS: 1. Central, 40; 2. Discovery, 43; 3. Pioneer, 62; 4. West, 75; 5. East, 129.

TOP 50 FINISHERS
1. Ammar Chishti (D), 11:53.81
2. Noah Engerer (C), 11:57.32
3. Paul Vander (C), 12:00.03
4. Johnny Dalton (E), 12:00.60
5. James Gibbs (P), 12:05.39
6. Cone Lewis-Cambell (C), 12:13.17
7. Billy Toth (C), 12:17.65
8. Peter Sonnega (E), 12:22.84
9. Gregory Shaver (C), 12:31.48
10. Chaz Jeffress (P), 12:33.37
11. Calvin McCracken (E), 12:38.59
12. Sam DeLoy (W), 12:41.74
13. Kyle Robertson (C), 12:49.02
14. Peter Bruchnak (W), 12:59.87
15. Michael Roberts (C), 13:00.50
16. Josh Wood (D), 13:01.09
17. Mike Richmond (C), 13:01.56
18. Peter Carravallah (D), 13;01.99
19. Madav Goli (E), 13:03.20
20. Mathew Song (E), 13:12.19
21. Ben Lyzenga (E), 13:19.35
22. Nabil Ahmed (E), 13:23.01
23. Alex LaForest (D), 13:24.03
24. Kyle Arnold (D), 13:24.49
25. Brendan Genaw (P), 13:25.24
26. Erik Liubakka (E), 13:29.47
27. Jacob Thornton (C), 13:30.23
28. Zackary Upshar (W), 13:31.41
29. Shane Morgan (C), 13:32.43
30. Brad Visel (C), 13:35.37
31. Nate Yackle (D), 13:38.33
32. Grant Kurili (C), 13:46.84
33. Andrew Withers (E), 13:49.56
34. Andrew Shattuck (W), 13:50.04
35. Daniel Swierb (C), 13:52.41
36. Matt Pahl (P), 13:54.15
37. Daniel Mazur (P), 13:54.75
38. Joey Maciag (D), 13:56.66
39. Ryan Doyle (E), 13:57.46
40. Ryan Heinze (D), 13:57.85
41. Ben Yackle (D), 14:00.31
42. Justin Sohota (E), 14:04.05
43. James Peregoy (D), 14:05.07
44. Ethan San Fillipo (P), 14:07.54
45. Caleb McCabe (P), 14:07.99
46. Jackson Krohn (D), 14:08.32
47. Andrew Saunders (W), 14:09.62
48. Brayden Ison (D), 14:09.89
49. Dylan Wilson (P), 14:12.66
50. Carson Pakula (P), 14:14.66