Cross Country Wins Team Titles at Boardman Invitational
North Allegheny had a big day at the 2026 Boardman Spartan Invitational, with both the girls and boys coming away with team victories.
The NA girls captured 1st place with 40 points, edging Stow-Munroe Falls (47) and Perrysburg (64). Sophomore Samantha Strelick led the Tigers with a 2nd-place finish in 19:19.2. Senior Lily Ries placed 5th in 20:06.1, and senior Gabriela Pizon followed in 7th at 20:13.6. Junior Lydia Stuart gave NA a fourth top-10 finisher, taking 10th in 20:41.1. Sophomore Elizabeth Richmond completed the scoring five with a 16th-place finish in 21:09.7. Senior Madeleine Jablonski finished 17th in 21:10.3, while freshman Sydney Burgbacher rounded out the Tigers’ top seven in 19th at 21:16.6.
The NA boys followed with a team victory of their own, scoring 47 points to finish ahead of Stow-Munroe Falls (63) and Perrysburg (64). Sophomore Gatik Hirwani led the way with the individual victory, taking 1st overall in 16:04.5. Junior Denny Smith followed with an outstanding 3rd-place finish in 16:31.7, while senior Wyatt Case gave NA three runners in the top five, placing 5th in 16:44.2. Junior Sam Patterson finished 18th in 17:15.3, and senior Ethan Voll completed the scoring five in 20th at 17:17.9. Junior Jack Pfeiffer placed 25th in 17:29.3, while freshman James Christian rounded out the top seven with a 28th-place finish in 17:37.5.
It was an impressive team sweep for North Allegheny, with the girls placing four runners in the top 10 before the boys answered with three runners in the top five. Hirwani’s individual victory highlighted a day in which both NA squads combined strong front-running with excellent depth to take home two team titles from Boardman.
