The teams have dominated this meet since the PAC’s inception five years ago, with Buckeye winning in 2005, ‘06 and ‘08. Black River won in 2007 although they lost on a tiebreaker in ‘06 when the teams finished in a tie.

This year Black River edged Buckeye by one point to win the team title with 29 points. The Pirates had runners finish first, third, sixth, eighth and 11th. Buckeye finished with 30 points as they placed second, fourth, fifth, ninth and 10th.

“It was crazy, crazy out there,” said Black River coach Adam Laskos. “There was a combination of things that came together for us but our No. 5 runner (Tom Ziebro) came up big.

“He ran a personal best by almost 30 seconds today, and that made a big difference. All week long the guys talked about winning the PAC and today they did.”

Ziebro completed the course in 18:39 and had an 11-second cushion between his 11th-place finish and the next finisher.

“It was pretty rough out there today, especially around the third mile,” said Zeibro, a sophomore. “We go uphill at that point and from then on I just gave it everything I had.”

Zeibro’s brother John, a junior, also completed the course with a personal best to place sixth. Teammate David Kindall finished first in his final PAC meet with a time of 17:05.

“I broke away right after the first mile,” said Kindall, who was named most valuable runner. “The last two miles I just wanted to put space between me and everyone else. I think I had about 100 yards or so of space when I finished.”

Buckeye freshman Ryan Gallagher was the first to cross the finish line after Kindall and served notice that his best days are ahead of him.

“It was a rough day,” said Gallagher. “I remember crossing the finish line and finding out two minutes later that we lost by a point. It wasn’t the finish that we wanted and it’s pretty disappointing.

“Individually, I’m mixed about my performance today. I’m not where I want to be yet, but I am getting better progressively. My best is yet to come and this gives me something to work towards.”

Buckeye senior Joe Vanbolderen had his best performance ever with a fourth-place finish with a time of 17:47.

“It’s my best finish, but not as well as I had hoped,” said Vanbolderen. “I wish I had been able to do a little better and maybe helped us repeat as conference champions. Black River lost to us on a tiebreaker three years ago, so I guess they got us back today.”

Clearview’s Gabe Cruz was the lone Lorain County runner to place in the top 10, finishing seventh with a time of 18:03.

“It was muddy out there today,” said Cruz. “I think I could have lost a shoe once or twice it was so deep in places. But that’s the way it goes sometimes. I’m a little disappointed being a senior and knowing I won’t be able to do this race again. I wish I could have done better today.”

Keystone finished third with 86 points while Clearview finished fourth with 113 points.

There was no drama on the girls side as Buckeye grabbed its fifth straight PAC team title.

Individually, Keystone freshman Brittany Gates, to the surprise of no one, captured the top spot. Her time of 20:10 was over two minutes faster than that of the runner-up.

“I was really hoping to break 20 minutes, that was my goal,” said Gates, who increased her personal-best time by 10 seconds. “I felt a lot of pressure coming into today, but I’m glad I was able to go out there and run well.”

Keystone, which finished second overall and only five points behind Buckeye, has battled illness and injury the past couple of weeks. Nikki Blair and Cait Shaw, their Nos. 2 and 3 runners, ran at less than 100 percent and finished in 10th place and 11th place, respectively.

“Cross country is a sport where depth is very important,” said Keystone coach Jeff Holzhaurer. “When you have a girl or two not at their best, it’s tough to overcome that. Nikki and Cait gave it everything they had out there today. I’m very proud of how they ran given they missed some time the past two weeks.

“I knew Brittany would come in here and dominate, that’s what she has done all year. Bri (Buckley) really stepped it up today and ran well.”

Buckeye’s Amanda Demczyk finished second to Gates with a time of 22:13 while teammate Trisha Widemeyer took third with 22:24.

“I’m glad we won conference again,” said Demczyk. “Our goal was to come in here and run well as a team. To keep our conference title streak going is a nice accomplishment for us.”

Widemeyer, a junior and first-year runner, enjoyed the experience of the meet and winning the conference.

“This is my first year running,” said Widemeyer. “I didn’t want to let the team down so I was a little nervous. But, we won conference again and it’s nice to be a part of that.”

Black River finished third with 47 points while Brookside (118), Columbia (126) and Lutheran West (143) rounded out the girls teams.

Boys

TEAM STANDINGS: 1. Black River, 29 points; 2. Buckeye, 30; 3. Keystone, 86; 4. Clearview, 113; 5. Wellington, 134; Lutheran West, 149; 6. Brookside, 152.

INDIVIDUALS: 1. David Kindall (Black River), 17:05; 2. Ryan Gallagher (Buckeye), 17:20; 3. Augustine Kazek (Black River), 17:22; 4. Joe Vanbolderen (Buckeye), 17:47; 5. Dan D’Amico (Buckeye), 17:55;

6. John Ziebro (Black River), 18:00; 7. Gabe Cruz (Clearview), 18:03; 8. Jared McFadden (Black River), 18:10; 9. JJ Grizincic (Buckeye), 18:25; 10. Brad Shook (Buckeye), 18:34;

11. Tom Ziebro (Black River), 18:39; 12. Eric Skaggs (Keystone), 18:50; 13. William Spangler (Keystone), 18:54; 14. Zach Bradley (Brookside), 19:06; 15. Colin Watson (Clearview), 19:16;

16. Kevin Watson (Clearview), 19:18; 17. Warren Miller (Keystone), 19:22; 18. Jordan Canedy (Keystone), 19:23; 19. Brian Spangler (Keystone), 19:25; 20. Will Hall (Wellington), 19:26;

21. Jarrod Brown (Wellington), 19:30; 22. Brian Giguere (Lutheran West), 19:46; 23. Joe Walker (Buckeye), 19:53; 24. Dan Bartz (Lutheran West), 19:56; 25. Chris French (Keystone), 20:01.

MOST VALUABLE RUNNER: David Kindell, Black River.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Adam Laskos, Black River.

Girls

TEAM STANDINGS: 1. Buckeye, 40 points; 2. Keystone, 45; 3. Black River, 47; 4. Brookside, 118; 5. Columbia, 126; 6. Lutheran West, 143.

INDIVIDUALS: 1. Brittany Gates (Keystone), 20:10; 2. Amanda Demczyk (Buckeye), 22:13; 3. Trisha Widemeyer (Buckeye), 22:24; 4. Courtney Neigh (Brookside), 22:25; 5. Julia Wade (Black River), 22:27;

6. Jamie Bush (Black River), 22:28; 7. Bri Buckley (Keystone), 22:34; 8. Jordan Walker (Buckeye), 22:42; 9. Jenna Periandri (Black River), 22:50; 10. Nikki Blair (Keystone), 23:02;

11. Cait Shaw (Keystone), 23:03; 12.Alissa Brown (Black River), 23:12; 13. Marie Mesmer (Buckeye), 23:19; 14. Daniella Chambers (Buckeye), 23:28; 15. Ashley Rochford (Black River), 23:37;

16. Katie King (Keystone), 23:49; 17. Brianna Kirtz (Buckeye), 23:59; 18. Erica Urbanic (Buckeye), 24:10; 19. Meredith Pollack (Keystone), 24:17; 20. Hannah Van Horn (Columbia), 24:38;

21. Nicole Swanson (Lutheran West), 24:47; 22. Amanda Frazier (Clearview), 24:48; 23. Bre Benjamin (Keystone), 24:54; 24. Nadine Luther (Brookside), 25:25; 25. Rose Gorse (Columbia), 25:46.

MOST VALUABLE RUNNER: Brittany Gates, Keystone.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Shirley Van Epp, Buckeye.