It’s back to Columbia for Slovensky

By Theo Tate

Posted 11/2/23

After qualifying for the Class 1 state cross country meet on Oct. 28, Wellsville-Middletown senior Bethany Slovensky was thrilled that she will get to work with her father – head coach John …

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It’s back to Columbia for Slovensky

Wellsville-Middletown senior Bethany Slovensky approaches the finish line in the girls race of the Class 1, District 3 championship meet on Oct. 28 at South Callaway High School. Slovensky placed 25th with a 25:14 to qualify for state for the third time.

Theo Tate photo

Posted Thursday, November 2, 2023 12:10 pm

By Theo Tate

After qualifying for the Class 1 state cross country meet on Oct. 28, Wellsville-Middletown senior Bethany Slovensky was thrilled that she will get to work with her father – head coach John Slovensky – one last time.

“I get a week of practicing with my dad,” Slovensky said. “That will be fun.”

Slovensky clinched her third state berth after placing 25th with a 25:14 at the Class 1, District 3 championship meet at South Callaway High School. She will be the Tigers’ only representative at the Class 1 girls state meet, which is scheduled for 9:45 a.m. on Nov. 3 at Gans Creek Course in Columbia.

Slovensky also competed at state in her freshman and junior seasons. She didn’t finish at the 2020 state meet and placed 118th with a 25:31 in 2022. Slovensky said she has a simple mission in her final high school cross country race on Nov. 3.

“I just want to finish strong,” Slovensky said.

Seven other W-M runners competed at districts. In the girls race, senior Jenelle Boeckelman – a two-time state qualifier – placed 40th with a 26:12 in her final cross country meet and freshman Aubrey Harmon came in 59th with a 30:57. Junior Jonah Slovensky was the Tigers’ top finisher in the boys race, placing 44th with a 21:22. He was followed by junior Gage Marshall (49th, 21:40.79), junior Haskell Davis (59th, 22:21), sophomore Zackery Vogel (63rd, 22:40) and freshman Shane Joles (85th, 25:15).

All of the W-M runners competed at a very challenging South Callaway course under chilly conditions. Slovensky said she found out about the course from Montgomery County senior Malia Rodgers, who qualified for state in Class 3.

“The course was a difficult one,” Slovensky said. “It was probably the hardest we ran on. It just had a lot of hills.”

Slovensky also extended the Tigers’ streak of having state qualifiers to 30 consecutive years. She said the accomplishment really made her father happy.

“It’s very exciting that I get to contribute to that,” the W-M senior said. “It was very nerve-wracking before the race. I was like, ‘I didn’t want to let him (my dad) down.’ But it ended up being good.”

Slovensky also earned her third medal of the season. She finished seventh at the Wellsville-Middletown Invitational on Sept. 18 and 14th at the Clopton Hamburger Invitational on Oct. 2.