COLUMBIANA — The 110 high school runners and 66 junior high runners at the Columbiana County Cross Country Meet were just thankful for the chance to compete Tuesday.

After the coronavirus pandemic wiped out the track and field season in the spring, seeing the cross country races is a welcome sight.

“Honestly, some of the crowds haven’t been as big (due to health regulations),” Salem senior Jacob McLachlan said. “I’m just glad we have a season. There was talk during the summer we might not.”

“It’s been a lot different, with wearing masks and we can’t get close to each other,” Salem senior Carly Hall said. “We’re going to do whatever we have to do to have a season. So I’m not complaining.”

Both won their respective races as the Quakers swept the team titles for a sixth straight year.

Never mind that the Quakers have had limited opportunities — Tuesday’s meet was the fourth of the season for the Quakers.

“Training wise, it makes it better,” Salem coach Ted Yuhaniak said. “As coaches, though, we like to watch races.”

Salem will send some junior varsity runners back to Columbiana on Saturday for the Clipper Invitational, before the Quakers take their varsity squads the Legends Meet at the Trumbull County Fairgrounds on Oct. 10 and the Eastern Buckeye Conference Meet in Salem on Oct. 17.

This was the second year in a row Columbiana hosted the county meet, not that the Quakers minded.

“The kids just want to run somewhere and were happy,” Yuhaniak said.

¯McLachlan was able to celebrate the Quakers’ victory this year. Usually he has to hustle off to a soccer match. This year, he said the Quakers moved Tuesday’s soccer match to another day to accommodate the four Salem players who also run cross country.

“The soccer team would take a hit without them,” he said.

¯ McLachlan said only a few people call him Jake.

“My mom does,” he said.

¯ The girls race was missing two of the top runners due to ankle injuries — Salem’s Molly Hopple and United’s Ellie Marhefka. They were second and third, respectively, at the county meet last year. Marhefka was watching the meet in a walking boot and will be out for two weeks.

¯ The Quakers set out for another sweep at the county meet.

“The past five years all four teams won and we got it done today,” McLachlan said.

This was the sixth straight year the Quakers won all four team titles — two high school and two junior high.

¯ Salem eighth-grader Maggie Hopple repeated as the junior high girls champion. Her time of 10:55.9 broke the course record of 11:07.8 she set last year.

¯ United will host the fourth Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference Meet on Tuesday. The junior high boys and girls will run a combined race beginning at 5 p.m., followed by the high school combined race at 5:30 p.m. The East Palestine girls and boys are the defending league champions.