It's here!  The 2011 Midwest Meet of Champions should present a smorgasbord of Ohio's top cross country teams and distance runners with several teams from neighboring states to add some regional flavor to the meet that many regard as Ohio's best regular season competition of the season.  Many of the top programs in the state attend this meet because of the high level of competition that is found here each fall.  This year should be no different.

College signings are always interesting to see, but everybody wonders why one athlete chose one schol and why another athlete chose a different school.  Inside you will find out why certain athletes chose the school that they did in their own words.  This article will be updated throughout February as more responses are returned.  

For the girls Magnificat, running as Rocky River XC Club, finished fifth overall, with Madeline Chambers taking 8th indvidually.  North Royalton's Hannah Neczypor finished 11th overall and on the boys side, Zach Wills of Mason finished 5th overall.

One week from now, 44 teams will be in Portland, and each with the dream of contending for the national championship of high school cross country. Photo by Alan Versaw.

     

Ohio dominates the NXN Midwest Regional Championship by going 1 through 3 in the girls individual race, winning the girls team race and advancing two individuals on the boys side.  Nice Job Ohio!

  Photo courtesy: John Olson, South Carolina Runner's  

The 2009 State Meet is now in the books and it made for some memorable performances (Like it always does!) Lets take a look at the individual and team winners from this past weekend. 

Photo by Jesspassingby

A look at the teams and individuals that qualifeid for the OHSAA State Championship, plus top four teams and ten individuals to watch for each division.

(Photo by Margot Kelly)    

         

This past week was pretty quiet in the Cross Country Realms as many teams and individuals rested in preparation for their tournament run.  Even with people and teams resting there was still some action from this past week that should be noted, let's take a look at those performances.

This is the fourth of nine weekly polls from a statewide panel of coaches. 12 coaches vote in each division. Coordinator Todd Clark Cloverleaf HS retired tclark@cls.k12.oh.us

The 2009 version of the MMOC has all the key ingredients for a great day of elite team and individual cross country competition.  The MMOC has a festive atmosphere with loud music, top ranked teams, great depth, top individuals from several states and a fan friendly course that has yielded some blazing times in years past. 

Another weekend of cross country and excitement is in the books.  This week saw Zach Wills dipping under 15 minutes for the first time in his career at the Culver Academis Invitational.  St. Ignatius and Magnificat both won their respective Championship races at the All Ohio Catholic Championship in Kettering, Ohio.

All Ohio Catholic Cross Championships to be held Saturday, September 26th at Indian Riffle Park in Kettering, Ohio.  

The second of nine weekley polls from a panel of coaches throughout the state.

A big weekend of races in the books and some fast times to show for it.  Zach Wills opens the season blazing a 15:17 on his tough home course to take the lead in the state, while up north at the Tiffin Carnival, Magnificat scorches the field by scoring 52 points, over a 100 points ahead of second place, to win the Girs Division 1 Varsity-A race.

Trying to figure out who is the best team is nearly impossible without running any races, but OHRunners has tried to do just that (solely based on last year's results and returning runners). Over the next few days we will take a look at the top returning teams for both genders in all divisions. Today we take a stab at the Preseason Division 1 Girls.

The Top Five Girls Individual Races to watch in all divisions

The Five best girls relays to watch for all divisions.

Your weekly recap of key performances from meets across the state. If you have results that you would like to include on OHRunners and MileSplit, please send them to Jimfindlay1@gmail.com

Your weekly recap of key performances from meets across the state. If you have results that you would like to include on OHRunners and MileSplit, please send them to Jimfindlay1@gmail.com

Ohio Girls ranked in the top 100 nationally as of 4/19/09.  Ohio is well represented in the discus and the distance relays. Erin Pendleton has the second best discus throw, Taylor Burke has the third best High jump and Stephanie Morgan has the third best 1600m time.  Other top 10 performances include Alexis Thomas in the hammer throw, Mahagony Jones in the 200m Dash and the Magnificat 4x800m Team.

Heat Sheets for the Magnificat Vs. St. Joseph Academy Dual

What a state meet it was!

Lots of movement on the performance lists this weekend, seven new Ohio #1 marks on the girls side and six new leaders on the boys side.  There is only one more qualifying meet on the schedule for next weekend, at Oberlin College.

West Windsor Plainsboro-North continued its meteoric rise in the boys rankings with its win over Don Bosco Prep at the NJ MOC, while the girls from Fort Collins proved they belonged with an impressive win at the NXN Southwest Regional.

NXN Midwest Region Champion York (IL), led by a resurgent Steve Sulkin, moves to No. 2 in the rankings, while Magnificat (OH) makes its first appearance, entering at #14 after a runner-up finish in the girls Midwest race.

NXN Midwest: Kroy (York, IL), led by Steve Sulkin, avenged its loss to Naperville North at the IHSA Champs a week ago. Geneva (IL) XC and Stephanie Morgan (OH) are winners. (Photos by Tracy Rollins)

Weekly High School X-Country Regional Rankings 2008 Team rankings by Marc Bloom and Rich Gonzalez. Individuals-To-Watch lists by national and state correspondents.

Weekly High School X-Country Regional Rankings 2008 Team rankings by Marc Bloom and Rich Gonzalez. Individuals-To-Watch lists by national and state correspondents.

OAT&CC COACHES CROSS COUNTRY POLL            Wednesday October 29, 2008 This is the fifth of nine weekly polls by a statewide panel of coaches. First place votes in [#]. Coordinator Todd Clark Cloverleaf HS   tclark@cls.k12.oh.us

On the strength of its record-setting performance in winning the Sweepstakes race at the Mt. SAC Invitational, Saugus (CA) moves past Fayetteville-Manlius into the top spot in the team rankings.

Weekly High School X-Country Regional Rankings 2008 Team rankings by Marc Bloom and Rich Gonzalez. Individuals-To-Watch lists by national and state correspondents.

OAT&CC COACHES CROSS COUNTRY POLL            Wednesday October 22, 2008 This is the fifth of nine weekly polls by a statewide panel of coaches. First place votes in [#]. Coordinator Todd Clark Cloverleaf HS   tclark@cls.k12.oh.us

Coming off back-to-back record-setting perfermances, Kodiak, Alaska senior Trevor Dunbar jumps to the top spot in the West. With a showdown at Mt. SAC looming, the question is: can he stay there?

With most of the top teams taking the week off or breezing through conference or regional meets, there are very few changes in the MileSplit team rankings for this week. The boys rankings are nearly identical, while three girls teams jumped a few spots based on strong performances.

Preview for the GlenOak Regional, including qualified teams, qualified individual runners and predictions for each race.

Weekly High School X-Country Regional Rankings 2008 Team rankings by Marc Bloom and Rich Gonzalez. Individuals-To-Watch lists by national and state correspondents.

OAT&CC COACHES CROSS COUNTRY POLL            Wednesday October 15, 2008 This is the fifth of nine weekly polls by a statewide panel of coaches. First place votes in [#]. Coordinator Todd Clark Cloverleaf HS   tclark@cls.k12.oh.us

Several recent big meets, such as Nike South, Manhattan College and the Great American have helped to bring some clarity to the rankings. North Central boys and Fayetteville-Manlius girls hold the top spots.

Weekly High School X-Country Regional Rankings 2008 Team rankings by Marc Bloom and Rich Gonzalez Individuals-To-Watch lists by national and state correspondents.

OAT&CC COACHES CROSS COUNTRY POLL            Wednesday October 8, 2008 This is the fifth of nine weekly polls by a statewide panel of coaches. First place votes in  [# ]. Coordinator Todd Clark Cloverleaf HS   tclark@cls.k12.oh.us

Weekly High School X-Country Regional Rankings 2008 Team rankings by Marc Bloom and Rich Gonzalez Individuals-To-Watch lists by national and state correspondents.

OAT&CC COACHES CROSS COUNTRY POLL            Wednesday October 1, 2008 This is the fifth of nine weekly polls by a statewide panel of coaches. First place votes in  [# ]. Coordinator Todd Clark Cloverleaf HS   tclark@cls.k12.oh.us

Highlights and Results from: NB Ocean State Inv. (RI), McDonald's XC Festival (VA), McQuaid Inv. (NY), Roy Griak Inv. (MN), Stanford Inv. (CA), Carlisle Inv. (PA), Jim Danner Inv. (OR), Culver Inv. (IN), Palatine Inv. (IL), LoboCat Inv. (CO), Albuquerque Academy Inv. (NM) & Midwest Meet of Champs. (OH) The best weekend yet.  That's an easy way to describe this weekend's national cross country action.  Most of the top teams in the land took part in an invitational, with some teams coming up very big.  US#5 York (IL) kicked off their season by winning the Palatine Invitational, one of the big highlights of the weekend thus far.

Zach Wills ran an amzing race today, and had a shot at going sub 15:00, but had to settle for an impressive 15:02.36 and a new course record.  Wills had formidable competition in the Race of Champions as it included Kevin Yarnell, Travis Hawes, Yoshi Shimizu, Tsehaye Hiluf, and Eric Schmidt

Weekly High School X-Country Regional Rankings 2008 Team rankings by Marc Bloom and Rich Gonzalez Individuals-To-Watch lists by national and state correspondents

OAT&CC COACHES CROSS COUNTRY POLL     Wednesday September 24, 2008 This is the fourth of nine weekly polls by a state wide panel of cc coaches. First place votes in [ # ].   Coordinator Todd Clark Cloverleaf HS tclark@cls.k12.oh.us

The Midwest Meet of Champions showcases many of the top teams and individuals in Ohio and is the premier cross country meet in the Midwest. Inside you will find a meet preview, Girls and Boys Virtual Meets and a copy of the course map.

The All Ohio Catholic Championship provided for some great feats in the Championship Races.  Magnificat posted a perfect 15 team score, while Kevin Yarnell (pictured left, from St. Johns Jesuit) and Marty Coolidge (pictured next to Yarnell, from Elyria Catholic) provided excitement in the boys race as both boys ran 15:17, with Yarnell just edging out Coolidge at the line.

Weekly High School X-Country Regional Rankings 2008 Team rankings by Marc Bloom and Rich Gonzalez

OAT&CC COACHES CROSS COUNTRY POLL  Wednesday September 17, 2008 This is the third of nine weekly polls by a state wide panel of cc coaches. First place votes in [#].  Coordinator Todd Clark Cloverleaf HS tclark@cls.k12.oh.us

Weekly High School X-Country Regional Rankings 2008 Team rankings by Marc Bloom and Rich Gonzalez Individuals-To-Watch lists by national and state correspondents  

This is the second of nine weekly polls by a state wide panel of cc coaches. First place votes are in [ # ].   Coordinator Todd Clark Cloverleaf HS tclark@cls.k12.oh.us  

Stuart Edmonds (above, right)  of Twinsburg upsets defending State Champion Donny Roys (above, middle), while Centerville takes home the team title in a field that included 13 of the top 25 teams in Division I in Ohio, and Katie Gillespie of CVCA posts the fastest time in the nation to date

A big weekend of cross country racing took place over the past few days and we have all the news for you in our weekly weekend wrap-up. Top matchups individually and team, boys and girls, span across each meet summary. See which teams stood out this weekend, as the season starts to heat up.

Ohio has three boys teams and two girls teams ranked in the top 10 for the Midwest  Region (which includes IN, IL, MI, MO, OH).  Plus another two teams that are on the bubble for both genders.

Freshman Tsehaye Hiluf of Reynoldsburg is making a statement early in the season that he is going to be a player come November.  Tsehaye finished 7th at the Hot Summer Bash last weekend with a time of 16:23 in his first high school 5k of his career, and now can add a runner up finish at Lebanon this weekend to his short, but impressive, resume.

(U.S. #6 Westfield (IN) Heading to NTN Midwest) The first set of NTN Regionals takes place this weekend.  In the Midwest, while five states represent the region, only three states are allowed to travel to Terre Haute, Indiana for the meet.  Illinois, Indiana and Ohio are the three states and each looks to qualify at least one team to Portland.

Highlights and recaps of all the races from the OHSAA State Cross Country Championship.

The meet of the weekend in the Midwest did not disappoint.  The Midwest Meet of Champions is the premier early September meet in the Midwest, and this year, Fishers (IN) and Magnificat (OH) won the two team titles.  Fishers used a strong duo up front of Cale Allen (Sr.) and Drew Shields (Jr.) to take home the team title, while Magnificat packed it up, placing their top five in the top 25 spots.

The Midwest Meet of Champions, one of the more elite meets in the state of Ohio, will be held Saturday September 8th in Hilliard, Ohio.  Read the press release to see which good teams and great individuals will be running at the Midwest Meet of Champions

Nike Nationals preseason polls are finally out.  Only one Ohio team in the Midwest Top Ten on the boys side, with two Ohio teams in the Midwest Top Ten for the girls.  Check the article for all regional rankings.