The 4th Annual Midwest Catholic Cross Country Championships will draw the traditional Catholic schools from Ohio, as well as teams from Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky. The meet, formerly known as the All Ohio Catholic Cross Country Championships, will be held this Saturday, September 21st, at Indian Riffle Park in Kettering and is hosted by Dayton Carroll High School's Cross Country Program. The All Ohio Catholic Meet started in 1995. There is a pasta dinner for all of the teams held Friday evening, and is followed by five different races on Saturday. There will be two high school championship races and two high school reserve races, as well as a 2 mile open race that is offered to anyone (coaches, parents, junior high runners, etc.). Here is the schedule of races: 2 Mile Open Race (9:00am), Women's Championship (10:00am), Men's Championship (10:45am), Women's Reserve (11:30am), Men's Reserve (12:15pm), Awards Ceremony (12:45pm). The 5k course is the same course used for the Mid East Cross Country Championships that are held in November and feature the top 10 seniors from Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky.
The meet features some of the top cross country teams in Ohio and surrounding states, as well as some of the region’s best individual talent. Leading the individual talent is Annie Heffernan, a junior from Cincinnati St. Ursula, who is the defending Midwest Catholic Champion and finished 3rd at the Ohio Division 1 State Meet last year. She currently holds the fastest time (17:54) in Division 1 in Ohio. The meet record of 17:59, set by Emily Infeld from Cleveland Beaumont in 2007, could be in jeopardy.
The Women's Championship Race has some of the top teams from Ohio and surrounding states: Ursuline (Ohio D1, #4), Mother of Mercy (Ohio D1, #7), St. Ursula (Ohio D1, #10), St. Vincent-St. Mary (Ohio D2, #1), and Alter (Ohio D2, #4). St. Vincent-St. Mary are the defending MCC champs. The race also features the following out of state teams: Oldenburg Academy (Indiana), Presentation Academy (Kentucky), Bloomington Central Catholic (Illinois), and Mercyhurst Preparatory School (Pennsylvania-2012 5th Place State). The individual race looks to be very competitive with 12 girls having run 19:35 or faster this year. In addition to Heffernan, the top females in the Women’s Championship Race should be: Sarah Billingsly (Oldenburg Academy), Emma Hatch (Mother of Mercy), Meredith Maier (Oldenburg Academy), Catherine Adams (McNicholas), Fallon Doyle (Bellaire St. John), Christine Frederick (Ursuline Academy), Julia Mendiola (St. Vincent-St. Mary), Alex Groene (Alter), Catherine Finke (Ursuline Academy), Caroline Gosser (Presentation Academy), and Jamie Adams (Padua Franciscan).
The Men's Championship Race features some of the top teams from Ohio and surrounding states: St. Xaiver (Ohio D1, #1), Toledo St. John’s (Ohio D1, #19), St. Vincent-St. Mary (Ohio D2, #6), and Carroll (D2, #9). The race also features the following out of state teams: Oldenburg Academy (Indiana), Bloomington Central Catholic (Illinois), Covington Catholic (Kentucky-Class AA, #6 and 4th in Class AA in the 2012 Kentucky State Meet), and Mercyhurst Preparatory School (Pennsylvania-2012 9th Place State). Individuals to watch in this race include: Tevin Brown (Toledo St. John's), Brian Menke (Covington Catholic), Curt Eckstein (Oldenburg Academy), Joe Fuller (Lehman Catholic), Dakota Brunsman (Carroll), Alex Rigg (Lima Central Catholic), Scott Willeke (Lima Central Catholic), Mark Mueller (Carroll), Paul Bete (Carroll), and Sabastian Curtain (Mercyhurst Preparatory School).
