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It was another stellar weekend around Ohio and are boots were on the ground at two of the biggest meets.
Tiffin University played host to the Tiffin Cross Country Carnival, an annual meet that sees upwards of 5,000 performances while Watkins Memorial High School hosted the McGowan Invitational in Pataskala.
We recapped all the action from these two big meets, but make sure to keep it locked on Ohio MileSplit for weekend content from all across the state.
Tiffin Cross Country Carnival
The Boys
Caleb Brown Breaks 15:00 In D2 Varsity Race
The senior from Shelby may have lost most of his supporting cast from last year, but Caleb Brown has hardly let that affect his 2019. On Saturday, the phenom dropped a head-spinning 14:56.3 in the D-2A Varsity race.
"Prior to the race, my coach and I discussed going for sub 15 as we knew I'd have more competition and knew that I was capable of the task," Brown said. "We wanted to come through the mile in approximately 4:40, and I believe I ended up coming through in 4:38. I started to gap the field and knew I had to keep my foot on the gas. I ended up running 9:30 through the 2 miles and had a good idea I had it secured but knew it wasn't going to be easy."
Coming off OH No. 1 performances at the Seneca East Tiger Classic (15:18.15) and Ashland Invitational (15:09.40), Brown became the first Ohioan to break the 15:00 barrier this season. Last year, Ohio saw two accomplish the feat, but had to wait until mid-October.
It's early September.
After running 4:13 and 9:05 respectively in the 1600 and 3200 this spring, Brown is already solidifying himself as the top talent in Ohio boys cross country and made a major statement on Saturday.
"The swarm of fans and supporters helped coming up the final hill. My coach was yelling my splits around the final bend and said I needed to really get my legs turning over in the last straight away to go sub 15. I ended up crossing at 14:56 and it felt great. I have a lot more in me and can't wait to compete again in a few weeks."
Brown was a full 29 seconds ahead of Ayersville's Noah Fisher, a stellar talent in his own right. Fisher's 15:25.9 was not a season best, but was his third performance under 15:30 this season already, and fourth sub-16:00.
The top two pulled away from the rest of the field, but three others traversed the course in under 16:00 with Carroll's Kevin Agnew (15:47.7), Heath's Xavier Foehl (15:50.4), and Edison-Milan's Tyler Coon (15:58.8) all coming under the barrier.
Duvall, Iler, Williams Battle It Out In D1 Race
The race for the individual crown in Division 1 this November is already heating up, and we've still got seven weeks to go!
On Saturday, Pickerington North's Matt Duvall made a major statement with his victory in the Division 1 race at Tiffin. Duvall was the 4th best returner based on time in the top enrollment division, but had seen himself dip to 10th in the D1 rankings in the early goings. He was able to leapfrog two of the athletes ahead of him en route to a huge personal best and Division 1 No. 2 mark of 15:22.5.
The two athletes he leapfrogged on Saturday were not too far back and were also able to improve their personal bests. University School's Justin Iler dropped a second off his 15:30.10 from last Saturday, running 15:29.5 this weekend for the runner-up finish. Just a tick behind him was Worthington Kilbourne's Tanner Williams who improved upon his 15:36.52 best from last Saturday. The top nine boys in this race were sub-16:00 as Ohio boys are off to a flying start.
Snellenberger Holds Off Amicon for D3 Win
In another close duel, the Division 3 race came down to a sprint between East Canton's Demetrius Snellenberger and Grandview Heights junior Derek Amicon. Snellenberger was able to hold on for the victory, but both athletes put on a show in personal best times.
Snellenberger's 16:00.7 was 27 seconds better than his previous season best on his way to the victory. In the early going, the 2018 D3 runner-up has already improved on his previous lifetime best from last October. Amicon was not far behind, though, in 16:01.9. He has already raced four times this season and has three marks at 16:12 or better. They are now numbers 2 and 3 in Division 3 after Saturday's race.
The Mount Gilead duo of Liam Dennis and Ethan Supplee came in together in third and fourth in 16:14.9 and 16:16.3. Maumee Valley's Patrick Lyell was fifth in 16:18.3
The Girls
Lauryn Mick's OH No. 2 Mark Earns Her D-1 Victory
Toledo Notre Dame Academy's Lauryn Mick has already shown the state of Ohio just how good she is. At the Tiffin CC Carnival, she continued her rise to the top with a 17:48.4 victory in the Division 1-A race.
Mick has been tearing up the course early on after finishing her junior campaign in 7th at the state meet. With wins at the OHSAA Early Invitational and Seneca East Tiger Classic in 18:40 and 18:19 respectively, her 17:48.4 from Saturday was not only a 20 second lifetime best, but also a major indicator that she's ready to compete for the state meet win in Division 1 this year.
Just behind her was Medina senior Juliette Keller in 18:07.3. Keller boasts a career best of 17:52 from 2017, but is looking poised to shatter that in her season campaign. She's coming off a strong track season with 4:54 and 10:58 marks in the 1600 and 3200.
Chloe Dawson Takes D-2 Race
Buckeye Valley's Chloe Dawson was feeling the heat throughout the Division 2-A Varsity race, but was able to hold off the challenge from St. Vincent St. Mary's Theresa Hagey for the win. Her 18:11.8 was a second ahead of her mark from the same race last year.
Dawson has been chasing down a 17:26.06 personal best from her freshman campaign. After running away with the victory on Saturday, Dawson could be on track to head back under 18:00 and turn some heads this fall.
Hagey's 18:16.3 was 14 seconds ahead of the next closest finisher and 4 seconds ahead of her previous lifetime best from this same meet. After finishing sixth in the 1600 this fall, Hagey is also a breakout candidate in Division 2 this season.
Miranda Stanhope Leads Five Under 19:00 in D-3 Race
After finishing second in 2018, Badger's Miranda Stanhope would not be denied a Tiffin CC Carnival victory this year. Her 18:32.40 clocking was good enough for gold on Saturday, just ahead of Mount Gilead's Allison Johnson (18:39.20) and Columbus Grove's Alyssa Ellerbrock (18:39.30).
Stanhope is the returning state champion in Division 3 and has wasted little time letting everyone know she's ready to repeat. In fourth was McDonald's Anna Guerra (18:46.10) and Liberty Center's Hope Oelkrug (18:59.0)
The Big Team Performances
St. Xavier Boys (1A and 1B Varsity)
The St. Xavier boys team showed off an incredible amount of depth on Saturday as they were able to bring home the win in the Division 1A Varsity race on Saturday and finish second in Division 1B.
In the D-1A race, the Bombers used a 16:05 average and 50 second split to win by 53 points over second place Solon. Led by junior Nathan Mountain in sixth (15:45.2) and senior Thomas Walters in ninth (15:54.3), St. Xavier were able to easily earn the team title.
In the D-1B race, St. Xavier showed off that aforementioned depth with a close second place finish. They were 9 points behind St. Ignatius, but still averaged 17:17 with a 17 second 1-5 split. Ryan Lacrosse was the top finisher for the Bombers in this division (17:08.8).
Lexington Girls
The Lexington girls battled it out with Ontario on Saturday and came away with the 2 point victory in the Division 2-A Varsity race.
Lexington was led by the junior duo of Lily Weeks (18:32.6) and Halle Hamilton (18:33.2) who took fourth and fifth respectively. Their 19:09 average was the best among all of the races at Tiffin and puts them in the driver's seat in Division 2 in the early going.
The Breakouts
Keep an eye on these athletes moving forward!
Dennison is bursting onto the high school scene after a stellar middle school career.
On Saturday, she finished third in the Division 1A Varsity meet in 18:22.8, but has already solidified herself as one of the top freshmen in the country. Last Saturday she went 18:12.91, US No. 11 among freshmen, and is looking to mix it up in the Division 1 race this November.
Newlon threw down a big time personal best in the Division 1-B race on Saturday, going 16:21.20 for the victory. He improved upon a 16:38.00 mark from the Bob Schul Invite two weeks ago and is already blowing away his 17:23.70 best from 2018. Watch out for Newlon as he continues to progress through his senior season.