The Boys
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(Photo: Shawn Conlon)
Braxton Tate Runs Away With D2 Race
Galion's Braxton Tate had a major breakthrough on Saturday at the McGowan Invitational, running the fastest time of the day: 15:32.40.
Tate's mark was an 18 second lifetime best and was 47 seconds better than anything he has run this season. A top-10 finisher at the 2018 state meet, Tate was 1:56 faster than he was at McGowan last year.
What does that mean? Keep your eyes on the senior from Galion as he continues to progress this fall.
"I know the guys that I've got to run with later in the season and I just know I have to compete with their times right now even if I'm not with them."
Eighteen seconds behind Tate was Western Hills' Griffin Staude in 15:50.50. Staude has run 15:50 twice now after entering the season with a 16:07.77 lifetime best. Sheridan's William Wilke was third in 15:54.70, his first career sub-16:00 performance.
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Alex Dediu Earns Impressive D1 Victory
Dublin Coffman's Alex Dediu ran away with the victory in the Division 1 race on Saturday, running a lifetime best 15:51.50. After bringing it out in 4:52 for the first mile, Dediu was able to hang on wire-to-wire for the win.
"I didn't really have a specific plan heading into it," he told Ohio MileSplit senior editor Mark Dwyer. "I just wanted to put myself up front and see how it went."
It ended up going pretty well for the senior as he was able to hold off challenger Jack Humenay of Olentangy Liberty.
It was Dediu's first performance under 16:00 as he readies himself for a breakthrough senior campaign. The self-proclaimed miler is already rolling early on in the cross country season.---
The Girls
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Madison Eyman Continues Breakthrough, Wins D2 Race
Coming off of a runner-up finish in the Division 2 3200 this spring, Fairfield Union's Madison Eyman is already rolling in the early going this fall.
Eyman closed out her sophomore cross country campaign with a 19:15.10 mark for 25th at the state meet, but has already bested that time in three of her four races this season. She has also won all four of those contests convincingly.
On Saturday, Eyman was all about staying "calm and collected" en route to the win.
"The key is keeping momentum as you go," Eyman said of the constant surges she experienced while in the front pack.
She had to hold off one Ohio's top talents en route to the victory. Granville's Reilly Zink was unable to keep her winning streak going this season, but her 18:30.20 is building upon an 18:28 from earlier in August. Watch for Eyman and Zink to continue to battle it out throughout this fall campaign. In third was sophomore Audrey DeSantis of Shawnee Springfield. In her first season of cross country, DeSantis is quickly getting a hang of the 5k distance and will be an athlete to watch moving forward.
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Colbi Borland Wins D1 With Only Sub-19:00 Mark
Big Walnut's Colbi Borland made a major statement in the Division 1 race on Saturday as the only one in the division to traverse the course in Pataskala in under 19:00. It wasn't a personal best for the senior, but the 18:57.10 was a 1:24 faster than what she ran at the same meet in 2018.
"I was hoping for a faster time just because this course can run pretty fast when it's dry... I think my plan was executed as I'd planned, except for the time." Borland's 18:57 was off her course personal best, but she did mention that her main goal was the win, which is what she was able to accomplish.
In second was Reynoldsburg's Avril Moyer, just ahead of Lancaster's Meagan Ward, and Dublin Coffman's Abigail Scherer.
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The Big Team Performances
Olentangy Liberty Boys
The Olentangy Liberty boys stole the show in Division 1, putting four boys in the top 10 and winning the Division 1 team title by 41 points.
Led by the aforementioned Humenay in 16:06.90, Liberty benefited from a tight group up front to secure the win. Only 29 seconds separated Humenay from No. 4 Caleb Ogle. Jacob Feldmaier and RJ Larosa finished fifth and seventh respectively, with Ogle finishing ninth. Tanner Sutton was the fifth runner for Liberty coming across in 30th. The 1-5 average of 16:34 was easily the best on the day and helped them jump to fourth among all teams in the state according to our team scores feature.
Granville Girls
Led by Reilly Zink, Granville was able to secure the victory in the McGowan Invite Division 2 race. The 56 points they put up distanced them from Bexley's 79.
Zink finished second overall and was supported by junior Dylan Kretchmar (4th, 18:43.70), freshman Ella Johnson (10th, 19:34.40), and sophomore Regina Rose (11th, 19:34.50). The 19:30 1-5 average from Saturday helped push them to the top ranking in our team scores feature in Division 2.
The Breakouts
Keep an eye on these athletes moving forward!
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Zion Carpenter - Northridge-Johnstown
In his first season of cross country, the senior Zion Carpenter is already making a name for himself. The basketball star won the Division 3 race at the McGowan Invitational with his 16:51.30 effort.
He also provided us with a fantastic interview post race:
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Moyer finished second in the McGowan Division 1 race on Saturday. The Reynoldsburg junior ran 22:22 in this meet last season and came back in 2019 with a 19:10 performance. After missing out on the state meet her first two years, keep your eyes peeled as a major breakout may be in the making for this young lady.