All-Decade: Top Programs, Top 7 And Top Overall Individuals

Dec 17, 2019

Men's Team of 7 (in no particular order) -

Dustin Horter / Lakota East

Graduation Year: 2018

Highlight Races: 2015 VOA District Champion, 2015 Region Champion, 2015 3rd place finisher at state meet, 2015 11th place finisher at NXRMW, 2016 VOA District Champion, 2016 Region Champion, 2016 State Champion, 2016 4th place finisher at NXRMW, 2016 NXN 30th place finisher at NXN, 2017 District VOA Champion, 2017 Region Champion, 2017 State Champion, 2017 NXRMW Champion, 2017 6th place finisher at NXN. In 2018, Horter represented Team USA at the Great Edinburgh X-Country International Challenge.

Rationale: Horter was the epitome of a winner during his illustrious high school career. 7 first place finishes as a sophomore, 8 more as a junior and 10 during what was an exceptional senior season back in 2017. He could run away from the field (which he did many times), but also seal the deal in the close ones. Who could forget that photo-finish, where he edged Conant Smith at the National Trail Raceway's line back in 2017. The former Lakota East Thunderhawk broke the 15 minute standard over 5k half a dozen times, highlighted by a 14:36.77 pr effort during his senior campaign.

Chad Johnson / Colonel Crawford

Graduation Year: 2018

Highlight Races: 2014 runner-up at district meet, 2015 District Champion, 2015 7th place finisher at state meet, 2016 District Champion, 2016 Region Champion, 2016 State Champion, 2016 NXRMW 14th place finisher, 2017 District Champion, 2017 Region Champion, 2017 State Champion, 2017 6th place finisher at FLMW, 2017 11th place finisher at Foot Locker Nationals.

Rationale: Johnson was a dominant force in Ohio's Division 3 during his high school career. A back-to-back state champion as a junior and a senior, he also stepped up his game when faced with the best competition. The Colonel Crawford grad was a perennial contender at post-season regional meets and he pocketed an 11th place finish at Foot Locker in 2017. Johnson's top two 5k finishing times (14:54.88 and 14:57.84) are the 9th and 18th best marks produced from 2010 to 2019.

Zach Kreft / Buckeye Valley

Graduation Year: 2018

Highlight Races: 2015 District Champion, 2016 District Champion, 2016 Region Champion, 2016 State Champion, 2017 District Champion, 2017 Region Champion, 2017 State Champion, 2017 6th place finisher at NXRMW, 2017 2nd place finisher at FLMW, 2017 12th place finisher at Foot Locker Nationals.

Rationale: Kreft, another 2-time state champion, authored Ohio's best finishing time of the decade - a blistering 14:29.95 effort at the Midwest Meet of Champions. His time on that day back in September of 2017 was a US No. 1, which stood for the entirety of the season.

Caleb Brown / Shelby

Graduation Year: 2020

Highlight Races: 2017 2nd place finisher at district meet, 2017 2nd place finisher at region meet, 2017 3rd place finisher at state meet, 2018 District Champion, 2018 2nd place finisher at region meet, 2018 2nd place finisher at state meet, 2019 District Champion, 2019 Region Champion, 2019 State Champion, 2019 2nd place finisher at NXRMW, 2019 3rd place finisher at NXN.

Rationale: Brown was an elite XC runner as a junior, but he took things to an entirely different level in 2019 as a senior. The Division 2 state champion netted a 3rd place finish at Nike Cross Nationals and produced Ohio's 5th best 5k time of the decade (14:51.20) at District Galion. Aside from district's, Brown also went sub 15 on a pair of other occasions this past season: 14:56.30 at the Tiffin Carnival and 14:57.89 during in-state regional action.

Andrew Jordan / Watkins Memorial

Graduation Year: 2016

Highlight Races: 2014 2nd place finisher at district meet, 2014 3rd place finisher at region meet, 2014 3rd place finisher at state meet, 2015 District Champion, 2015 Region Champion, 2015 State Champion, 2015 4th place finisher at FLMW, 2015 6th place finisher at Foot Locker Nationals.

Rationale: Jordan, a state champion and a 6th place finisher at Foot Locker, is the owner of two of Ohio's top 10 times of the decade and four of the top 25: 14:44.70 (3rd), 14:54.00 (7th), 14:59.10 (23rd) and 14:59.89 (25th).

Sam Wharton / Tippecanoe

Graduation: 2013

Highlight Races: 2010 2nd place finisher at district meet, 2010 3rd place finisher at region meet, 2010 8th place finisher at state, 2011 District Champion, 2011 state meet runner-up, 2011 5th place finisher at NXRMW, 2011 21st place finisher at NXN, 2012 District Champion, 2012 Region Champion, 2012 State Champion, 2012 runner-up at NXRMW, 2012 runner-up at FLMW, 2012 Nike Cross Nationals Champion, 2012 6th place finisher at Foot Locker Nationals.

Rationale: Wharton has extensive credentials with a state title and the 11th best 5k time of the decade (14:56.00) alone, but when you factor in his 6th place finish at Foot Locker and especially his victory at Nike Cross Nationals, he has to go down as one of Ohio's all-time greatest high school XC runners.

Michael Brajdic / Bay

Graduation Year: 2011

Highlight Races: 2010 District Champion, 2010 Region Champion, 2010 State Champion, 2010 7th place finisher at NXRMW, 2010 9th place finisher at FLMW, 2010 26th place finisher at Foot Locker Nationals.

Rationale: Brajdic owns the state's 10th best clocking of the decade (14:54.89) at the Tiffin Carnival in 2010 and he also broke the elusive 15 minute benchmark on another occasion - 14:57.74 in 2010 during regional meet action. Similar to Zach Wills, who's noted on the Honorable Mention list, many of Brajdic's high school accolades took place in the previous decade (2007 to 2009), but his remarkable senior season at Bay was enough to warrant inclusion on the 2010 - 2019 'All-Decade' breakdown.

MileSplit reached out to Bay High School's athletic director, Matt Spellman for further context on Brajdic, the 2010 state champion.

Spellman's insight: "During my 23 years involved in high school sports, he's truly the best that I've ever seen run."